RWBY: The D'arc Game of Life
by ThePlayer1Company
Summary: Jaune Arc has lived a quite normal life, sans his parents splitting up when he was 10. Regardless, he wants to be a Huntsman, a hero like his father! One day, he messes up in the best way possible, and a tiny splinter grows into a grand adventure, in which the blonde must play a dark game of life. Only time will tell the truth. RWBY/Gamer crossover
1. Start New Game

**Guess who's alive? ME!**

 **If you haven't read my second story, "RWBY Jaune Arc: Role Player and Risk Taker", or the latest chapter of "Lunar Legends", then you probably don't know that college has been killing me slowly inside, but I powered through and it's time to get back to writing things that will rejuvenate my soul and make me happy and strong.**

 **Welcome to a story whose idea has been nagging my mind for a long time now. It's a Gamer story. If you're not familiar with the original "The Gamer", it's a webcomic where the main character suddenly comes into the power to live their life as a video game character, an adventure RPG, mostly.**

 **We're just going to jump right in here, then! No time to explain, it'll become clearer in the readings.**

 **I do not own RWBY or the The Gamer, nor do I own any other copyrighted thingies referenced in this story.**

 **Beware, later chapters will have some explicit content.**

 **Chapter 1: Start New Game.**

* * *

Jaune Arc, that's my name, short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it... or at least I hope they do.

I've been trying, for years now, to enter Signal Academy, but I just can't make the cut no matter how hard I try. It has, so far, seemed like no matter how much training I try to perform, I never seem to improve in the slightest.

It's... disappointing, to say the least.

Combined with the fact that my parents split up when I was ten, and all my sisters are still with my mom, leaving me alone with my dad, and it's depressing. Not to say that my dad wasn't a good dad, I just missed my sisters is all.

I don't fit in at the civilian high school I go to either. The jocks, the nerds, the preps, the goths, the dramas, they're all there, and they all don't like me. I don't like them either, to be honest, they don't fit my style.

My style is video games and trying to be a Huntsman, emphasis on 'try'.

I wish I could do more, branch out, take up a clique, but I can't. It's just not who I am.

And I can't change who I am, can I?

* * *

"Oh COME the FUCK on!" I shout angrily at the screen, "I almost had it!" I glare at the smug skeleton's face, wanting to slice him to pieces.

I was playing a game that kinda blew up big a few months ago, called Undervale. It had an interesting story and a decent amount of replay value. As it was, I was currently attempting a Genocide Run of it, but I was stuck at the final boss.

I slammed my hand on the desk, then flinched and swore as a splinter struck my skin. 'I needed a new desk.' I thought as I gingerly removed the splinter, wiping the bit of blood away and rubbing some hand sanitizer on it. After wiping it clean and feeling satisfied with the results, I returned to the game.

I stared intensely at the screen, analyzing the patterns and moving away from the attacks. I grit my teeth and moved out of the way of a Gaster Blaster, grunting and tensing when I was hit. My dad got me the game for my birthday last year, and with our super-fast WiFi connection, I was able to play most games I wanted rather easily. I moved the heart on the screen away from more bones and Gaster Blasters, watching carefully for Sans' motions and dodging the attacks as quickly as I could. Suddenly, however, I screamed in a way that most definitely was very masculine when a quartet of blue windows popped up in my field of vision

 **Fine motion control has increased your Dexterity by 1!**

 **Careful studying of patterns has increased your Intelligence by 1!**

 **Learning to watch things precisely and take in details has unlocked the skill "Gamer's Sight"!**

 **By watching a master at work, you have learned a skill! You have learned "Gaster Blaster"!**

I heard footsteps charge down the hall like a two-legged freight train, my door slamming open.

"Jaune are you murdering a girl in here or-" he stopped, looking at me and blinking.

I must have looked ridiculous, just sitting there at my desk, looking like I'd seen a ghost, but being completely alone in my room. I couldn't bear to respond, which reinforced the growing awkwardness of the silence.

"-what... what happened?" he finished his statement with a curious tone, obviously trying not to seem too awkward.

"O-oh, uh... spider fell on my face, I freaked out, but I killed it before I got bitten." I stuttered out with my face reddening by the second.

My father, John Arc, gave me an inquisitive look, one I fearfully returned with a disgraceful attempt at a serious face. Better to look like a fool than a nutcase.

 **By thinking over the consequences of possible choices, your Wisdom has increased by 1!**

After a few more seconds, his face relaxed, "Right, well, be more careful from now on, son, don't want to get poisoned from a surprise bite." he gave me a boisterous grin and chuckled.

I stared at him for a moment or two more, before suddenly I saw something new appear.

 **Johnathan Arc**

 **Title: ?**

 **Lvl ?**

I stared at the strange information above my father's head, then looked at his face. I liked to think I looked like him. He was tall and broadly muscled, wearing a simple blue button-up shirt with blue jeans and black sneakers with navy blue laces. I stood several inches shorter than him, and far thinner in build, in fact I'd estimate the difference between our arms is the same as the difference between a small twig and a thick cord of wood. Not in volume but in strength.

"So, hey, I'm going to the store in a minute, alright? Anything special you want me to pick up, son?" he asked, trying to extract himself from the awkwardness

"N-no, I'm good, dad." I lied, glancing at my computer screen to avoid his gaze.

"Well, alright then. I'll let you get back to your game, my boy." he made to leave, then stopped and came back to the doorway, "Oh hey, I need you to take out the trash and do the dishes and stuff. Y'know, your chores. Do them before I get back, alright? Also, I'll give you your lunch money when I get back, alright?"

 **Quest Received!**

 **Name: A Busy Boy**

 **Description: Your father is leaving to do the weekly shopping. Finish all your chores before he gets back. This is a Recurring Quest.**

 **Reward for Success: 100 exp, Slightly Increased respect from John Arc, 1000 lien.**

 **Penalized Reward for Failure: 10 exp, Slightly Decreased respect from John Arc, 100 lien.**

 **Accepted? Y/N**

I nodded dumbly and the window apparently took that as a yes, being replaced with a smaller window that said **Quest Accepted!**

My dad grinned, "Alright, I'll be back in an hour, maybe 2, depends. See ya then." he left my doorway and went downstairs. I could hear the door to the garage closing after a few jingles of him grabbing his keys and wallet. I hummed a bit, finding my hearing oddly sharpened a bit.

I looked at the four windows before me once again.

 **Fine motion control has increased your Dexterity by 1!**

 **Careful studying of patterns has increased your Intelligence by 1!**

 **Learning to watch things precisely and take in details has created the skill "Gamer's Sight"!**

 **By watching a master at work, you have learned a skill! You have learned "Gaster Blaster"!**

"Has... has my life become a video game? These look like game notifications." I mused hesitantly, oddly calm despite my want to panic.

 **By broadening your understanding of the world, your Wisdom has increased by 1!**

I hummed, that all but confirmed it. I didn't know exactly how, but I had confirmed it. It stated I had increased my understanding of the world, and if that was responding to what I had said, then I definitely was in a video game now.

 **By using logical thinking and reasoning, your Wisdom has increased by 1!**

I just had to wait this out and hope it's a bad hallucination caused by an actual spider bite that I didn't notice.

I stood up from my chair, pacing back and forth across my room for a minute or two, thinking over what this all could mean. While I did that, I saw two more notifications pop up for increased Intelligence and one more for Wisdom. I went to the bathroom and threw some cold water in my face, hoping to shock away the poison-induced trip. It didn't help that the windows followed me.

I looked at myself in the mirror, then stared at what innocently floated above my own head.

 **Jaune Arc**

 **Title: The Gamer**

 **Lvl: 1**

"Yep, my life is now a video game." I said, feeling massive quantities of 'done with this shit' filling my mood.

I groaned and turned to look at all the windows littering my field of vision, which thankfully didn't move to block what I was looking at, rather they seemed more dragged along by a soft, but firm leash, firmly staying less than about three feet from my body, but able to get closer.

 **By calculating and figuring the mechanics of things, your Intelligence has increased by 1!**

I took a moment of calmness to actually feel what just happened. All of a sudden, my mind felt a little sharper. The change was... oddly welcomed, I figured that if this was making me smarter and wiser and more dexterous, then it couldn't have been a bad thing, right? Unless...

Unless there were unseen side-effects that I had to look into? If this was also dangerous, perhaps poisoning or killing me slowly, then I had to get rid of it. Death was not worth an increase to these... 'stats'.

 **By showing reasonable caution and good judgment, your Wisdom has increased by 1!**

I felt like this thing was mocking me by giving me increases to mental stats for basic fucking things, so I closed out all four Wisdom updates and the four Intelligence updates, then stared at the Dexterity update again. "Fine motion control... so moving quickly and carefully increased it? What if I~..." I walked back to my room and pulled a coin out of the pouch in my wallet, flipping it and carefully moving it between my fingers, tossing it back and forth between hands.

 **By practicing precise movements, your Dexterity has increased by 1!**

Huh... that was useful. Taking in the changes it brought, I felt a little quicker, a little more sprightly and lighter on my feet. I could feel more control over my body, and I bet if I ran in a race, I wouldn't do abysmally.

 **By observing the physical changes to your body carefully, your Intelligence has increased by 1!**

Fuck you, notification, it's not that hard to feel how my body feels!

I dismissed the fifth Intelligence notification I've gotten in the past five minutes and the closed the two Dexterity notifications as well. All that left me to look at were these two skills.

Observe and Gaster Blaster.

I stared hard at the two windows, taking a moment to familiarize myself with them.

They had a soft, cool blue color to them, rounded corners and a lighter blue border. The words were in white and the font was rather plain. At the bottom were two options, View, and Dismiss.

 **By choosing to familiarize yourself with The Game, your Wisdom has increased by 1!**

I made a piss-poor attempt at a growl and closed the notification, then hit View on Observe.

-I-

 **Gamer's Sight (Active)** **Level: 1,** **EXP: 0.00%** **, Cost: Free**

 **An ability unique to The Gamer to gaze through the veil of knowledge and learn more about the world. It can be used on just about anything! However, one must be looking at the thing they want to observe, or at least sense it in some way. This skill can give information that is not normally available or would be impossible to otherwise know without being told. Higher levels give additional, more accurate and detailed information.**

 **Gives additional information on the observed thing.**

-I-

I hummed in approval. THIS was more like it! Still, even if this skill was useful, possibly letting me observe a textbook and find the useful information, I still needed to know the risks of this strange new pow-

 **By showing reasonable caution, your Wisd-**

I closed the notification on Wisdom again, grumbling as I did so. Was I really so dumb that this thing was throwing mental stat points at me like candy on Halloween? I breathed and took a moment to think, realizing that my mind felt a little clearer now.

I looked at the other skill window after closing Observe. I grinned with glee. I could be like that skeleton assho-!

-I-

 **Gaster Blaster (Active) Level: 1, EXP: 0.00%, Cost: 10000 MP**

 **A spell used by an ancient wizard who had transcended the shackles of death, binding his soul to his dead body even after it withered away into a skeleton. This power was one of his greatest spells, a mighty beam of incinerating power projected from the mouth of a terrifying floating skull. It was regarded as one of the most dangerous and powerful magical abilities of its time.**

 **Base Damage: 5000%  
** **Range: 20 m (65 ft)  
** **Radius of Beam: Up to 1 ft  
** **Number of Gaster Blasters: 1**

-I-

Wow... that was... _impressive_.

Wait... an ancient wizard? Does... does that mean that the game was based on a true story?

 **By broadening your understanding of-**

I slammed my fist into the close button on the seventh Wisdom notification I've gotten thus far, mildly angered at what felt like a mockery to my mental capacity.

I took in a deep breath and blew it out forcefully, calming myself down and closing the skill window for Gaster Blaster.

Suddenly, a new window popped up into my view.

 **Congratulations on making it far enough in life that you have unlocked your mighty semblance, 'The Gamer'**

 **With this power, you will be given the tools to become one of the greatest warriors in history!**

 **Would you like to view the tutorial?**

I stared at this window, my hands shaking lightly. I swallowed a knot that suddenly formed in my throat. My semblance? I didn't really understand, dad's lessons were rarely helpful, but maybe with this power, they would be? It would be hard, I mean, history is a pretty big thing, but if I could use this power, 'The Gamer', which had a very unoriginal name, I couldn't help but thing, then maybe I could make my father proud, make my mother proud, hell, I might even be able to get them back together!

It was worth a shot. If I was supposed to be The Gamer, then...

WHAT IN THE SAM HELL AM I THINKING? I must be going crazy if I'm actually really accepting all of this so easily! I must look crazy with what I've been doing! I had gotten up, went to the bathroom, splashed water on my face, then went back to my room, pulled a coin out of my wallet, and started tossing it around in my hands! If that didn't look crazy, I don't know what the standards for 'crazy' were.

Or maybe I'm being too hard on myself? A sudden rush of calmness eases my mind, letting me think more clearly.

I looked at the window, then turned away, "I need to do my chores, I can't disappoint my dad. Plus I need some time to think this over."

 **By showing good judgment and decision mak-**

That makes eight, right?

Goddammit am I really that dumb normally?

I gather the trash from around my room, putting it in a bag, then taking that bag downstairs and putting it in with the other trash in the can. I mentally brought up the list of things I had to do, and groaned, but got to work.

* * *

I groaned uselessly as I was informed that I received the skills, "Trash Disposal", "Polishing", "Laundry", "Sweeping", and "Dishwashing", thoroughly convincing me that everything could be a skill.

To test the theory, I went into the small training room my father had set up and reared back my fist, punching the punching bag as hard as I could.

 **By beginning to develop an affinity for the usage of unarmed attacks, you have gained the skill "Unarmed Skill"!**

 **By expressing great effort in your attacks, you have gained the skill "Power Attack"!**

I smirked. I was starting to figure this out!

 **By thinking through the-**

I used Power Attack to smash the close button, then panted heavily from the effort. Why was I so tired? I found myself falling to the floor, struggling to catch my breath.

"Where's... (pant)... my... (pant pant) profile?" I managed through heaving breaths, "Shouldn't... (pant pant) I have... (pant) a character profile? If... (pant pant) I'm a game character?" I looked for another window, "Nothing? (pant pant) What is this, then, a status effect?"

Upon saying the word 'status', a new window popped up.

-W-

 **Name: Jaune Arc**  
 **Title: The Gamer**  
 **Level: 1**

 **HP: 100/100**  
 **MP: 0/0**  
 **SP: 0/100**

 **Strength: 10**  
 **Dexterity: 12**  
 **Vitality: 10**  
 **Intelligence: 16**  
 **Wisdom: 19**  
 **Luck: 10**

 **Stat Points: 0**

-W-

I stared at it. After a little while of staring, my SP suddenly went up by one, and I felt the exhaustion fade quickly, being replaced by a calm comfort. I sat up, getting to my feet and walking back up to my room and sitting down on the edge of my bed.

I rubbed my hands over my face, trying to figure out what the fuck was happening to me. I was seeing windows, and titles, and levels, and names, and stats, and I was just _so confused~!_

If the way I was keeping count was anything to go by, then if I took away the increases to my Dexterity, Intelligence, and Wisdom, that would mean that I started with all of my stats being 10. Keeping that in mind, I figured that it was meant to state that I was unremarkable in every way, completely average at everything. That being said, I was apparently now almost twice as intelligent and wise as the average person. Either that, or I was still behind, and the average was higher. Seeing as how I was in a large high school, it was likely that many people far outclassed me in their areas of expertise.

However, this didn't mean that I was going to be overwhelmed, no sirree, as these people probably didn't have their lowest stat score as a ten, where as I did.

I checked the descriptions for my two new skills in the meantime, humming in curiosity.

-W-

 **Power Strike (Active) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00%, Cost: 30 AP or 50 SP**

 **An ability to focus one's aura or willpower to add more strength into an attack, dealing more damage**

 **Applied to a physical attack, attack deals 130% damage**

-W-

 **Unarmed Skill (Passive) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00%**

 **A skill denoting... well... a skill for using Unarmed Attacks.**

 **Damage Increase: 2%**  
 **Stamina Discount: 1%  
** **Backlash Resistance: 1%**

-W- **  
**

I stared at the lackluster description of my second skill. I severely hoped it was just the first in a series of increased skills that went up in power, as those boosts were paltry, or alternatively, it gained significant increases as it leveled up. Still, it was a passive, so I didn't have to worry about it burdening me too much. The description for Power Strike explained why it took all of my SP, which I assumed was Stamina Points, and that meant that I was rather poorly for both stats, as well as lacking MP, which was... concerning.

I looked at the Tutorial window and pressed the button to start it. Immediately I heard a slow, simple, easy-going tune. I assumed it was some sort of special tutorial music.

"My god I'm going more insane in front of my very own eyes, and I for some reason can't bring myself to care." I muttered as I took in a breath to steel myself, then began to read the tutorial window.

 **Welcome to the Tutorial!**

 **For choosing to view the tutorial, you have shown acknowledgement of your _lack_ of knowledge and choose to amend it. For this, your Wisdom has increased by 1!**

 **Now then, let's tutor you, shall we?**

I grumbled a little under my breath, but muttered, "Alright... am I just going to talk to this thing?"

 **You've figured out the usage of voice commands! By experimenting with your previous knowledge, your Intelligence has increased by 1!**

 **Now then, let's view the menu, shall we?**

I contemplated exiting, but decided against it. If I was going to be stuck with this, I ought to figure out as much about how it works as I can.

 **MENU**

 **Profile**

 **Inventory**

 **Settings**

 **Party**

 **Controls**

 **Skills**

 **[Exit]**

 **From here, you can access each of these options by pressing the button, or saying/thinking the word. Don't worry, it's triggered by intent, so you won't be accidentally opening windows without meaning to.**

 **You may view your skills freely after the tutorial has ended.**

 **Let's look at profile, shall we?**

"Sure." I muttered, "I already accessed it, but sure."

 **Oh you've already accessed it, have you? Well, congratulations! By having already experienced parts of the game, you have gained 1 Stat Point for being an experienced gamer!**

I felt like my power was being a condescending asshole, but if it's my power, then what does that make me?

 **Contemplating your position in the grand scheme of-**

 **Whoa whoa whoa hey now! Stop focusing on increasing your stats and start focusing on the tutorial, okay? Here, have Stat Point, to take the edge off the wait to start grinding!**

I stayed silent, "Is this thing reading my mind?"

 **Technically "The Game" is now a part of your mind, so you're technically reading your own mind. Spooky, isn't it? Now then, let's get back on track.**

 **Name: Jaune Arc**  
 **Title: The Gamer**  
 **Level: 1**

 **HP: 100/100**  
 **MP: 0/0**  
 **SP: 3/100**

 **Strength: 10**  
 **Dexterity: 12**  
 **Vitality: 10**  
 **Intelligence: 17**  
 **Wisdom: 21**  
 **Luck: 10**

 **Stat Points: 2**

 **WOW, look at all those points you've gone up in! SOMEONE was a busy bee before they decided to check the tutorial, weren't they?**

I rolled my eyes and just hit Next.

 **Okay, okay, I see how it is, straight-laced, all-business attitude. You can apply your points and check your status effects here, okay?**

 **Now then, let's see your inventory. Here, here's your conditional complementary item for being a wise and straight-laced person.**

 **You have gained the item "Copper Amulet"**

I stared at it the item in my inventory as it popped up, then noticed the group of small boxes I could put things in. It looked to be a grid of about four rows of six columns, equaling twenty-four slots.

I held my hand over the amulet like a cursor over an item, and to my gratitude, a small window appeared.

 ** _Copper Amulet_**

 ** _Description: A simple necklace with the Double Crescents symbol of the Arc family engraved on a copper disk, hung on a necklace of wooden beads. It gleams with a small amount of magical power._**

 ** _Effects: +5% magic damage, +10% ease of casting._**

 ** _Tier: Conditional complementary starter item (INT and WIS)_**

I scoffed, but grabbed the amulet and lifted it to the equipment window. It was something, at least.

I stared at the complex equipment window, which seemed to favor realism over ease of use. I saw bars of blank space on my arms, my hoodie layered over my shirt, my jeans layered over my boxers, my shoes layered over my socks, ten ring slots (which I laughed at with a smile), and even earring slots (I might eventually find some use... maybe)

I put the copper amulet on my neck and felt a sudden slight weight appear around there. Looking down I saw that it had instantly appeared on my body. Experimentally, I removed my hoodie from the slot and suddenly found it in my hand rather than on my body, "This... could be useful." I hummed slightly, laying back on my bed as I continued the tutorial from a horizontal position.

 **By familiarizing yourself with the system of The Game, your Intelligence has increased by 1!**

I saw the number on my profile, which hadn't been closed, shine as the seven turned into an eight, "Alright, continue, my dad will be home soon."

 **Alright, I see, more business, less fun. Geez, maybe we should change the core system from an Adventure RPG to a Business Simulator?**

I went wide-eyed, instantly feeling a bit of panic, "No no no, I'm just in a hurry." I said quickly. I could handle an adventure RPG, I couldn't STAND business simulators.

 **Good call, that'd make for a boring life. Now then, here are your Settings. Sadly, there's no Difficulty setting. I know, buddy, it sucks, but we can't change the world like that.**

I saw a standard option screen. Sound, video, subtitles, and other stuff that I usually never messed with, as the first three were all I cared about.

I played with the options, turned on subtitles to find the line **(Muffled car noises outside)** on the bottom of my field of vision. Turned on Minimized Notifications, then turned it off, seeing as I wanted to be able to see what I might be randomly acquiring, in case anything might help me.

 **By planning for the future, your Wis-**

 **Right, let's continue. PARTY!**

 **I bet you wouldn't like to have a party, would you? Mr. Straight-laced Serious Guy**

I groaned at my power mocking me, "Yes I would, actually. Some help would be nice."

 **Oh, well what a nice sentiment. Well, there are a variety of options for you to choose from when making a party.**

 **If you had some friends to add, you could potentially add them, opening their eyes to The Game, allowing them to level up like you do, and monitor their progress and status more easily.**

I saw, as promised, a variety of options. I could set the party to disband automatically after I slept, or stay together until disbanded manually. I could set authority in my party if I had members. I could set different levels of accuracy in tracking my party members (which I found quite useful), and lastly, I had a log of all previous parties I'd made, with the option to remake them.

 **For viewing the tutorial thus far and not exiting like a know-it-all, your Wisdom has increased by 1!**

 **For learning so much about The Game, your Intelligence has increased by 1!**

I smiled a little bit this time. The free points were nice, I had to admit. I didn't have to spend my stat points to get them, and it made me smarter anyways, and being smarter was always good.

 **By realizing the importance of mental stats, you have proven good judgment and mindset, increasing your Wisdom by 1!**

I looked at my profile again, humming and taking the time to 'mouse over' the stats.

-/\/\/\/\\-

 **Name: Jaune Arc**  
 **Title: The Gamer**  
 **Level: 1**

 **HP: 100/100**  
 **MP: 0/0**  
 **SP: 6/100**

 **Strength: 10**  
 **Dexterity: 12**  
 **Vitality: 10**  
 **Intelligence: 19**  
 **Wisdom: 24**  
 **Luck: 10**

 **Stat Points: 2**

-/\/\/\/\\-

"Just half an hour of using this thing, and I've doubled one stat and almost doubled another. I'm... pretty sure it'll get a LOT harder later on..." I sighed, _oh woe is me, I've accomplished more progress in half an hour than the last half a decade, but it'll get harder. It might even take a FULL hour to increase my stats the grind-y way, rather than the points way._

I laughed at myself and how stupid I was, Intelligence stat be damned. I still had hardly learned anything, but at least my mind was much sharper than it was before, and significantly clearer too.

Anyways, I learned that my title can affect certain aspects of my power levels. My MP was actually 'Aura', but it called it MP. SP confirmed for Stamina Points.

The stats were fairly clear and straightforward in their definition.

Strength affected strength and physical damage, as well as carrying capacity and physical muscle definition. I could increase it by working out and lifting weights and stuff.

Dexterity affected speed and some types of physical damage, as well as reaction time, agility, and other factors. I could increase it by pushing myself to be quicker and, well, more dexterous.

Vitality made me tougher, and granted more HP and SP, as well as increasing both their regen rates. I could increase it by surviving great damage and stress.

Intelligence increased magic damage and my MP total, as well as making me functionally smarter and more able to retain information. Already I felt my mind had grown by leaps and bounds. I could increase it by increasing my knowledge, whether studying, learning, or theorizing.

Wisdom affected MP regeneration, 1% per minute for every 10 points. I frowned at that. _GREAT_ , I could recover 2% of my total of ZERO every minute, "Fan-fucking-tastic." I grumbled, greatly displeased. I could increase it by showing good judgment and decision-making skills, or increasing my 'understanding of things', whatever THAT meant. I had Wisdom as my highest stat, yet I only halfway 'understood' how to increase it.

Luck largely increased the chance of positive outcomes, and slightly increased the likelihood of negative outcomes. I weighed the pros and cons, and figured that, well, in my field of work, being a Hunter, I'd be making my own luck... but a safety net would be VERY much appreciated.

"Well, continue the tutorial... er... tutorial." I looked at the window as though it would answer me. I knew it was crazy to think, but I also knew that it would.

 **Oh dear, looking back, it seems that your Aura has not sprung forth yet. That is most concerning.**

 **QUEST RECEIVED!**

 **Quest: The Manifestation of the Soul**

 **Description: Despite unlocking your semblance, your Aura Bar has not unlocked. Find a way to break the chains that are keeping the light of your soul down!**

 **Reward for Success: +100 max MP, skill "Aura" unlocked.**

 **Penalty for Failure: None**

 **Accept? Y/N**

I would have used Power Strike to hit the Y, but I was far too tired to do so.

I sighed and rubbed my hands over my face, thinking about how strange this whole situation was, and how quickly I had come to bear with it, despite REALLY feeling overwhelmed by everything happening. My semblance? Okay, so I was a video game character, in an adventure RPG game. I had a level, a title, HP, AP, SP, stats, skills, quests, and a tutorial.

Speaking of...

 **Controls! Every game has them. You can say any of the names of the windows and menus you want in order to bring them up directly. For example, saying 'profile' directly opens the Profile. This works for just about all menus and lists.**

 **Since The Game is based on real physics, your movements are your own body movements, and attacks can be used simply by willing them to be used. Special actions can create new skills, so always try experimenting with what you have!**

I let out a contemplative hum, noting that for the future.

I waited for the window to close and move on with the tutorial, and sure enough it did.

 **Now then, let's look at your skills and finish up here, hm?**

I nodded.

 **-Skills-**

 **Attacks:**

 **-(Magic Attacks)-**

 **((Beams))**

 **Gaster Blaster (Active) Level: 1, EXP: 0.00%, Cost: 10000 MP**

 **A spell used by an ancient wizard who had transcended the shackles of death, binding his soul to his dead body even after it withered away into a skeleton. This power was one of his greatest spells, a mighty beam of incinerating power projected from the mouth of a terrifying floating skull. It was regarded as one of the most dangerous and powerful magical abilities of its time.**

 **Base Damage: 5000%  
** **Range: 20 m (65 ft)  
** **Radius of Beam: Up to 1 ft  
** **Number of Gaster Blasters: 1**

 **-/\/\\-**

 **-(Physical Attacks)-**

 **((Melee Attacks))**

 **Power Strike (Active) Level: 1, Exp: 20.00%, Cost: 30 AP or 50 SP**

 **An ability to focus one's aura or willpower to add more strength into an attack, dealing more damage**

 **Applied to a physical attack, attack deals 130% damage**

 **-/\/\\-**

 **-(Weapon Skills)-**

 **Unarmed Skill (Passive) Level: 1, Exp: 5.00%**

 **A skill denoting... well... a skill for using Unarmed Attacks.**

 **Damage Increase: 2%**  
 **Stamina Discount: 1%  
** **Backlash Resistance: 1%**

 **-/\/\/\\-**

 **Housework:**

 **-(Cleaning)-**

 **Dishwashing (Active) Level: 1, EXP: 20.00%**

 **Dishes need to be cleaned, this skill helps you clean them!**

 **+10% dish cleaning speed  
+10% silverware cleaning speed  
+10% cup and glass cleaning speed  
Requires soap and water.**

 **-/\\-**

 **Trash Disposal (Active) Level: 1, EXP: 80.00%**

 **The world is full of trash, this skill helps you clean it up!**

 **+10% trash gathering speed  
+10% trash bagging speed  
+10% trash disposing speed  
Requires trash-safe bags and receptacles.**

 **-/\\-**

 **Sweeping (Active) Level: 2, EXP: 15.00%**

 **The floors of the world are dirty too, this skill helps you clean them!**

 **+15% sweeping speed  
+15% sweeping efficiency  
+15% sweeping area  
Requires a broom and dustpan**

 **-/\/\\-**

 **-(Freshening)-**

 **Laundry (Passive) Level: 2, EXP: 20.00%**

 **Clothes can get messy, and with this skill, you can clean them with greater ease!**

 **+6% laundry cleaning speed  
-4% soap needed to clean  
+8% thoroughness of cleaning  
Requires a washing machine, water, and soap.**

 **-/\\-**

 **Polishing (Active) Level: 1, EXP: 60.00%**

 **Stone, metal, marble, tile, all these things need to be cleaned in ways that can't be accomplished by water and soap. For this purpose, there's polish.**

 **+10% polishing speed  
+10% polishing efficiency  
Polish lasts 20% longer  
Requires a cloth and polish**

 **-/\/\/\\-**

 **The Gamer:**

 **Gamer's Sight (Active)** **Level: 1,** **EXP: 0.00%** **, Cost: Free**

 **An ability unique to The Gamer to gaze through the veil of knowledge and learn more about the world. It can be used on just about anything! However, one must be looking at the thing they want to observe, or at least sense it in some way. This skill can give information that is not normally available or would be impossible to otherwise know without being told. Higher levels give additional, more accurate and detailed information.**

 **Gives additional information on the observed thing.**

 **-/\\-**

 **Gamer's Mind (Passive) Level: MAX**

 **One born with this power is The Gamer. As The Gamer, they have this most efficient and deadly of minds. Though a fledgling it is now, it shall grow brighter than the eternal light of the sun.**

 **Negates all mental debuffs.  
** **Keeps emotions from taking over.**

 **-/\\-**

 **Gamer's Body (Passive) Level: MAX**

 **One born with this power is The Gamer, as The Gamer, they have this most efficient and deadly of bodies. Though a fledgling it is now, it shall grow stronger than the foundations of the earth.**

 **All physical damage converted into HP and MP damage.  
** **No dismemberment or disemboweling possible.  
** **No lasting visible signs of damage.  
** **Not even normally fatal wounds will kill you so long as you have a functional amount of HP to spare.  
Sleep in a bed to recover all HP, MP, and SP.**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **This is your skills list. From here, you can look through your skills and observe your growth and changes. As your skills level up, they will grow stronger and more efficient, sometimes defying the laws of physics.**

I stared at the last two skills on the list, sitting alongside Gamer's Sight in the folder of skills simply called _The Gamer_. I had no idea what to really say about it.

"I'm a lucky bastard, I guess?" I said to nobody, "I mean... that's pretty much preventing me from getting injured in pretty much every single way except for being caught on fire, electrocuted, poisoned, and maybe scarred." I ran through the list in my head, pretty much thinking out loud at this point because I frankly didn't care, since I was home alone.

 **By calculating and figuring the mechanics of things, your Intelligence has increased by 1!**

 **By increasing your understanding of yourself, your Wisdom has increased by 1!**

I hummed a bit, "Well, that makes... 20 INT and 25 WIS. Yay, multiples of five." I raised a hand and drew a few little circles in the air in minor celebration, feeling apathy swelling in my mind.

 **By raising Intelligence and Wisdom to new heights while under the watch of the Tutorial, your Conditional Complementary Starter Item has been upgraded!**

 **You gained the item "Silver Amulet"!**

 ** _Silver Amulet_**

 ** _Description: A fine necklace with the Double Crescents symbol of the Arc family engraved on a silver pendant, hung on a necklace of dark wooden beads. It gleams with magical power._**

 ** _Effects: +10% magic damage, +20% ease of casting._**

 ** _Tier: Conditional complementary starter item v2 (INT and WIS)_**

I felt the weight on my neck shift, and indeed the amulet was now a silver pendant, thicker and more shiny than the copper one, it bore the Double Crescents like its predecessor, and just plain looked cooler.

"Hehe, maybe if I raise them some more, then I'll get a gold amulet."

 **By showing recognition and prediction of patterns, your Wisdom has increased by 1!**

"You're just giving those out like free candy, aren't you?" I asked the window, not expecting a response while I checked my mental stats.

 **Intelligence: 20**

 **Wisdom: 26**

I hummed, sitting up, "Well... maybe I should... okay never mind, telling dad isn't exactly going to help very much. He'll probably just laugh at me... I need to prove myself to him." I rubbed my chin while thinking of how to do this.

I should start by unlocking my aura, then raising my physical stats to... at least thirty. I should work on leveling up, and conveniently there's a planet full of monsters just outside the kingdom walls. I should do what I can in a controlled environment before I go outside the kingdom and work in a place where I could die.

So... stay safe and train.

Wow, that's exactly what I've been doing for the past six fucking years!

But... it led to me unlocking my semblance, at least. It was worth it now that I could track my progress with some degree of accuracy.

Alright then, I need to start training!

First off, I should get more used to fighting, then tomorrow after school, I'll head to the gym.

I checked the calendar, only to realize it was Friday, "Sweet! So I can just do that tomorrow. Now then, to the training room!"

The clearing of a throat made me freeze in place. I looked over at my dad, who was standing in the doorway, "Uh... h-hey dad." I gave a small wave.

"You weren't planning on robbing a bank or something illegal, were you?" he asked with a bemused expression.

"What? No! I'm not some criminal, I was just trying to plan out my training is all." the truth usually helped.

The bemused expression shattered when he started laughing, "I know that, son, the training room has 'training' in the name, after all. Come on downstairs, help me put up the groceries." he left the doorway to make way for me to join him in the kitchen.

I sighed and stood up, "Coming, dad." I was unhappy with my private time being cut short... wait that sounded wrong, especially with what I just said out loud... Gamer's Mind thankfully helped me not think about it.

In only a few minutes, we were done with the groceries and I was surprised to see a new window pop up.

 **QUEST COMPLETE**

 **You completed the quest "A Busy Boy"**

 **You have gained 100 EXP.**

 **Gained a slight increase in Respect from John Arc.**

I was surprised when suddenly a 1000 lien note was waved in front of my face. I took it and looked at my dad.

"That should cover anything you gotta pay for in the next week, my boy." he said with a smile, and I smiled back.

"Thanks dad." I put it in my pocket, secretly sliding it into my inventory.

 **You gained 1000 Lien.**

Well there's THAT missing quest reward found. I started walking back upstairs when I saw something else get added to the window, noticing it because the window grew larger.

 **Bonus Objective "Take Away and Add Back" was succeeded!**

 **-Description: Put away groceries with your dad**

 **-Reward: +1 STR, +1 DEX, +25 EXP**

 **Bonus Objective "... and the kitchen sink too!" failed!**

 **-Description: Did not cook dinner in addition to normal tasks.**

I hummed, "Well, I'm going to the training room, then." I began to walk out of the kitchen, watching my dad's movements.

He waved me off while starting to make dinner. I hummed again, then dropped the notion I had, walking off.

It probably wasn't worth it to just ask. Figuring out on my own would give me boosts!

* * *

 _(Hours Later)_

"Let's see... his information is hidden... because it's above my paygrade." I threw another punch, sweating like a pig, but I had something to show for all this, or at least I'd check to make sure I did when morning came.

I didn't feel mentally tired, like I wanted to sleep, but I felt physically tired, like I wanted to drop to the floor and rest. I didn't let myself do that.

 **Gamer's Mind has allowed you to stay determined to train.**

 **Gamer's Body has diminished your aches and pains.**

"My paygrade is level one, and his is so far above mine that I can't see it... he's too high level to be seen." I kicked the heavy bag, keeping light on my feet. I swear I'd broken my fingers at least a dozen times now, but the bones had instantly mended.

"I'd say maybe... well given he's a powerful Huntsman, I'd say he's probably at least fifty levels higher than me, given that I'm level..." I stopped, staring at my status window, as well as the windows I'd missed.

 **Your level has increased by one!**

 **SYSTEM UPDATE! Added Feature: Classes, Nicknames, Party.**

 **By raising all of your stats to new heights, you have proven yourself ready to begin training to be a legendary hero! You have unlocked the class "Novice Hero"!**

 **By having high INT, you have unlocked the class "Mage v1"!**

 **By having high WIS, you have unlocked the class "Monk v1"!**

 **By having high INT and WIS, you have unlocked the class "Wizard v1"!**

 **Unarmed Skill's level increased by 15!**

 **Power Strike's level increased by 1!**

 **A special action has created the skill "Double Strike"!**

 **Double Strike's level increased by 4!**

 **A special action has created the skill log "Boxing"!**

 **Practicing with Boxing has created the skills "Left Hook", "Right Hook", "Left Jab", "Right Jab", "Left Uppercut", "Right Uppercut", "Left Low Guard", "Right Low Guard", "Left High Guard", and "Right High Guard"!**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Name: Jaune Arc**  
 **Title: The Gamer**  
 **Level: 2  
Class: Novice Hero  
Nickname: (none)**

 **HP: 25/180**  
 **MP: 0/0**  
 **SP: 10/180**

 **Strength: 20**  
 **Dexterity: 23**  
 **Vitality: 18**  
 **Intelligence: 23**  
 **Wisdom: 29**  
 **Luck: 15**

 **Stat Points: 7**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

I stared and hummed, "Well shit. I don't know what increased what!"

Taking a break, I hummed and contemplated my choices.

I checked my skills again, focusing more on the new ones.

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Attacks:**

 **-(Fighting Styles)-**

 **Boxing (Log)  
** **A fighting style used by heavy hitters and catering to the tall and broad. It focuses purely on punches and guarding. Normally used non-lethally, it can easily injure and kill when used the correct way.** **This skill logs the mastery levels and effects of all Boxing techniques.** **The power of the techniques increases with STR, DEX, and VIT.**

 **Left Hook Damage: 105% (Level 3, Cost: 5 SP)  
** **Left Jab Damage: 105% (Level 4, Cost: 3 SP)  
Left Uppercut Damage: 105% (Level 2, Cost: 7 SP)**  
 **Left Low Guard Defense: +6% (Level 5, Cost: 4 SP)**  
 **Left High Guard Defense: +6% (Level 5, Cost: 4 SP)**

 **Right Hook Damage: 109% (Level 8, Cost: 5 SP)**  
 **Right Jab Damage: 110% (Level 9, Cost: 3 SP)  
Right Uppercut Damage: 108% (Level 7, Cost: 7 SP)**  
 **Right Low Guard Defense: +2% (Level 1, Cost: 4 SP)  
** **Right High Guard Defense: +2% (Level 1, Cost: 4 SP)**

 **-/\/\/\\-**

 **-(Physical Attacks)-**

 **((Melee Attacks))**

 **Power Strike (Active) Level: 2, Exp: 10.00%, Cost: 30 AP or 50 SP  
** **An ability to focus one's aura or willpower to add more strength into an attack, dealing more damage**

 **Applied to a physical attack, attack deals 133% damage**

 **-/\\-**

 **Double Strike (Active) Level: 5, Exp: 10.00%, Cost: 10 SP  
** **An ability to push oneself to strike something not just once, but twice.**

 **Hits target twice at 90% damage**

 **-/\/\\-**

 **-(Weapon Skills)-**

 **Unarmed Skill (Passive) Level: 16, Exp: 5.00%  
** **A skill denoting... well... a skill for using Unarmed Attacks.**

 **Damage Increase: 17%  
** **Stamina Discount: 9%  
** **Backlash Resistance: 9%**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

I smiled, happy to have shown progress. I stretched and felt like my hoodie was much tighter around my chest than normal. I unequipped it and was happy to see that Gamer's Body had been kind enough to grow some extra muscle mass and definition due to my increased Strength.

Feeling proud of myself, I decided to take a break and checked the time, only to see that it was about nine in the evening. No matter, now that I'm a game character, I should have 24/7 access to shops, right?

Except... that made no sense, now that I thought about it. In an actual video game, that was the case, because who wants to waste a night of sleep just to buy armor and potions? But I was still in real life, and in real life there were limits to store hours and when I could access them. So I had to leave quickly and find a place to buy what I needed before they closed.

Writing up a short list, I briefly mused how extreme of a switch I'd made from my previous life to now. Maybe it was just the new clarity of my mind, but I felt like, if I could do this...

If I could keep this up...

Train and work hard...

Then maybe...

Just maybe...

I could be a Huntsman.

I could be a hero.

I could even be... a legend.

* * *

 **WOW, this prologue just didn't want to end! But... I'm happy where it is and how it's going, and I'm glad that I managed to finish it.**

 **Shameless self-plug, check out my other two stories: "Lunar Legends", in which Jaune unlocks secrets of the past and grows into a powerful fighter well before his destined time, thanks to a little help from the heroes who came before him, and "RWBY Jaune Arc: Role Player and Risk Taker", in which Jaune's semblance grants him the abilities of various RPG classes, namely Paladin, Barbarian, Rogue, and Wizard, but it doesn't have the UI or flexibility of The Gamer.**

 **Stay tuned for chapter 2: Storage, Forage, and Wh-nevermind.**


	2. Big Dungeons and Little Dragons

**We're back, and I'm infinitely thankful for the encouragement and nice words I've received, it really means a lot to me.**

 **In response to one lovely guest review:** Yes, I have read such stories too and it's just weird to me that the stats aren't affecting the "bars" or anything. Jaune will soon enough realize the value of his points, in this chapter, probably. No perks, but some skills will act like perks, skill books are a yes, minimap is a no (for now), and the pairing is in the description (Jaune x Yang, Gold Shield all the way, woot woot!), but given how ignorant of love Jaune is, it'll have to be his powers shoving the information in his face before he realizes that he's making multiple girls fall in love with him without realizing, and all thanks to a special "System Update" that will happen very, VERY soon.

 **And in response to another:** *looks left, looks right* Maaaaaybeeeee~ *kicks a box labeled Plans behind the door*

 **Also! For those of you who don't know the difference, I changed the skill "Observe" to "Gamer's Sight" for this story. I was talking to a friend and they suggested it and it fit so well, since it's a skill only The Gamer has, so why not?**

 **Anyways, that's enough responses and explanations.**

 **Let's get to the chapter, shall we?**

 **Remember, I don't own RWBY, The Gamer, or even Undertale. There are no Foxes here, Toby or otherwise.**

 **Chapter 2: Big Dungeons and Little Dragons.**

* * *

Exiting out into the cool night air, I grabbed a few things from my inventory.

 ** _Fruity Nutrition Bar  
_** ** _Description: A bar of oats and grains stuck together by a sticky, sugary solution, and embedded with fruits and nuts.  
_** ** _Effects: Restores 5 HP and 25 SP  
_** ** _Type: Restoration Consumable_**

 ** _Monster Energy Drink  
Description: A Monster brand energy drink, flavored like lemon.  
Effects: Restores 15 SP, boosts SPR by 50% for 10 minutes. +3 VIT for 15 minutes  
Type: Restoration Consumable_**

I tore open the nutrition bar and ate it as I walked, feeling relief from the tiredness I had just felt, as well as a bit of HP restored. It was an odd feeling, like the relief you get from taking a shit, but moreso with a pulled muscle. It felt liberating, almost.

"Enough about shit, let's just get this over with." I popped the tab of the energy and chugged the whole thing, Gamer's Body handling the rest.

 **You fully consumed the Fruity Nutrition Bar. Restored 5 HP and 25 SP!**

 **You fully consumed the Energy Drink. Restored 15 SP! Gained status effect "Energy Drunk"!**

I checked the status effect and found it was exactly as the description of the energy drink said, a 50% boost to my SPR, my Stamina Point Recovery, for 10 minutes. Smiling, I checked my profile.

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Name: Jaune Arc**  
 **Title: Novice Hero**  
 **Level: 2  
Class: (none)  
Nickname: (none)**

 **HP: 35/180**  
 **MP: 0/0**  
 **SP: 70/180**

 **Strength: 20**  
 **Dexterity: 23**  
 **Vitality: 18**  
 **Intelligence: 23**  
 **Wisdom: 29**  
 **Luck: 15**

 **Stat Points: 7**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

Humming, I found myself irritated by the uneven numbers, as well as confused on why Novice Hero had changed to a title. I checked through a few windows and found that they game had corrected a mistake during an 'self analysis report', which I suspected was code for me thinking about my power and how it worked.

I looked back and with my seven stat points, I quickly corrected them, then blinked when I looked at the bars again.

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Name: Jaune Arc**  
 **Title: Novice Hero**  
 **Level: 2  
Class: (none)  
Nickname: (none)**

 **HP: 55/200**  
 **MP: 0/0**  
 **SP: 90/200**

 **Strength: 20**  
 **Dexterity: 25**  
 **Vitality: 20**  
 **Intelligence: 25**  
 **Wisdom: 30**  
 **Luck: 15**

 **Stat Points: 0**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

I felt tougher and healthier, and I silently thanked the forgiveness of the system for letting me recover more SP and HP just by raising a stat.

I hummed a tune, continuing to walk.

 **A special action has created the skill "Humming"!**

I checked the description. Yep, I was able to hum with more skill, pitch range, and control, it also opened a new folder, Creation, and the subsection Music.

I cleared my throat and thought of a song, then one came to me, from my random browsing of anime late at night, and it described my situation extremely well...

 _I never wanted to be ... just-another cog in that corrupted world's machine._  
 _All my life felt like a dream ... I was never who I really wanted me to be!_

 _But then God shattered that dream's cage,_  
 _and rose me up to a new stage._

 _Cut it away like a sharp knife,_  
 _And gave me this new life,_

 _And suddenly there's a new twist,_  
 _A reason to really exist,_

 _I want to rise up from flames and hear this new world cheer my name,_

 _I see my destiny clear - and I don't care about what they may say,_

 _I'll pave the way,_  
 _This is my chance to break through,_  
 _so I'll rewrite my story and finally change all the rules!_

 _I'm forgetting fast, about my past,_  
 _about the world back then ..._

 _Now's the time ... to put up a fight,_  
 _and reach the end - I'll play my hardest - to win this!_

 _I'll give it my best, this is a test,_  
 _and I won't ever lose!_

 _I won't waste this chance that's been given to me,_  
 _Gonna take my aim ..._

 _And until I win I'll keep playing - this brand new game!_

I felt a startling connection as I sang the song quietly, a nervous energy building within me, and before I knew it, I was standing outside of the store I'd set my eyes on, panting for breath, and looking at the new windows that had appeared.

 **A special action has created the skill "Singing"!**

 **A special action has created the skill "Run"!**

 **Run's level increased by 1!**

 **By pushing yourself to move faster, your DEX has increased by 1!**

At some point I'd begun running, and checking the skill, I both paled and lit up at the implications, like some kind of albino christmas tree.

 **-/\\-**

 **Run (Active) Free, Level: 2, Exp: 50.00%, Cost: Free  
** **A simple act performed by moving one's legs at a quicker pace. Using stamina, you are able to speed yourself up. Stacks with other speed boosting skills.**

 **104% increase to movement speed.  
** **Costs 10 SP per second**

 **-/\\-**

In a new folder called Movement.

I groaned, okay, so this was like Cry of Service, I could only Run for about 20 seconds before I was exhausted. GREAT.

I better get a LOT more SP then, and better SPR... which then makes me think, and I quickly checked something.

Hovering over the green SP bar, I found that I currently had a 2% SPR, from my base 2% from Vitality.

Hold on... so if I increased my VIT to 20 and it got 2%, then at ten through nineteen, it was 1%, so...

People who have less than 10 VIT don't even recover HP or SP without items?!

No, no no no hold on, Jaune, don't have a panic attack, you're projecting again.

Just like how my being a game character isn't going to change store hours, it's not going to change basic biology. People get hurt and then heal all the time, even sickly little kids!

I'm the exception, not the rule.

I just have to remember that. Normal people probably have some kind of permanent biological status effect that makes them heal naturally.

*ring ring~*

I snapped out of my reverie and looked to see that I was still standing outside of the store. I lowered my hood and walked inside, grabbing a basket and looking around.

My list was short, I grabbed energy drinks, nutritious and easy to keep foods like nutrition bars and beef jerky, and of course I used Gamer's Sight on everything in the store.

Chips and cookies had a chance of inducing the status effect "Junked Up" and "Sugar Burn", which were basically the same thing with different names and causes, they temporarily lowered VIT and gave some SP, but at the cost of making you feel bad. My nutrition bars had a status "Unfulfilling", which reduced the amount of Hunger they restored...

I checked my side and saw that I indeed had a yellow Hunger bar.

Groaning, I looked around myself for the wind-THERE.

 **SYSTEM UPDATE: Consuming food and drink has added "Hunger" to the game.**

So... if I had never eaten or drank anything again, I'd never know that I didn't need to, because Hunger wasn't part of the system yet?

This power is weird.

I got some protein powder, the best one I could find, which gave a total of +5 STR, +7 VIT, and +3 DEX while its status "Protein Packed" was active.

Paying for everything I walked outside and stuffed it into my inventory so I didn't have to carry it in my hands. I drank one of my new energy drinks and reaped the benefits, before freezing in place when I heard someone coughing.

I saw a man walk past me, coughing a little. I used Gamer's Sight on him, wondering what the many levels I'd gained from examining everything in the store was.

 **Barry Klein  
** **Title: A Shouter of Forceful Business  
** **Level: 8  
Class: Radio Speaker  
Nickname: The Brick Smasher**

 **HP: 150/150  
AP: 0/0  
SP: 230/500  
**

 **Strength: 21**  
 **Dexterity: 13**  
 **Vitality: 16**  
 **Intelligence: 43**  
 **Wisdom: 40**  
 **Luck: 34**

 **Age: 35  
** **Birthday: August 23rd  
R** **ace: Human  
** **Height: 6'3  
** **Weight: 180  
** **Build: Medium Muscular**

I hummed curiously, recalling him from listening to the radio in car rides sometimes, advertising for cars and 'smashing the price expectations'

So this was the man behind the voice, eh? Interesting. I'm also curious how he's level 8 with those stats, then again he has a far different life than mine.

My Wisdom was telling me that it probably had something to do with function, rather than form.

Sure he had the form to learn magical techniques and probably swing a sword, but that's not _what he does_ , he shouts on the radio and advertises for cars.

If I was the rule to my own power, then I had to consider what makes me at my level.

I'm in perfect condition and always will be, I'm of clear and sound mind all the time, I have these stats, but I think levels for the game are calculated differently than levels for actual people.

Still, breaking down the differences between myself and a normal person, I can conclude several things:

1) Disabilities will severely reduce someone's level, while enhancements will increase it

2) Stats play a role in one's "potential" power.

3) One's mindset plays a very key role. A serial killer is bound to have a higher level than a pacifistic hippie. Since I'm the most level-headed person possible, I'm at a neutral mindset.

4) Combat experience plays a role too, I'm sure Mr. Klein has never fought anyone outside of maybe a highschool bully.

5) Aura must play a role too, as well as HP and SP, since those are technically stats too.

6) Um... actually that's all I got.

I blinked, then smirked when I saw my WIS increase by one and my INT increase by... wait WHAT?

 **By using Gamer's Sight to learn more about the world around you, your INT has increased by 5!**

I didn't even notice the new sharpness to my mind, or the window appearing.

So now... I was smarter just for having learned...?

*smack*

"Ow." I groaned, having facepalmed so hard it hurt, before the pain faded in just a few seconds.

...

I ran home, well... I Ran towards home, and jogged the rest of the way, taking off my hoodie because it felt a little uncomfortable now.

"I'm back from the store." I called out as I walked back into the house, before suddenly flailing at something launching itself at my, before my Gamer's Mind took over and I grabbed at what I knew was there.

Too late. My shirt was now off of my body and in the mouth of...

 **Sebastian Arc  
** **Title: A Feline Shirt Thief  
** **Level: 1  
** **Class: None  
** **Nickname: None**

 **HP: 30/30  
AP: 15/15  
SP: 50/50  
**

 **Strength: 5**  
 **Dexterity: 15**  
 **Vitality: 7**  
 **Intelligence: 2**  
 **Wisdom: 2**  
 **Luck: 35**

 **Age: 5  
** **Birthday: November 29th  
R** **ace: Cat  
** **Height: 1'2  
** **Weight: 30  
** **Build: Sleek Feline**

I growled, "Give it back you little thief." I lunged for him, but his Dex was higher in regards to his body than mine, and he ran off to one of his secret hidey holes, "Dammit." I groaned and went back to the training room, "Sebastian stole my shirt... again."

I swear, that little bastard only ever treats the maid right, I don't even know why we still have him.

At least he only stole shirts, I shudder to think what would happen if he stole pants.

I ran up to my room and quickly stuck half of my shirts and hoodies into my inventory, then closed the drawer and turned to the door with a clean white shirt on.

My dad was standing there, "So... didja get everything you needed?" he asked with a smile, and I nodded in response, "Good, I'm goin' to bed, alright? I gotta mission tomorrow, so it's up to you to hold down the fort while I'm gone."

I mostly ignored him while waving a hand, "Yeah yeah, I got it dad." I said with nary a thought towards him as I arranged my items in my inventory. I looked at him and realized that he hadn't even begun to notice my hands waving around in front of me.

Was... was he not noticing things I was doing in regards to The Game?

He had to be, I was quite clearly waving my arms around.

I closed my inventory, but continued the motions.

"Uh... what are you doing?" he raised an eyebrow at me.

"Just, uh, stretching, trying out a new stretching technique." I lied, putting my arms at my side.

 **By increasing your understandi-**

Yeah yeah yeah, another WIS, big whoop, but that confirms that I was right. If I was right and nobody could perceive my actions when interacting with the game, then what would happen if I brought someone into my party?

I shook it off inside my head, I'd cross that road when I got to it.

"...-ke me up if something happens, okay?" I wasn't listening to what my dad said! Shit!

"Alright dad, goodnight." I said with a smile and waved him off, sitting at my computer.

He walked off and I cracked my knuckles, getting to work.

* * *

I was shaken out of my reverie when I heard a new sound of a window.

 **Well well well, what do we have here? You still haven't finished the Prologue? Tsk tsk tsk, that's lame! You're lame!**

"Don't fucking patronize me, superpowers, you're supposed to HELP, dammit." I nearly growled at the asshole I was sure was on the other side of these windows, "Just help me with your stupid bullshit." I closed the window, only for another to replace it.

 **Here's what you can do to finish the Prologue and get into the game proper. Just doing one of these tasks will finish the prologue and grant you full access to everything The Game has to offer.**

 **A) Unlock 5 system updates (4/5)**

 **B) Raise a stat to 40 (Highest stat: 35 WIS)**

 **C) Complete 3 quests (1/3)**

 **D) Reach level 5 (level 2)**

 **E) Raise a skill to level 20 (Highest skill: Unarmed Skill level 16)**

 **Do one of these things and the restrictions on growth will drop, however your safety nets will be lost as well. Still, it's far more than worth it.**

 **Oh! And before I forget, here, for raising your INT and WIS to new heights AGAIN, here's an upgrade to your complimentary starting item.**

 **You gained the item "Golden Amulet"!**

 ** _Golden Amulet_**

 ** _Description: A beautiful necklace with the Double Crescents symbol of the Arc family engraved on a golden coin, hung on a necklace of black wooden beads. It gleams with significant magical power._**

 ** _Effects: +15% magic damage, +30% ease of casting, +3 INT and WIS when worn._**

 ** _Tier: Conditional complementary starter item v3 (INT and WIS)_**

I felt the weight around my neck shift once again due to the heavier item, and looked at it.

The perimeter of the coin was thicker than the inner area, better than the thin slab that was the copper amulet or the convex disk that was the silver amulet. It felt stronger, not just in magical power, but in structure as well. The Double Crescents were proudly engraved onto it with masterful skill, and the black wooden beads were a little heavier than the two other sets, but it added to how strong the item felt.

I felt my mind grow sharper and clearer as I took my next breath, letting it out as I checked my profile.

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Novice Hero  
** **Level: 2  
** **Class: (none)  
** **Nickname: None**

 **HP: 200/200  
AP: 0/0  
SP: 200/200  
**

 **Strength: 20**  
 **Dexterity: 25**  
 **Vitality: 20**  
 **Intelligence: 31 +3 = 34**  
 **Wisdom: 35 +3 = 38**  
 **Luck: 15**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
R** **ace: Human  
** **Height: 5'10  
** **Weight: 170  
** **Build: Lite-Med Athletic**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

I groaned, vowing to increase my strength by any means necessary, AND increase my height. Sure I just turned seventeen about four months ago, but I should have grown some more!

I mused as I looked around, then went down to the training room again. I was going to hold off on getting the prologue revoked until I could reap the benefits of it. If I was safe, then I didn't have to care, all I'd be wasting is time.

And if it's time I'm talking about... I have my whole dust-damned life.

* * *

I dropped to the floor, groaning as I landed with a small splash into a puddle of my own sweat.

I weakly opened my profile again, curious of all my gains from working throughout the night, focusing on the important parts.

 **HP: 200/260  
SP: 10/260  
**

 **Strength: 23**  
 **Dexterity: 28**  
 **Vitality: 26**  
 **Luck: 17**

 **Height: 5'10.5  
** **Weight: 172**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-** **  
**

Grinning, I checked the skills I'd developed over the course of the night.

 **By creating a physical object successfully, you've learned the skill "Craft"!**

 **You used Protein Powder and Monster Energy Drink to create a new item! Gained item "Monster Protienergy Drink"! (x29)**

 _ **Monster Protienergy Drink  
**_ ** _Description: A mixture of Lemon-flavored Monster brand energy drink and Protein Powder to create a smoothie-like drink.  
Effects: Restores 25 SP. Grants status effect "Fitletics Surge" boosts SPR by 50% for 30 minutes. Gives +5 STR, +5 DEX, and +10 VIT for 40 minutes  
Type: Restoration Consumable_** _ **  
**_

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Creation:**

 **Craft (Active) Level: 4, Exp: 15.25%  
A skill denoting one's ability to create new things out of physical materials, by will, skill, and power. Quality of crafts increases with skill level, requisite stats, and supporting skills.  
**

 **Special Crafting Trades: Alchemy, Armorsmith.**

 **-/\/\/\\-**

 **Attacks:**

 **-(Weapon Skills)-**

 **Unarmed Skill (Passive) Level: 19, Exp: 95.50%  
** **A skill denoting... well... a skill for using Unarmed Attacks.**

 **Damage Increase: +20%  
** **Stamina Discount: -10%  
** **Backlash Resistance: -10%**

 **-/\\-**

 **Sword Skill (Passive) Level: 19, Exp: 99.50%  
A skill denoting... well... a skill for wielding Swords.**

 **Damage Increase: +20%  
Stamina Discount: -10%  
Sword Toughness: +1**

 **-/\\-**

 **Axe Skill (Passive) Level: 19, Exp: 95.50%  
A skill denoting... well... a skill for wielding Axes.**

 **Damage Increase: +20%  
Stamina Discount: -10%  
Armor Penetration: 9%**

 **-/\\-**

 **Dagger Skill (Passive) Level: 19, Exp: 95.50%  
A skill denoting... well... a skill for wielding Dagger-class weapons (these weapons are not necessarily knives, but rather weapons that have a striking area shorter than your forearm)  
**

 **Damage Increase: +20%  
Stamina Discount: -4%  
** **Precision Bonus: +11%  
Penetrative Bonus: +4%**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

I smiled, then frowned, realizing that I'd have to essentially never throw a punch, or swing a sword, or an axe, or a dagger again until I broke through the boundaries of the Prologue. However, I found out that I at least didn't have to level up multiple skills for various types of crafting, they were all categorized under Craft, which was fucking weird, but I was willing to go with it. However it was a bit odd that it counted the... thing I'd made when I taped my gloves down as crafting armor. Then again, I guess it technically WAS armor.

Sighing heavily, getting up and getting a towel. I started to towel up my sweat, and cringed when I noticed that Polishing had leveled up. Shaking off the implications of that, I finished up, then went to the kitchen to make breakfast.

...

I heard the now familiar sound of a skill leveling up and found that Craft had leveled up and gained another Special Crafting Trade, which was Cooking, and after tasting the eggs I'd made, I was sure that they were better than before.

Singing softly as I cooked, I smiled, feeling happy with myself. Right now I was cooking bacon, leveling up Craft and Singing, and when I was done, I was going to go to the gym.

I poured grounds into the coffee maker and set that up to brew, still singing softly.

 _"_ _You can't fill your cup until you empty all it has_

 _You can't understand what lays ahead_

 _If you don't understand the past_

 _You'll never learn to fly now_

 _'Til you're standing at the cliff_

 _And you can't truly love until you've given up on it~!_

 _..._

 _That's why we won't back down_

 _We won't run and hide_

 _Yeah, 'cause these are the things that we can't deny_

 _I'm passing over you like a satellite_

 _So catch me if I fall_

 _That's why we stick to your game plans and party lines_

 _But at night we're conspiring by candlelight_

 _We are the orphans of the American dream_

 _So shine your light on me~!_

I had begun to dance a little, gaining a skill for it and leveling it up as I stepped between various prepared foods, beginning to plate everything up. I heard a rustling of a newspaper and froze in-step, nearly falling over if not for my Dexterity giving me a boost.

"Hehehehehe, what? Come on, I was about to join you on that." my dad said with a grin, "It looked like you were having fun. I don't think I've seen you smile like that in years, son. Were you thinking about some girl?"

I laughed back, smiling, "Nah, just enjoying a little song and dance." I excused while checking to see that I had gained a point in DEX during that... what... maybe an hour of dancing?

Granted I had been doing plenty of moves, but... wait, of course, duh!

As my stats increased, it would be harder to increase them. At some point I'm just going to be too strong to get stronger unless I exercise with, like, literal tons of weight, or so fast that I'd have to race bullets, or so smart that I'd have to do my own applied sciences.

I mean, it was just human nature, after all, and it said it right on my profile that I was a human.

"Where'd you get the necklace, champ?" my father asked, and I mentally cursed to myself. I'd forgotten about the necklace entirely! It just felt so natural to have it.

"Uh, I was just looking through some old boxes upstairs and I found it." I lied quickly, "I felt like it was only proper that I wore it."

He smiled at me as I set the plates out, "Well, that's good, m'boy, I'm glad you're taking pride in your family. Remember what I always tell you?"

I smiled back and nodded, "Family is important." then I frowned, and upon seeing my frown he frowned too, and I saw his entire demeanor shift towards a dark and brooding place. I cleared my throat and spoke up, "H-hey dad? I was thinking about going for another shot at being a Huntsman."

Blue eyes, darker than my own, stared back into mine, as if my father was staring into my very soul. He smiled, as if he were a teacher who'd just been given the correct answer by an unexpected student, "That's good, Jaune, do your best, and I'll support you the entire way." he reassured me with a smile, even though the six feet between us that was the length of the kitchen table felt more like the length of a goddamn Grifball field.

I nodded again, still smiling, "Thanks, dad. I love you."

"I love you too, son." he practically parroted back to me, taking another bite of his breakfast sandwich.

I felt it.

I truly did feel it this time.

* * *

 **Status Effect: Well Fed  
** **Description: You've eaten a substantial amount of fulfilling food.  
** **Effect (depends on food eaten): -50% Stamina Discount to all actions for 15 minutes. -25% Stamina Discount to all actions for 30 minutes. +200% SPR for 1 hour. +50% Temporary Max Stamina for 10 minutes.**

I saw the number for my SP become bright green and go up from 260 to 390, grinning. I began to Run, watching the number tick down by only five every second. About every two and a half seconds I saw the number for my SP tick up by one, and after a good while, I'd ran enough to level Run up enough to... well...

 **-/\\-**

 **Run (Active) Free, Level: 11, Exp: 4.54%, Cost: Free  
** **A simple act performed by moving one's legs at a quicker pace. Using stamina, you are able to speed yourself up. Stacks with other speed boosting skills**

 **122% increase to movement speed.**  
 **Costs 9.5 SP per second**

 **-/\\-**

I stared and groaned, "There are decimals of points?" I asked nobody in particular, then winced and glanced around to make sure nobody heard me. After assuring that, I groaned and rubbed my hand over my face. Okay, so this was probably a thing that happened when it reached level ten. If it followed that scheme then if I'm not mistaken, it should only cost 5 SP per second by the time it reaches level 100.

Level 100... that was a LONG time away. I leaned against the building I'd stopped in front of to catch my breath before the pain in my sides disappeared. I knew that my skills got harder to level up as their level increased, but it seemed like this lower level skills were rather easy to level up. I'm about 99% sure that my higher-power skills will be vastly harder to level up. I'd spent all night pushing myself to exhaustion after exhaustion, and I'd only just barely managed to level up what I'd done.

Sighing, I no longer had the temporary boost to Max SP, but I still had the -50% Stamina Discount. I looked at where I'd ended up.

Fitness Dungeon Gym. I laughed at the tagline _'Get monstrously in shape',_ then headed inside.

The cashier greeted me and I observed her, noting her high VIT with a lack of any excessive STR or DEX. Humming to myself, I smiled at her, "I'd like to become a member."

"Ah, well you're in luck." Shannon, as I'd learned her name was, said with a bright smile, "For early and late Resolutioners, the signup fee is only twenty lien. However it IS forty lien a month after that, so take that into consider-" she paused when I pulled out twenty lien.

"Money isn't an issue, Miss Shannon." I smiled and slid it across the counter, "I just want to sign up and start as soon as possible, if that wouldn't be any trouble." I chuckled a little bit.

The brunette nodded, pulling out some forms, "Just fill these out and we'll get you a card so you can get started." she handed them over.

A couple of minutes and an amount of forms later, I was signed up. I had my picture taken and I gave my best smile, then I took the card and put it onto my painfully empty keyring, the only other thing being a key to the old house and a key to the house with my dad. I sighed lowly, then let Shannon walk me through using my card after hours. I took it all in stride and then got to work.

I walked into the gym proper and looked around, seeing dozens of people with levels averaging 9-15 and with physical stats between 20-30. I whistled upon realizing just how BIG this place was. I also realized that all of these people were in rather good shape, but due to the limits of how levels work for people who aren't me, their levels were far lower because of their lack of battle experience and combat value.

I observed all of the machines as well, and Gamer's Sight told me which ones were best for which workouts. I leveled up the skill a couple of times during all the observation and went back over the people I'd gone over before, getting a meager amount of EXP for it, not even a single percent for my new observations.

With a couple of new INT points under my belt, I went to a lateral row machine and sat down after taking off my hoodie (which nobody noticed) and started on a decent weight.

I continued until my sore and tired muscles couldn't be ignored anymore, and I found that I'd drained some HP to feed my exercise, the window warned against continuing for too long after that point, and I couldn't help but agree. I moved to a bench and drank a Protienergy Drink, guzzling down a few just to see what would happen. When I was six deep, I saw a new notification.

 **You gained the status effect "Energy Rocket"**

 **Description: With the chemicals rushing through your veins, you're going to speed through everything and then crash.**

 **Effects: +400% SPR, +30 STR, +40 DEX, +20 VIT for 15 minutes. WARNING: When this status effect expires, all remaining SP will be drained.**

I sighed, looking to see my SP moving up about every two and a quarter seconds, then I immediately got to work.

...

I collapsed backwards onto the bench, panting heavily. I'd increased my stats a good bit, smiling at my profile now. I'd cheated and kept drinking more protienergy drinks, I had a habit of abusing restoration items until I almost ran out of them, and I was paying for it now, because I felt like my heart was going to explode out of my chest!

 **-/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Novice Hero  
** **Level: 2  
** **Class: (none)  
** **Nickname: (none)**

 **HP: 160/300  
** **AP: 0/0  
** **SP: 0/300**

 **Strength: 29  
** **Dexterity: 29  
** **Vitality: 30  
** **Intelligence: 33 (+3) = 36  
** **Wisdom: 35 (+3) = 38  
** **Luck: 17**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'11  
** **Weight: 175  
** **Build: Medium Athletic  
** **Hair/Eye/Skin Color: Bright Blonde / Bright Blue / Fair**

 **-/\/\\-**

Smiling, I sat up, drank my second to last protienergy drink, restoring some SP. A few people had left in the time I'd taken, and a few more had taken their place.

Nobody looked special, just more people with the same level 9-15, physical stats between 20-30, though I saw one guy who was obviously on steroids who had 35 Strength, but that was it. I looked around a little more, did another set of lateral rows, and then... I saw her.

...

 **Yang Xiao Long  
** **Title: Hotter than the Summer Sun  
** **Level: 36  
Class: Brawler**

I whistled lowly, then wondered what the fuck kind of title that was. Everything else had been pretty straightforward, if a bit poetic, like "A Shouter of Forceful Business", or "A Feline Shirt Thief", or even "A keeper of the fitness archive" that Shannon was.

This... this was weird, and that level, _dat level tho._ I briefly wondered how old she was.

My continued staring at her led to more information being revealed.

 **Hit Points: 900/900  
** **Aura Points: 1500/1500  
** **Stamina Points: 1100/1100**

 **Strength: 67  
** **Dexterity: 38  
** **Vitality: 52  
** **Intelligence: 16  
** **Wisdom: 21  
** **Luck: 16**

She has her aura unlocked, and a LOT of it! God DAMN.

I couldn't help but blink and stare. My GOD, not only is she very beautiful, she's also over twice as strong, about a fifth faster, and two-thirds tougher than me, though I have her beat in mental stats. Still... I felt just a little bit emasculated. Fortunately, Gamer's Mind helped me ignore that shit, and the shit involving her _lovely_ chest, and stomach, and backside, and legs, and... god DAMN, I think she's breaking Gamer's Mind, I can hardly keep my eyes off her!

She looks just a little too immature to be a full-grown woman, even with _dat body tho_ , so I couldn't help but wonder how old she wa-Suddenly a new window popped up after I'd observed her for too long.

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: December 12th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'7  
** **Weight: 145  
** **Build: Medium Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blonde / Lilac Purple / Light Tan**

She's only 17? HOW?!

Groaning and wishing I could know her secrets, I got up, stretched a bit as my soreness faded when Gamer's Body kicked it, worked out the kinks in my joints, and then walked over and leaned against the wall, watching her silently as I tried to make myself less noticeable.

 **A special action has created the skill "Stealth"!**

I looked as it moved into the Movement folder alongside Run, then sighed and waited.

She grinned cheerfully, looking damn beautiful doing it, and went over to the lateral row that I'd been practically glued to. She put the weight to a bit over quadruple what I'd been doing and then proceeded to work out, not even seeming to break a sweat after a full minute, where as I'd been sweating enough to need a sweatband by that point. It was probably our different VIT scores.

 _'To be honest, the fact that I haven't slept has still been making me think I'm just dreaming all of this.'_

I watched as she finished up at the lat row, then went and did some other machines. I watched for about half an hour as she did everything what must be her routine, without even breaking a sweat. I saw her finally going to a treadmill, starting it up and running at a decent pace. I couldn't help but notice the incredible display of gravity she was putting on.

 _'But to be fair and optimistic... there are far worse things my teenage mind could imagine than a person like her. It's like a warrior princess was combined with a pornstar... NO NO NO NO NO!'_

I shook my head, watching as she ran at a decent speed easily. I sighed softly.

I understood how strong she was, even with just a bit over twice my STR, she'd been able to lift four times the weight. It was her great experience and higher HP, AP, and SP limits... she was probably in Signal, and meanwhile, I was at a gym, a fairly big gym, trying not to stare at her breasts.

Before a wave of what I realized was self-depreciation could settled upon me, I shook my head as Gamer's Mind clarified everything. No, I was a Huntsman-in-training too, goddammit! I could grind levels and get loot and get to her level, even get PAST her level.

Let's see, 34 levels, that's 170 points. My physical stats were already 30-31-32, while hers were 64-37-51. That meant that I could spend 69 points to get on her level...

 _'Fuck yeah I'd like to 69 on her level... wait NO NO NO NO NO! Stop brain! Stop that!'_

My Wisdom was telling me to talk to her, to make friends and such. It sounded crazy, but it was worth a shot.

I got on the treadmill next to hers, observing hers, which Gamer's Sight told me was going at ten miles per hour.

I turned mine onto the same speed, smiling as I noticed her finally sweating. The difference in physical condition between the two of us was astounding. I noticed she was moving with less grace now, and was showing signs of fatigue, but she was still going at her pace, though she turned it down a bit.

She looked tired, but I went for it, this might be my only chance, "Uh, hey there." I greeted with a bright smile.

Yang blinked in surprise, nearly tripping up, then she looked over at me and gave a light smile, "Hey there. You a newcomer?" she asked curiously, "I haven't seen you around here before."

I chuckled, breathing heavily, "Yeah, I am." I smiled and looked ahead.

She giggled just a little bit, "Well, good to know that people care about getting in shape and stuffs." she smiled wider and brighter at me, still softly giggling, like a pretty little fairy. She turned her treadmill off after a little while, going and sitting down.

I did too before I passed out. I shoved away a DEX and VIT notification and smiled at her as I took the spot next to her, "Well, I'm beat."

Yang giggled a little more, and I found myself enjoying the adorable sound, "If you're in need of recovery, members get a free protein drink from the bar per day, but like, every one after that is like 10 lien. It's a rip, but they gotta keep the lights on somehow." she shrugged and giggled.

I nodded and jogged over, grabbing one and using Gamer's Sight as I jogged back.

 ** _Big Bill's Protein Shake  
_** ** _Description: A protein-infused milkshake flavored like chocolate and designed to help one recover. Drinking it will increase your physical stats by a small amount.  
_** ** _Effect: +5 STR, +2 DEX, +4 VIT, +25% SPR for 10 minutes, additional +975% SPR for the first 1 minute_**

I downed it quickly and thirstily, watching my SP shoot up to 30% of maximum in just a minute. I definitely had to spam-buy these.

I looked over at Yang and watched her drink from her sports bottle. I saw her SP shoot up far faster than her VIT should have allowed. I observed her drink to make sure she didn't have some sort of magical alchemical potion of energy.

I was surprised.

 ** _Monster Protienergy Drink  
_** ** _Description: A mixture of Orange-flavored Monster brand energy drink and Protein Powder to create a smoothie-like drink.  
Effects: Restores 50 SP. Grants status effect "Fitletics Surge" boosts SPR by 100% for 30 minutes. Gives +10 STR, +10 DEX, and +15 VIT for 45 minutes  
Type: Restoration Consumable_**

I laughed, "Nice drink you got there." I pulled out my last bottle of the stuff, "What is it?"

She hummed curiously at me, then realized what I said, "Oh, yeah, it's Monster mixed with some 'tein~." she giggled softly, "Some good ol' 'tein~." she grinned playfully at me, her eyes lingering on my sweat-soaked white shirt, "But yeah it's better than you'd think." she took another swig of it, "Anyways, I'm feeling pretty recovered, so I'm gonna keep going." she got up and went back over to a machine.

I watched her restored grace. I wondered how she could recover so quickly. Further use of Gamer's Sight showed me that her semblance wasn't some kind of recovery power, but rather something akin to a meter that filled with pain and energy and fueled her raging fires. I found it oddly appropriate. Her name, as I'd figured out from my Sight, meant Sun Little Dragon, so the sun's semblance was fire.

I chuckled, then went to work out for another round.

* * *

I found myself walking through the city streets, regretting having missed the point where Yang had left, since conversation with her was kinda fun, all things considered. I bought a few six-packs of those Big Bill energy drinks and stored them into my inventory as soon as possible. It was still morning when I was done. I quickly changed into different clothes, an orange t-shirt, black hoodie, and clean underwear and jeans. I smiled a bit, sighing as I felt refreshed after my shower at the gym, combined with Gamer's Body taking away all of the pain and soreness from working out, and I was feeling like a million bucks.

After downing one of the protein shakes and waiting a little bit, I checked my profile.

 **-/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: The Gamer  
** **Level: 2  
** **Class: Novice Hero  
** **Nickname: None**

 **HP: 330/330  
** **AP: 0/0  
** **SP: 54/330**

 **Strength: 31  
** **Dexterity: 32  
** **Vitality: 33  
** **Intelligence: 33 +3 = 36  
** **Wisdom: 35 +3 = 38  
** **Luck: 18  
** **Charisma: 13**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'11  
** **Weight: 177  
** **Build: Medium Athletic  
** **Hair/Eye/Skin Color: Bright Blonde / Bright Blue / Fair**

 **-/\/\/\\-**

I would have spit out my drink in surprise if I hadn't swallowed it already.

When the fuck did I get a new stat?

I looked around my field of vision and found it.

 **SYSTEM UPDATE: Successfully interacting with a person of a high level of beauty and charm has added the stat "Charisma" to the game!**

I closed it, and immediately a new window opened up.

 **Congratulations! You've completed the prologue! Your growth can now proceed as normally allowed, however some safety nets have been removed.**

 **Enjoy playing The Game!**

I closed the window with a small growl.

Goddammit Yang, why did you have to be so fucking beautiful that you made the game add a whole new stat that I have to grind?

Ugh, it doesn't matter now.

I need to stop thinking about her fantastic, lovely body and start thinking about how to progress!

My dad gave me a quest, and it gave me enough EXP to level up. I hummed, then opening my eyes, "Alright... um... new quest... take a walk around town?"

I waited... nothing happened.

Can I not give myself quests? Dammit. Alright, fine. I'll just go to where I can find someone who can! I'll try... the park! The park should have plenty of people who might need some amount of help.

...

Running to the park was tiring, but I see plenty of people here this morning. I walk slowly, calmly, like my only business is just enjoying the cool weather. Of course I spam Gamer's Sight like no tomorrow. Shut up, it's free to use and it can lead to increased Intelligence.

Out of the corner of my eye I notice an old man standing at an old war monument. I see him looking at part of it, probably old friends' names on the stone slabs. Suddenly, I see him shudder and stumble, leaning heavily against the monument. I immediately rushed over, fearing his knees might have given out from under him.

I helped him to his feet and got his cane back into his hand in a firm grip, "You okay, sir?" I asked while lifting him up surprisingly easily, it must be my increased Strength.

He nodded, coughing a little bit, "I'm okay-ish, not really." he chuckled raspily, "Can you help me out?"

 **NEW QUEST!**

 **Quest: Help the Old Man**

 **Description: This poor old man needs some help, will you take it upon yourself to help him?**

 **Reward for completion: 10 exp, Secondary Quest**

 **Penalty for failure: The old man potentially falls and hurts himself.**

I felt like my power just threw this quest together at the last second, but sighed and accepted with a thought, "Sure thing, sir." I said with a small smile, helping him over to a nearby bench. He nearly fell again, but my Strength let me keep him standing, since he was lighter than he looked.

"Thank you young man, I was just visiting the monument and, ohhh~ my knees ain't what they used to be." he said a bit breathily while leaning his other side on his cane.

After almost half a minute, we reached the bench and I sat him down with his cane, smiling a little, "There you go sir."

"Thank you, laddie." he smiles at him, "I wish I was sprightly enough to move around like you youngin's do, hehehe." he chuckled with a wheeze, "So um... the names Jenkins, what yours?" he looked up at me.

I smiled a little wider, "The name's Jaune, Jaune Arc, nice to meet you." I shook his hand.

 **QUEST COMPLETE**

 **Completed quest "Help the Old Man"**

 **Gained 10 EXP**

He smiled and nodded, "Thank you young man. So... Arc, eh? You wouldn't happen to know about a Matthias Arc, would you?"

I chuckled, "Know him? He's my grampa." I sat down next to the old man Jenkins, giving him an Observe.

 **Robert Jenkins**

 **Title: Forgotten but not Lost**

 **Level: 17**

I could see he was in poor condition, given his advanced age, and he had no aura either, but a few pieces of backstory I could now gain from my leveled up Gamer's Sight let me see that he had fought in the Faunus War, "You were a soldier in the Faunus War, weren't you?"

"Hehehehe, how'd you figure that? You growin' young adults nowadays never open books unless you're told to." he said jokingly, the kind of offensive joke a man of his age was allowed to make because he was just so damn old.

"Hey now, I prefer reading over rotting my brain with television." I laughed back, smiling and noticing a window for increased Charisma pop up.

He smiled, "So ya prefer reading then? So I take it you know where the library is?"

"2541 Butterfly Road." I recalled the information easily, probably my increased Wisdom clearing my mind.

"Well uh, I'd do it myself, but my knees, y'know? So um. Could you take this book to the library for me?" he lifted up a bag that I'd noticed but hadn't observed.

 **NEW QUEST!**

 **Quest: Jenkins' Book Dilemma.**

 **Description: Old Man Jenkins needs to take his library book back in, but he can't make it with his weakness for walking. Make the trip for him and return with the turn-in receipt.**

 **Reward: 250 exp, 10 lien.**

 **Time Limit: 1 hour**

I accepted and took the book, "I can do that, don't you worry."

"Thank you, Jaune, please try to hurry, a friend of mine is picking me up in about an hour, and it's a good distance." he wasn't all that wrong, but it was actually only about a mile, which for me was far less of a distance than for him.

"Alright, I'll be back as soon as possible." I stood up and started jogging towards the library.

 **You gained the item "Skill Book: Summon Elemental"!**

 **You have gained a skill book. Would you like to read it?**

I looked at the book curiously, "The Phoenix King... huh, I think I've read this one." I thumbed through the pages a little, finding bits of pieces of story that led me to believe that the protagonist had basically dedicated part of his soul to fire.

My Wisdom told me that this book might be the key to activating my Aura... I hummed curiously at the thought, taking time to expand upon it after sliding the book into my inventory and beginning to Run.

Essentially the process would take a splinter of my soul that is already there, just deactivated, and activate it by aligning it to a magical element. I would, in essence, be jump-starting my soul with a magic ritual.

It could work in theory. I could hope for it to work. If not then I could just go for the old-fashioned way and get my aura activated, but this way seemed much cooler.

I grinned and entered the library, throwing a Gamer's Sight glance at the librarian.

 **Annabelle Sytrus**

 **Title: Keeper of the Books**

 **Level: 9**

Fit for her age, good genes most likely, and good diet and exercise, her title made sense, and thinking on it, knowing her semblance made Yang's make sense too.

I chatted her up, smiling and returning the book 'for a friend', but then saying that I wanted to check it out too, showing my library card and watching Charisma flow in just by being a natural smoothtalker when I wasn't worrying about what to say.

Walking back to Jenkins with the book in my inventory, I hummed and checked over some things.

Some classes had requisites of both minimum and maximum types. I had unlocked a few new classes with my increased stats.

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Classes:**

 **Warrior (high STR): +20% physical attack damage, 25% reduced negative effects from all armor, all armor increases in usefulness by 15%**

 **Rogue (high DEX): +25% attack speed, -20% attack damage, allows usage of 'Sneak Attack' that deals triple damage**

 **Tank (high VIT): +10% physical resistance, +50% HPR, +50% SPR**

 **Mage (high INT): +30% APR, +20% magic damage**

 **Monk (high WIS): +20% efficiency to Meditation, +5 to ALL Elemental Affinities**

 **Wizard (higher INT+WIS than DEX+LUK): +50% APR, +25% magic damage, -50% physical damage, +5 to all elemental affinities**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

I hummed curiously. What was it about DEX and LUK that made them the opposite of INT and WIS?

Also, why was the word 'all' capitalized in Monk's description, but not capitalized in Wizard's description? "Eh, doesn't matter right now." I selected the Tank class due to its increase in my SPR, then began Running back to the park.

...

I arrived back, huffing and puffing a little, recovering in just a few seconds, then I returned to the bench I'd helped Old Man Jenkins to, "Got it done." I said with a smile as I handed him the return receipt.

I checked the time while he said some thanks and pulled the lien out of his pocket. I smiled and declined with a shake of my head, "I couldn't take your money, sir, it just wouldn't be right." he smiled at me a little, obviously surprised at how I didn't ask for compensation for doing the ridiculously easy quest.

Speaking of which...

 **QUEST COMPLETE!**

 **Succeeded quest "Jenkins' Book Dilemma"!**

 **You gained 250 exp!**

 **Bonus Objective "A pretty little bell" was succeeded!**

 **-Description: Chat up the librarian and get the book for yourself.**

 **-Reward: +15 exp, +3 Charisma, Skill Book: "Summon Elemental"**

 **Bonus Objective "Don't worry about it" was succeeded!**

 **-Description: Refuse the money reward from Jenkins**

 **-Reward: +10 exp, +3 Charisma, +5 Closeness with Old Man Jenkins.**

 **Your level has increased by one!**

I hummed softly, smiling, "Well, have a nice day, sir." I said while turning to walk away.

He smiled and waved lightly, "Thank you again, have a nice day Jaune." he said as I walked to another area of the park.

...

Nestling in between the roots of a large oak tree, I looked out upon the lake in front of me. I hummed softly as I looked over my profile one more time for reference.

 **-/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Novice Hero  
** **Level: 3  
** **Class: Tank  
** **Nickname: None**

 **HP: 560/560  
** **AP: 0/0  
** **SP: 53/560**

 **Strength: 31  
** **Dexterity: 33  
** **Vitality: 33  
** **Intelligence: 33 +3 = 36  
** **Wisdom: 35 +3 = 38  
** **Luck: 17  
** **Charisma: 25**

 **Stat Points: 5**

 **-/\\-**

I had really good stats for a person who was only level three. I smirked, "If I can keep up my growth rate, accounting for diminishing returns, even with Run now having increased my DEX, I could become WAY ahead of the curve." I laughed softly, then looked at the book in my hands. The Phoenix King.

I looked at the window to read it and nodded, then began reading it.

A long time later, I finished it, all 200-something pages, and I looked, only to frown when I saw that the window hadn't gone away.

"Did I seriously just waste, like, four hours for nothing?" the fact that I'd read at a rate of almost four pages per minute was astonishing, but my Intelligence-sharpened mind obviously was faster than before. I'd gained another point in Intelligence and another in Wisdom after deeply and intimately analyzing what I was reading.

The Phoenix King had empowered his aura by splintering it, similar to how a bone breaks and heals back stronger, but he'd healed it by aligning it to Fire, an element of magic. He grew the splinter until it was a twig, and then a branch, and finally it was like his soul was a might tree that had burgeoned and grown in two directions, one of pure mana, the other of fire. It's foliage glowed with the light of his soul and the incandescence of fire. I was painting a rather amazing picture in my expanded mind.

Regardless, I knew what I'd do if this skill wasn't limiting me to summoning a Fire Elemental.

I hit Y on the reading window, then looked down at the book.

It slowly began to break apart into tan light. T'was gold as desert sand, I mused. It then began flowing up to my head until nothing of its physical mass was left, leaving just a feeling of knowing.

I realized that the book had been destroyed by the process when it wasn't in my hands, nor my inventory. I frowned, "Dammit... that's going to be hard to explain. 'Oh sorry, my semblance ate the book and taught me ancient knowledge it contained', yeah, THAT'LL go over well." I laughed to myself, sighing before standing up and starting to walk back home to do the Summon Elemental ritual.

I just had to...

Is that...?

No... no it can't be...

It...

Shit...

Well, this was a problem...

Dust fucking dammit...

 **Juniper Arc  
Title: ?  
Level: ?**

It was my mom.

* * *

 **Woot woot for updoot doot! *gets caught by skeltal* Introducing the first of the other seven of the RWBYJNPR group, in a fitting setting.**

 **Yeah, the mysterious reason for Juniper and Johnathan splitting up might be revealed next chapter, or it might not, who knows?**

 **I do! Mwahahahahahahahhahahaha!**

 **So yeah, that's it for now.**

 **Stay tuned for next update.**

 **Oh hey, I'm gonna start posting Jaune's stat block at the end of each chapter, because I feel it's necessary.**

 **-/\/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Novice Hero  
** **Level: 3  
** **Class: Tank  
** **Nickname: None**

 **HP: 560/560  
** **AP: 0/0  
** **SP: 56/560**

 **Strength: 31  
** **Dexterity: 33  
** **Vitality: 33  
** **Intelligence: 33 +3 = 36  
** **Wisdom: 35 +3 = 38  
** **Luck: 17  
** **Charisma: 25**

 **Stat Points: 5**


	3. Do you believe in magic?

**Right back into more Gamer action! Yay! Thank you all for your continued support, it means SO fucking much to me, it lifts my spirits into the clouds!**

 **I'm going to make an effort to respond to some of my reviewers**

 **MysticSpider:** well... not exactly. In this story, the power of Gamer's Mind is dependent on Jaune's Intelligence and Wisdom combined. Regardless of his "Gamer" status, his mind and body are still that of a teenage boy. He sees Yang and his body and mind react. Also, if it's numbers talking, Yang's charisma is 69 (because fuck you, that's why) and Jaune's INT+WIS total is 68. He's able to ignore it at least, but he can't do so indefinitely, his human desires will kick in... The power of Gamer's Mind in this story will essentially drag Jaune towards a calm, rational, thoughtful, careful state, however he is still free to kick and scream all he wants, and that kicking and screaming can be strong enough break through the barriers his mind now has, setting his emotions free if only for a little bit.

 **belamy20:** your and the last notion of MysticSpider's reviews are close enough to be answered at once. I'm sorry but Jaune being a solo gamer conflicts entirely with my grand master plan. However his number of allies will be minimal to what my grand master plan requires, and the number of people who know the truth about his semblance will be even smaller than his allies.

 **Remzal Von Enili:** first off, congratulations on having one of the hardest to read names I've seen thus far, I seriously had to read it like five times to pronounce it correctly (I talk to myself a lot). Second... to answer your questions in order... The skill "Summon Elemental", like other skills has certain parts of it that NEED to be learned in order to form the skill in Jaune's list. For this case, you need to know what feeling to focus on and emulate, what materials to have, and the summoning circle. Truth be told, if the book had had a picture of the summoning circle, Jaune could have gotten the skill by looking at that and reading the next couple of pages. He didn't even have to read the full book! However, "reading" the book basically, well, Jaune will explain in the story... and Undertale is... well... it'll be explained later.

 **Otoshigami:** Well there are two things wrong with your first assumption: 1) The STR and DEX and VIT... those affect a different... let's call it a 'facet' of Soul Energy... you'll see later, because he's not working with THAT right now, he's working with Aura right now... 2) This is STILL Jaune we're talking about. He wouldn't accept crucially needed help from Pyrrha fucking Nikos, who is his partner, a famous huntress-in-training who is in the same academic league as him, and had saved his life multiple times. His parents, while yes they're more trusted than Pyrrha, aren't going to be asked for a while now.

Also be wary, readers. The Game is not as stable as in other stories, there are ways to play the system... and ways to break the system...

 **Recap: Last time our Novice Hero ended the Prologue with an update that added Charisma as a stat, a whole new stat for him to grind! Wow!**

 **He went to the gym to get swole and got a bit of swoleness, as well as met Yang, who brought about the Charisma Stat update. She introduced Jaune to a new item that he fell in love with.**

 **Afterwards, having missed Yang's departure, he went to the park to find a quest, and found an Old Man Jenkins in need of some help. Turns out Jenkins is a war vet and knew Matthias Arc, the grandfather of this iteration of Jaune. The two became fast friends and Jaune returned a book that happened to be the Skill Book: "Summon Elemental", which prompted our wise and smart hero to hypothesize that using the skill will awaken his aura. Will he be successful? Find out this time!**

 **Oh yeah, and his mom was in the park, remember her? She and Johnathan split up? Yeah, that's part of Jaune's backstory.**

 **Let's get started on this exciting installment of "Jaune the Gamer"**

 **Chapter 3: Do you believe in magic?**

* * *

I stared, trying not to be seen. Dammit, why was she here? Didn't she and dad split up? She lives all the way back in Coldwater, for fuck's sake!

Realizing that her presence here must have meant an absence back home, I growled in anger, due to the implications.

She had left all seven of my precious little sisters alone in our old house... even the oldest was ten months younger than me! Sure Jacky might be able to keep the others in line, but who knows what trouble they might get in? What if there's a burglar? What if-

Gamer's Mind calmed me down and my Intelligence and Wisdom explained everything. She obviously didn't leave without calling a babysitter, and I know for a fact that at least Jazz and Jacky had their auras unlocked, as well as maybe either Juni or Juice too... I realize now that I've been away from my sisters for so long that I couldn't remember much of what had gone on with them. I grit my teeth, growling angrily under my breath.

I ran out, anger clear in my mind, and I ignored the window that popped up, even as my eye twitched violently. I approached the woman I used to call Mom and all 31 of my Strength crashed into her face in the form of a Right Hook.

She stumbled back several feet, the immeasurable bar of MP shifting downwards a bit.

I glared at the information Gamer's Sight gave me, ' _Give me MORE goddammit! More! I need to know what the fuck I'm going up aga-'_ I gave a hacking cough.

 **WARNING! Willpower exceeding maximum threshold! Cannot compute! Glitch detected!**

I stared at the window as I coughed into my hand... is that blood?

 **Error! Error! Error! Power level too low! Excess force N!#(!()#T!#)* &!BD!#**

I looked at my mother with hate in my eyes, "What... are... you doing here..." I panted out, suddenly physically exhausted.

 **Juniper Arc  
** **Title: The Iridescent Blossom of Death  
Level: 70  
Class: Fencer/Lancer  
Nickname: The Deadly Beauty**

 **HP: 21,000/21,000  
AP: 58,000/58,000  
SP: 25,500/25,500**

 **Strength: 68  
** **Dexterity: 104  
** **Vitality: 76  
** **Intelligence: 116  
** **Wisdom: 75  
** **Luck: 66  
** **Charisma: 77**

 **Age: 52  
** **Birthday: May 9th  
** **Race: Human**

 **Height: 5'4  
** **Weight: 190  
** **Build: Svelte Incredible Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Pale Yellowed Rainbow / Water Blue / Fair**

I stared as Gamer's Sight suddenly burst, my eyes filling with pain as I quickly skimmed through what I could of her backstory.

 **WARNING! System stability compromised! Cannot handle workload! Abort! Abort! Abort!**

I ignored it, I _needed_ to know why this bitch had left my dad.

I saw it.

 **Six years ago, Juniper Arc separated from her husband Johnathan to-**

 **CRITICAL ERROR! Gamer's Sight overtaxed! Cannot handle workload! System stability lost! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! System failure!**

I couldn't catch the rest of the sentence, but... luckily for me, the pavement was a good friend and reached up to catch me as I fell...

 **System Shutdown! Cheating detected! Keystone Stability prioritized above all other functions!**

* * *

I opened my eyes to hear yelling downstairs. I was in my bed in my room. I heard yelling downstairs, I put my pillow over my head and silently cried into it.

Goddammit... they're fighting again.

And it's all my fault...

God... fucking... DAMMIT!

I sat up when I heard a pinging sound, followed by a blue window popping up in front of my head.

 **System has fully reset!**

 **System stability restored!**

 **All bugs and glitches have been cleared!**

 **All processes complete!**

 **It's a beautiful day outside, perfect for a nice walk.**

 **SYSTEM UPDATE: Due to altering the system outside of your bounds, you have unlocked "Cheats"**

So it WASN'T just a dream... shit, so I really trained throughout the night, met Yang, went to the gym, tripled my physical and mental stats in just a couple of days, and then ate that book from the library?

Wow... my life had immediately turned into a massive mess after gaining my power...

 **By increasing your understanding of the system, your W-**

I closed the Wisdom notification. Goddammit I still hated those. I'm not an idiot!

I opened my menu and checked a few things while contemplating whether or not to go downstairs.

 **(Cheats)  
Ways to break the system to temporarily pull off massive feats of power. WARNING: These will crash the game very quickly!**

 **"He sees all": temporarily remove all restrictions on Gamer's Sight.**

I hummed, drinking the glass of water next to my bed. That explained how I was able to do that.

I looked at my clock and saw that actually, only somewhere in the range of 10-20 minutes had passed while I was unconscious from cheating. I sighed, then brought up my new skill, noting the folder Aura and subsection Elements.

 **-/\\-**

 **Summon Elemental (Active & Passive) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00%, Cost: Special**  
 **The ability to spread your soul throughout the world like a mighty growing tree spreads its seeds. By taking a piece of your soul and infusing it with a natural element, you can summon an Elemental, a soul-born being that lets you influence the natural elements to your will. All elementals require at least 1 Summon charge, and cannot be reduced to 0 once summoned.**

 **Elemental Summons: 1**

 **Elementals: None**

 **Elemental Rank: Basic**

 **Elemental Affinity Bonus: +10 to all elements you have elementals for.**

-/\\-

I hummed, contemplating the value of summoning an elemental versus going downstairs and fixing my mess.

I sighed, I didn't even have it in my room, I'd need to go get it AND somehow evade notice.

I looked and saw that I still had the Stealth skill, and immediately went about activating it while slowly opening my door.

Suddenly, the interface for The Game changed, I saw a partially open eye in front of my vision, small and clear to see, yet also easy to ignore. I heard the sound of the door as if I was far away, and I opened it very carefully.

 **SYSTEM UPDATE: By changing the way you play The Game, you've unlocked "Game Modes"!**

 **You unlocked the Game Mode "Espionage Action"!**

I noted the increase in Stealth's level with a smile. Even if I'd probably hardly ever use it, it was a good ability to have. A Chekhov's Skill, if you would, hehe.

I paused completely in my actions, hearing the conversation downstairs stop. I stayed paused, then waited for it to continue. The fact that they could hear a small chuckle, past their yelling, and all the way upstairs... that was amazing and terrifying.

 **-/\\-**

 **Stealth (Passive) Level: 4, EXP: 45.21%  
** **The art of sneaking around undetected. Masters of this craft have been said to rob a man blind while he's looking right in their face.**

 **Noise while Sneaking: -10%  
** **Noise while Walking: -3%  
** **Noise while Running: -1%  
** **Noise while interacting with the environment: -5%  
** **Scent Emission: -13%  
** **Master Noticeability: -1%**

 **-/\\-**

I sighed internally, thankful that my skill covered such a broad spectrum. The eye in the center of my screen went closed. Presumably at higher levels of Stealth, I'd unlock the ability to have this 'stealth eye' normally.

Experimentally, I made a small noise, a cough, and the conversation dimmed, then it resumed as I watched Stealth's level increase with what seemed like every other step.

I reached the stairs, suddenly seeing the window expand. I looked at it immediately, going quiet as the top stair creaked a bit. Once again the conversation dimmed.

 **Stealth**

 **Level 10 Bonus: Noise now reduced when interacting with noisy objects.**

I stepped on the top stair again, and through focus, I noticed that it creaked more quietly than before. The conversation dimmed a bit, then they both must have guessed it was just the house settling.

I moved to the next stair down, finding it steady. Over the course of five minutes, accounting for the pauses, I apparently managed to desensitize them to the small noises... no wait, that was just the skill.

 **Level 20 Bonus: Repeated noises, as long as they don't raise Detection Level past Suspicious, will desensitize the listeners to ignore them.**

 **Level 25 Bonus: Partially unlocks "Ninja" Class**

Who knew I'd be grinding a skill like this in my own damn house?

I got to the stairs to find the blinds closed and only the kitchen light on, to my great luck, or was it Luck? I wasn't sure, to be honest.

I snuck into the training room and looked at it in all its glory, casting a Gamer's Sight on it.

 _ **Crocea Mors**_

 _ **Description: An ancient sword forged in ? and ?. It is Mastercraft Quality, however its condition is Low Power in its current state. It has seen many battles over its long life, and with the adventures of Jacques Arc, it was ? The Yellow Death. However, despite this, it was said that its most famous kill, in a previous life, was in the hands of ?, who had been ?, and ? a ? with its gleaming blade. ?**_

 _ **Type: One-handed Longsword  
**_ _ **Damage: 100 (+20% from Sword Skill, totaling 120)  
**_ _ **Stamina Cost: 20 (-10% from Sword Skill, totaling 18)  
**_ _ **Toughness: 5 (+1) (Tough as Steel)**_

 _ **Functions;  
**_ _ **-?  
**_ _ **-?  
**_ _ **-?**_

I smiled broadly, then turned my eyes down to the shield.

 ** _Candidus Murus_**

 ** _Description: A very old shield forged in ? and ?. It is Mastercraft Quality, however its condition is Medium Power in its current state. It has seen many battles over its long life, and with the adventures of Jacques Arc, it was ? The White Wall. However, its legacy doesn't stop there. It was wielded by Alexander Arc during his personal adventures throughout the world in search of ?, and then later by his son Matthias Arc in the Faunus Rights Revolution, where he fought to free the faunus from their damnation to ?. ?_**

 ** _Type: Large Heater Shield  
Defense: 100 (+0% from skills and class)  
Stamina Cost: 50 (-0% from skills and class)  
Toughness: 9 (+0) (Tough as Tungsten)_**

 ** _F_ _unctions;  
_** **-?  
** **-?  
-?**

I chuckled lightly, then caught myself. I removed the weapon from the wall, feeling its weight in my hands. I grinned, drawing a few inches of the bla-

 **Stealth  
Level 30 Bonus: Detection Level measurements now visible.**

I paled when I heard the light rasping of metal on metal and saw the eye open wide and the word Detected in bold red letters appear. I gulped and the wall exploded, showering me with high velocity pieces and splinters of wood, one hitting my crotch and the rest hitting elsewhere on my body. If not for Gamer's Body, I'd have collapsed in pain. As it stood, I dropped the weapon and grabbed my crotch, wincing even as the pain faded in seconds, doubled over.

Note to self, start wearing a cup.

"Goddammit Juni, you're still a ball-buster after all this time!" I heard my father yell.

"It's your fault for not teaching him to be prepared for anything! And why was he even sneaking around his own damn house? Don't tell me you've been abusive to him. I SWEAR I will bring this to court!"

"I'll fucking slaughter the courthouse you crazy bitch! I! Don't! Give! A! Fuck!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I shouted, standing up as anger filled me. I felt Gamer's Mind working to calm me down, but all that did was temper my rage into a calm fury, "ALL YOU DO IS FIGHT! NAG NAG NAG! SHOUT SHOUT SHOUT! Threats and anger and spite and venom and all of it is FUCKING BULLSHIT! You got married for a fucking reason!" I screamed, tears flowing down my face.

Years and years of questioning and doubt, all bottled up... who knew it would be now, in my calmest days, that it would burst?

"We... we did, but..." my father started, sighing.

My mother went to approach me and I slapped her hands away, "Don't fucking touch me!" I shouted, "You lost the court case, you left my sisters back home for WHAT? So you could come scream at dad like a deranged harpy?" I was red in the face, I knew it, I felt...

 **Gamer's Mind overtaxed!**

 **You have received the status effect "Rage's Might (Med)"!  
** **Description: Anger that has become dense enough to imbue one with physical strength  
** **Effect: +100% Strength and Vitality for the duration of anger, -50% Intelligence and Wisdom while active.**

"We were arguing over what was best for you!" she said back, her voice soft, yet holding an edge of... not anger, but something similar to it... frustrated disbelief? Maybe...

"What was best for me? Well obviously you two didn't come to a very good decision last time! What did you think the divorce would do to me and my sisters?" I asked-no, _demanded_ of them.

My dad looked saddened at their mention, "Jaune... it wasn't..." he was cut off as I threw a piece of wood at his face.

"It wasn't WHAT? Huh?" I realized that if they were such a high level, Juniper being level 90 and my father probably being of a similar level, I would be dead a thousand times over by now if they weren't both so good at controlling their anger I knew must have been building, and if they weren't so level-headed that they probably realized I was releasing long-stored aggression.

And, I understood on a basic level, that they both cared for me very much, I just was really, REALLY pissed off.

"It wasn't like that!" my father practically exploded, "I know that you'd want to be a hero, I wanted to help you follow your dreams! Your mother wanted to keep you safe, wanted to keep you away from the life of a Huntsman! I supported your decision. She didn't."

"OH! So once again you're pinning the blame on me, eh?" Juniper shouted, turning to my father, only to turn back to me when a piece of wood hit her in the shoulder.

"So is that what this was about? You didn't want your precious little boy to be in harm's way, eh?" I demanded an answer, my fury slowly dimming. Was this even worth it at all? "Why didn't you think about what *I* would want, huh? Of course I want to be a Huntsman! I want to be a hero! I want to help people and save lives! I want to kill the grimm! I want my family to be back together again!" my eyes were slightly red and puffy from crying, but Gamer's Body was healing them as fast as the process of crying could swell them up. I felt like breaking things, a LOT of things.

My parents looked at each other, then at me, both of them looking remorseful, "Son... it isn't that simple..." my dad started, his eyes dim and sad, "Your mother and I... we both love you, as parents should, but we show it in different ways... ways that conflict with one another... we... I..." he grabbed Juniper by the shoulders and turned her towards him.

"I... I agree, for once... we just wanted what we both thought was best for you, sweetie." she spoke slowly and quietly, her voice soft. She turned to face my dad after maybe five small tugs of urging.

"Juni..." he began, using the name I'd heard him use for her years and years ago, "I know we didn't split up on the best of terms... and even if we never signed any annulment papers, we both felt like we could never get along again... but..." he sucked in a sharp breath, gulping down what I could tell was his pride and his anger, "Even... even while I was mad... even for the years that I was mad at you... I never stopped caring about you."

My... my mom looked shocked by his confession, her form shaking like a leaf as my dad hugged her close to his body, rubbing her back soothingly and whispering sweet nothings into her ear.

I sighed softly, "I'll... I'll be in my room while you two talk... I feel exhausted." I let my shoulders slump down, a long and raspy exhale releasing the last of my anger and dismissing the status effect. My body felt weak, but my mind felt sharper and clearer, the effect of my returning Intelligence and Wisdom.

...

I rubbed my eyes as I finished drawing out the summoning circle on my floor with duct tape. Technically I just had to make the distinct shape, it didn't matter what it was made out of. I was tired and apparently the ritual was an exhausting ordeal, so I made it next to my bed and rested Crocea Mors and Candidus Murus on top of it.

I chanted the words, focusing deeply on myself and... then I felt it. I felt the sleeping light of my soul inside myself. I focused harder, using the metal of Crocea Mors as a catalyst to reach a hand out to that light... I felt it... I made a connection.

I focused, and focused, and focused some more, trying to reach properly, to establish that connection...

Suddenly, I saw and felt a spark... just a tiny little spark... it appeared in my mind's eye, glowing faintly against the darkness... and then that I felt like chains had broken, like glass had shattered, like a heavy veil was torn away... and I saw that spark EXPLODE into a great a roaring flame!

I opened my eyes, but then the world went dark...

* * *

 _I was in a baby in the cradle._

 _No... not just *a* baby... I was *the* baby._

 _Resting cold and lifeless in a dark cradle of unrelenting stone._

 _I waited, I had lived for a long time as a baby, ungrowing and unchanging._

 _Then... I saw light become shed upon my eyes and my gritty, yet glittering body._

 _It was a crack._

 _Then it was a shard._

 _And then the light suddenly grew into a blindingly bright whole!_

 _I saw a friend of mine, older and stronger, freeing me from my cradle._

 _I felt rattled and rocked to the core. My stained skin was shook loose._

 _I felt heat, so much heat, unbearable heat._

 _I can't take it. I come undone and I melt._

 _I'm pressed, I'm squeezed, I'm torn apart and put back together._

 _I am weak._

 _I will be strong._

 _Strength was beaten into me. It was added to me, food like the stone of my cradle._

 _I was fed and I was beaten until I became strong._

 _I was formed, stretched by multiple beatings until I felt purpose well up within me._

 _Within a puddle of imprints of souls._

 _I saw light. I felt the heat again, but this time I persisted. I did not come undone. I hardened. I was worked and I became strong._

 _I became stronger than ever before._

 _I was cut down to pieces, millions of long and shallow cuts, carving my flesh away until I was fit for my purpose._

 _My purpose..._

 _My purpose is blood!_

 _I see myself cutting through the flesh of man and beast alike._

 _I feel the warmth of their blood feed me._

 _But I am never satisfied. I cannot drink for I have no mouth._

 _I see war-torn battlefields. I see peaceful rivers. I see leather and wood and metal._

 _I see oceans deeper and darker than the night sky, holding beasts that wish nothing more than for blood._

 _We fight for our rights to feed. I am victorious._

 _I feed again._

 _I'm quenched and bathed in the blood of thousands, of MILLIONS._

 _I gaze into the abyss._

 _It gazes back._

 _I shine with light untold._

 _I feel my brothers and sisters, fellow blood of the earth. It calls out._

 _I am paid for my duties by becoming united with my brothers._

 _I shine like the daytime sun._

 _I reap death and my name is Crocea Mors._

 _I am stripped of family and friends. I feel the heat and in my anguish I come undone._

 _I'm wielded by a master. I glow like the gold of his desires, but my golden brother is stripped away from me._

 _I..._

 _I feel a connection._

 _He is one of great power.  
_

 _I do not understand._

 _When I feed upon the blood of a dragon, I do not know._

 _When I feed upon the blood of a Grimm, I do not know._

 _When I feed upon the blood of a person, I do not know._

 _However... when my cries of battle are silenced... when the soul within me dies... I know._

 _My life is one of unending reincarnation._

 _Different shapes, different forms._

 _All the same function._

 _All the same purpose._

 _Blood._

 _I am the blood of the earth._

 _I am metal._

 _I am... Crocea Mors._

 _I feel myself break away from a whole._

 _But... I am merely a piece..._

 _A piece of an even MORE glorious whole._

 _I am a splinter of a tree._

 _It is bare and weak, but it shall grow strong._

 _As it grows strong, I too shall grow strong._

 _I am Crocea Mors._

 _I am metal._

 _My life is infinite._

 _I am Jaune Arc._

 _I am human._

 _My soul is eternal._

 _I am... one._

* * *

I opened my eyes and coughed. I felt refreshed and confused beyond belief. I grunted and coughed again, "What... what just happened? Am I dreaming or did I just wake up from a nightmare?" I looked around. I saw a series of windows appear in front of me, but ignored them, "That was... the strangest thing my power has ever done."

I felt something... I heard a voice.

 _'I am... strange?'_ a voice, soft, yet masculine. Smooth as sterling silver, but tired as rusted steel... where did those analogies come from?

I picked up Crocea Mors on the floor, looking at the shiny blade marred with occasional flakes of rust, "H-hello?" I asked curiously, looking at my reflection.

I saw the blade gain an unnatural sheen to it, the reflection that looked back at my was like my own, but bathed in a translucent silver, _'I am Crocea Mors... I am... elemental. Strange... life anew... many deaths... even more lives... you... you are my new master?'_

I didn't quite understand, but yet I understood perfectly. I think without Gamer's Mind I'd probably still be unconscious, "Yes I'm your master." I said with a hint of confusion. It was like I knew what I was saying, but I had a significant amount of doubt that I was right.

 _'Crocea Mors... that is my name... you and I... that is okay?'_ Crocea Mors asked.

"Yeah... yeah, that's fine." I said while sheathing it the sword. I got up and looked in the mirror. Focusing on it, I saw the reflection again, standing beside my own. Translucent silver covering my own body. I could see all my normal colors, but they were paler and more metallic.

It spoke without moving its mouth, as if I was listening to my own thoughts from a voice in my head... goddammit that made me sound crazy!

' _Crazy? I am not a voice... I am... elemental... you... I shall fight alongside you... I shall sate my purpose for blood... your... name... your name, what is it?'_

"I'm Jaune Arc, and your purpose isn't blood. Your purpose is metal... you are supposed to be strong. You are supposed to do what others cannot. You are not just a tool for destruction, you can be a tool for creation." I mused, smiling at my reflection. I felt...

I looked at the windows.

 **QUEST COMPLETE!**

 **You have succeeded the quest "Manifestation of the Soul"!**

 **You gained +100 Max AP!**

 **You gained the skill "Aura"!**

I felt power well up inside of me as I read the next lines.

 **Bonus objective "Will unto nature" complete!  
** **Description: unlocked your aura by summoning an elemental.  
Reward: Summon Elemental's level increases by 3!**

 **Bonus objective "Burgeoning light" complete! (x2)  
Description: leveled up before unlocking your aura.  
Reward: +350 Max AP per level (x2)**

I whistled, grinning and checking the new skills.

My eyes widened.

 **Aura's level increased by 1!**

 **Summon Elemental's level increased by 3!**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Summon Elemental (Active & Passive) Level: 4, Exp: 0.00%, Cost: Special**

 **The ability to spread your soul throughout the world like a mighty growing tree spreads its seeds. By taking a piece of your soul and infusing it with a natural element, you can summon an Elemental, a soul-born being that lets you influence the natural elements to your will. All elementals require at least 1 Summon charge, and cannot be reduced to 0 once summoned.**

 **Elemental Summons: 2**

 **Elementals: Crocea Mors the Metal Elemental.**

 **Elemental Rank: Basic**

 **Elemental Affinity Bonus: +10 to all elements you have elementals for.**

 **-/\/\\-**

 **Aura (Passive & Active) Level: 2, Exp: 0.00%**

 **The Manifestation of one's soul. Long ago, Man, who was born from dust, learned to wield the light of their being against the soulless Grimm. It's a power that allowed Mankind to reach past their human limits and drive back the darkness, letting them bear their burdens and shielding their hearts.**

 **Passively increases STR by 30%.  
** **Passively increases DEX by 30%.  
** **Passively increases VIT by 30%.  
** **Passively increases INT by 30%.  
** **Passively increases WIS by 30%.**

 **Additional 31% increase to STR when activated.  
** **Additional 31% increase to DEX when activated.  
** **Additional 31% increase to VIT when activated.**

 **HP and SP regeneration speed increased by 102% when activated.**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

WOW! Aura was pretty fucking strong, and it was only level two? I HAD to level THAT up!

Grinning, I checked the other windows.

 **By broadening your knowledge of the world, your INT has increased by 2!**

 **By deepening your understanding of the world, your WIS has increased by 2!**

 **You feel the azure light of your soul glow with great power.**

 **Your HP and SP have been maxed out.**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Novice Hero  
** **Level: 3  
** **Class: Tank  
** **Nickname: None**

 **HP: 560/560  
** **AP: 800/800**  
 **SP: 560/560**

 **Strength: 31 (+30%) = 40.3  
** **Dexterity: 33 (+30%) = 42.9  
** **Vitality: 33 (+30%) = 42.9  
** **Intelligence: 35 (+3) (+30%) = 49.4  
** **Wisdom: 37 (+3) (+30%) = 52  
** **Luck: 17  
** **Charisma: 35**

 **Stat Points: 5**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'11.5  
** **Weight: 175  
** **Build: Medium Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Bright Blonde / Bright Azure / Fair.**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

I felt new power inside myself. I could definitely get used to this.

I drew Crocea Mors the sword, gazing at its marred and rusted surface. I frowned, "Clean yourself."

I saw azure energy, what I was sure was just mana, glow along the blade. The surface smoothed to a shiny one and the rust flakes shrank into nothingness. It looked practically good as new! The only thing wrong was that the scratches were still there.

Candidus Murus shined in the light of the lightbulb as well. Both looked ten times better. I checked them with Gamer's Sight.

 _ **Crocea Mors**_

 _ **Description: An ancient sword forged in ? and ?. It is Mastercraft Quality, and it has been restored to High Power in its current state. It has seen many battles over its long life, and with the adventures of Jacques Arc, it was ? The Yellow Death. However, despite this, it was said that its most famous kill, in a previous life, was in the hands of ?, who had been ?, and ? a ? with its gleaming blade. ?**_

 _ **Type: One-handed Longsword  
**_ _ **Damage: 200 (+20% from Sword Skill, totaling 240)  
**_ _ **Stamina Cost: 10 (-10% from Sword Skill, totaling 9)  
**_ _ **Toughness: 7 (+1) (Tough as chains)**_

 _ **Functions;  
**_ _ **-?  
**_ _ **-?  
**_ _ **-?**_

 **...**

 ** _Candidus Murus_**

 ** _Description: A very old shield forged in ? and ?. It is Mastercraft Quality, and it has been restored to High Power in its current state. It has seen many battles over its long life, and with the adventures of Jacques Arc, it was ? The White Wall. However, its legacy doesn't stop there. It was wielded by Alexander Arc during his personal adventures throughout the world in search of ?, and then later by his son Matthias Arc in the Faunus Rights Revolution, where he fought to free the faunus from their damnation to ?. ?_**

 ** _Type: Large Heater Shield  
Defense: 150 (+0% from skills and class)  
Stamina Cost: 40 (-0% from skills and class)  
Toughness: 10 (+0) (Tougher as Tungsten)_**

 ** _F_ _unctions;  
_** **-?  
** **-?  
-?**

Wow... I'd made both of them far easier to use and effective just with one round of refining. I grinned, then began to will Crocea the elemental to refine it further.

 _'I cannot, master. I apologize, I'm out of power._

I blinked, then looked at my profile.

 **AP: 0/800**

I grimaced, "Dammit." I switched to Wizard class to aid my APR while laying back down on my bed.

I felt... a lot better, to be honest, too much better. Too clear... I felt empty.

I walked out of my room and downstairs. I saw the title screen of a movie playing quietly and my mom laying on the couch.

Hehe... funny how just a few hours ago I'd punched her in the face and threw wooden chunks at her... now I was laying a blanket over her shivering form as she slept on the couch.

Funny... in TV and the movies, the man usually slept on the couch... then again my mom had far too little leverage to manage that.

I walked into the training room, looking over at the pile of gathered pieces of wood. I sighed, then checked all my skills again.

I paused when I saw a new folder, Defenses, and the subsection Passive Defenses.

 **-/\\-**

 **Defense:**  
 **-(Passive Defenses)-**

 **Physical Resistance (Passive) Level 1, Exp: 30%**  
 **The hardiness one gains from enduring the physical stresses and damages of the world. Denotes a passive resistance for physical damage**

 **Physical Damage Resistance: 1%**

 **-/\\-**

I grinned, _'Okay... time to become a masochist in order to gain massive defenses.'_

It was only logical, though. If The Game let me level up my skills by using them, then I'd need to take physical damage in order to level up this new skill.

Shut up!

I took a knife from the wall and jammed it into my leg...

...

 _'FUCKING FUCK THIS HURTS SO FUCKING BAD!'_ I nearly growled as pain bloomed across my leg and throughout my body. I felt Gamer's Body reduce the pain to the minimum it could be for a _fucking knife stuck in my leg!_

Blood slowly oozed from the wound, and my HP drained slowly but surely.

 **Physical Resistance's level increased by 1!**

I kept it up until the last 10% of my HP was left, then removed the knife and went into the bathroom, removing my pants and checking the wound.

Well, more like checking the nothing, to be honest. Gamer's Body hadn't been lying when it said that no lasting visible signs of damage would occur. Though I DID have to clean the blood off my leg, there wasn't any wound to show for its source.

...

I slowly stepped out of the house, checking the time on my scroll to see that it was actually only about eight in the evening. I decided to reflect on random information in the hopes of grinding up some more WIS.

I opened up a series of windows and paled when I saw one of them.

Two new classes had been unlocked...

 **-/\/\/\\-**

 **Charmer (high CHA): +20% positive outcome chance to all interactions**

 **Stud (high CHA+VIT): +100% SPR, +10% "size", +25% positive outcome chance to all interactions with females.**

 **-/\/\/\\-**

I shuddered to think how in the hell the supposed 'size' increase was supposed to actually work, but then I remembered that my power had given me the ability to summon an elemental by absorbing the essence of a book and given me the ability to do the Gaster Blaster just by looking at... how it's done...

I organized my thoughts and began to go through them one by one.

So... my classes would be unlocked by certain requisites. Wizard, for example, was apparently a class I could only use when the total of my INT and WIS exceeded that of my DEX and LUK. I supposed that DEX was like the physical equivalent of some parts of what INT represented, as it made my mind quicker as well as 'sharper'. LUK versus WIS... well, there's the saying "I make my own luck." which is usually supposed to mean that the person is 'smart' enough to take advantage of a situation... so LUK is environmental luck, and WIS is... personal luck? It was hard to explain, but that covered it... I supposed.

Leveling Stealth up to level twenty five was apparently part of the requisite to unlocking the Ninja class, the other parts probably my stats. I had gained the... Stud class... by having high CHA and VIT, which I suppose made sense. Studs get around and get to... 'have the company'... of a lot of girls, and they have to have... 'stamina'... in order to be, well, 'studly', or else they were just a Charmer... huh, that made a lot of sense, actually.

So... now then, the book...

Looking into my mental structure of the skill, there were three parts... the ritual, the sacrifice, and the pact. The pact was the most straightforward. You basically just feel and establish a connection with that element. The sacrifice was also fairly simple, you just needed a large amount of the element in question. The ritual was the missing piece from the book. It didn't describe what the ritual circle looked like, nor did it have a picture to show me. I suspected that if it had had a picture, I could probably have learned the skill just by reading those couple of pages. I briefly considered the possibility of my power having made up the skill, but cast that thought aside. The book had contained knowledge explicitly detailing the skill in my mind that was labeled Summon Elemental. That skill was _real_ and it had been _done before_ , people in history had used it.

But it had made up Gaster Blaster. It... hold on, later thoughts.

' _Reading_ ' the book was different, it had taken the essence of what Gamer's Sight had recognized was the information of the skill the book could teach, and fed it into my very soul. It was... well... to start off, if I had read, say, a sword training manual that would give me, let's say, Double Strike... if I could read the steps and see the pictures, I could probably learn Double Strike just by, well, ' _learning_ ' it the normal way. The Phoenix King had the information, but not enough of it for a normal person reading it carefully to learn the skill. That's where ' _reading_ ' came in. It filled in all the blanks left by the material. The more vague the material, the less chance I could have of learning from physical reading.

Okay, now then, Gaster Blaster... I gained that skill just after gaining my power, when I apparently... what, bled on my computer?

WOW that was a lame way to start my Game... moving on.

My power had made up the skill from a number of notable parts of a spell that didn't exist. I'd just looked at how Sans had moved and looked, as well as the shape of the GB skull and it's beam. That had been enough information taken in by Gamer's Sight that I could learn how the skill worked, in essence. I summoned _that_ and made it do _that_ , and _that's_ what I do to summon _that_. Sort of...

Gamer's Sight, it was strange. It was the only one of my three The Gamer skills that leveled up like other skills. It was powerful, telling me things that were impossible to know beforehand.

If I had to hanker a guess, I'd say that Gamer's Sight had records of all the annals of history, ALL of them. It knew and could tell me, in part, the history of Crocea Mors and Candidus Murus, it could tell me how powerful my parents were and it could draw centuries-old information out of a book. It could learn from a video game and record things that I do... it was like... it was almost like omnivoyance, in a way. I could see all there is and was.

That was mind-shaking the think about, but it had to be true. I would believe that notion until it was proven false.

I waited...

Ah, there it was.

 **By deepening your understanding of the system, your WIS has increased by 1!**

 **By broadening your knowledge of the system, your INT has increased by 1!**

It was a good measure of knowing when I was right. The system knew itself, and when I learned more about it, I gained INT and WIS.

It was fun, and cheap, but hey, it got me points and points meant more power.

I looked around, noticing I was in the shadier parts of town. Why had I come here?

Oh yeah, right, a fight to take damage to increase my Physical Resistance... WOW my day-to-day goals have become skewed.

I walked with my hands in my pockets, humming to myself as I mentally switched between classes, first had been Wizard to boost my APR until it had been fully recovered. I got 1 AP back at a rate just under every two seconds, maybe one and two-thirds seconds. I wasn't exactly sure. All I knew was that about twenty-five minutes had passed and my AP was back up to full.

Now that that was recovered, I switched to Tank to increase my HP and SP regen, mainly for the HP since I was in a severe lack of it. A few minutes later I heard a click of a gun being cocked. I groaned lightly, putting my hands up, "I don't have anything on me worth taking, unless you like pocket lint."

The random punk that had pulled the gun on me clicked his tongue, "I don't believe you. Empty your pockets."

I checked through my skills, trying to find one that would end this situation.

I felt odd, though, like I could sense his gun, and the pipes under the sidewalk, and the trashcans in the alleyway next to us.

I realized what it was. ' _Crocea Mors? You can sense metal?'_

 _'How else shall I know when metal is nearby to manipulate?'_ he asked back to me as though the answer was obvious.

I sighed at the man behind me, throwing a Gamer's Sight at him with his next complaint.

 **Frank Firleaf**

 **Title: The Tonic Cure**

 **Level: 7**

I hummed quickly skimming through his backstory while I slowly pulled out one pocket, "Frank, you should get back to work. Stop harassing kids on the street. I know it's part of your job but it's a bad part." I said as though I'd known him for years.

 **By using your wits and charisma to scare someone, you have gained the skill "Terrify"!**

I grinned, turning around to face him as Crocea Mors casually cocked the hammer forwards with a light pull, then the barrel of his revolver bent up and back to face him, "I suggest you leave before you find out what I can REALLY do." I said with a grin that showed all of my teeth.

I smelled a bit of a urine scent in the air as he ran away frightened. I chuckled and turned around, walking away, "I should have... aw shit, I know what I'm doing next." I laughed almost maniacally as I Ran to find another thug.

It was easy enough, I saw a man with a pistol casually talking to another three men while smoking something between them, I grinned at them, "Hello gentlemen." I said with a smile more fitting on The Joker than a seventeen-year-old boy.

"Yo, we ain't no _gentlemen_ , fool! What'chu doin' out here, fancy boy?" one of them said, before taking a hit on what Gamer's Sight told me was a crackpipe.

"Lookin' for a fight." I said with a chuckle, "So are you gonna do it or am I gonna have to call the cops to come collect your crack?"

The one with the pistol raised his gun, "I dare you, I double dare you, little bitch." he spat.

I pulled out my scroll and began to dial 911.

My arm fell limp as a hole was carved through my skull and out the back of my head by a bullet. The world went dark for all of three seconds, and when the light returned, I saw all four of the poorly-dressed men cowering in fear, calling me a demon, a Grimm, something or other, "No... I'm not a demon or a Grimm, I'm just a nightmare." I laughed like a psychopath, Singing helping just a little bit as the four scrambled inside the house they were sitting in front of.

I kept laughing, all the way to a bar a few blocks away. Redwater Bay, it was called, I laughed and entered. I was currently on a spree to gain some new skills. I couldn't wait!

...

Safe to say, I was not disappointed.

Just ten minutes in the hot, cramped, uncomfortable dance club had started to level up Dance from just moving to the beat a little, and I'd gained Rhythmic Combat from punching some guy in the face in time with the music (he was telling me to get off the girl he'd called dibs on. I honestly only did it because he was being unreasonable and a pervert), and Poison Resistance from almost drinking a mouthful of crappy beer. I spat it out the second I saw the skill, so I guess technically it doesn't count.

I left feeling satisfied. Odd that I hadn't leveled the skill Dance this morning, but a quick look at the description and thinking on the mental chunk of info in my head, it told me that dancing to music was far more efficient than just plain dancing. I groaned at that and drank a protein shake to counter some of the SP drain of Running to another place. I was done here for now.

Humming, I continued to walk around, activating my Aura to see what it did, then deactivating it. I didn't want to waste power when I could need it at a moment's notice, did I?

...

It was around 11'o'clock that I realized that I was probably wanted home. I sighed, Running back with the help of stacking protein shakes. I felt bad for abusing the system like that, but... actually, why did I need to care? It's my damn power, I'll use it how I want!

I panted softly as I walked through the front door. My mother hadn't moved from her spot on the couch, though she'd wiggled around some. I sighed softly for maybe the dozenth time that day, I needed something to do while my parents were preoccupied. I fiddled with some settings and found nothing new, unfortunately no brightness settings, so... I was at a loss.

I needed to write down a set of plans or something. Walking back upstairs I contemplated this before deciding to leave it for the morning, laying down in bed and taking out Crocea Mors the sword.

Humming, I used Crocea Mors the elemental to refine both the sword and the shield, hardening and tempering their metals like I'd studied, creating an impossibly strong form of the metals they were made of, just by simple virtue of being able to will the material to a specific form.

I grinned, connecting the two armaments, "Well, that's one thing I'll be glad to have." I'd have to procure some more metal to add to its mass, as well as fix up the many nicks, dings, and scratches that I'd only left in place to remind myself to do that task.

Wait... DUH, making a list!

...eh, I'll do it when I wake up.

* * *

The soft morning sun cast its rays through the curtains of my bedroom window. Despite its astronomical (supposed) distance from the planet, it had managed to pinpoint my eyes from an ungodly far distance and hit them directly with the brightest of its rays. Yet, despite this, I was not made aware until Gamer's Body decided that it was time to wake up, and was greeted by opening my eyes to blinding golden rays.

"FffffffffFFFFUUUUCK!" I cursed loudly as I flipped over, covering my eyes as Gamer's Body relieved the pain in seconds. I sat up to escape the sun's rays and looked around my room.

 **You slept in a bed and had a peaceful rest! HP, AP, and SP maxed out!**

I shook my head, dismissing the window as Gamer's Mind cleared the morning fog while I got up and did some stretches, limbering up to prepare for-

 **A special action has created the skill "Sense Danger"!**

I blinked, THAT was new... and frightening.

 **You sense a dangerous presence far away!**

I equipped Crocea Mors and Candidus Murus and looked out the window.

I saw, walking down the street, a hooligan-looking man with ratty clothes and what looked like a bad attitude.

Oh... I guess he counts as 'dangerous', then. He certainly seems a little threatening.

I watched as the man walked past my house, then out of the range of senses, getting a **A dangerous presence has left your sense range** notification to confirm that.

Sighing, I went downstairs to the kitchen, checking the clock to find it was only about six in the morning. Huh, I could have sworn I'd gone to sleep close to midnight...

Oh, I see, I must have slept for six hours, like the Extended Rest from some tabletop RPGs. I chuckled a little as I started making breakfast, singing softly and quietly as I cooked. I let my mind wander as words softly flowed from my mouth like syrup from the bottle that I held, and I noticed I'd gained a level or two in it.

I slowly stopped singing as I set three plates on the table, then blinked when I heard the music continue.

I turned to see my mother standing there, smiling and still singing. She noticed I'd stopped and did so as well, "Sorry, sweetie, I just... I really missed our singing lessons." she admitted with a small, sheepish smile.

"It's okay, mom, I admit, I kinda missed them too." it wasn't a lie. I DID still miss her from time to time, even if I don't think I could ever forgive her.

"So... your father's been teaching you how to be a huntsman, right?" she asked while sitting down across from me as I began to eat.

"Yeah, and I'm showing some good results recently, it has to do with my semblance." I grit my teeth behind a fake smile, immediately regretting mentioning my semblance.

"Oh? And what's your semblance, sweetheart?" she asked before eating a forkful of eggs.

I looked at my profile, seeing my equipped class, Wizard... perfect! "I'm a wizard, mom." I said with a cheeky smirk, "I can control metal, and later on I'm pretty sure I'll be able to control other things as well." I demonstrated by having Crocea Mors bend my fork back and forth, fixing the metal as he did so, "It's pretty cool." I said in a tone that edged for the dismissal of the subject, and Juniper caught on.

We talked throughout breakfast, and I felt myself growing lighter with every passing minute, until I stood up and took our dishes to the sink.

I hummed and starting washing the dishes, since it was my turn to do so, and I saw it level up, which made me smile a slight bit, but then I looked at another set of windows to my left and my jaw nearly dropped.

 **By letting go of your pride and being humble, you have sharpened your mind! +4 INT!**

 **Gamer's Mind has been reinforced against the calls of pride!**

 **By letting go of your wrath and being forgiving, you have sharpened your mind! +4 INT!**

 **Gamer's Mind has been reinforced against the calls of wrath!**

 **By accepting new information and being willing to let go of and alter your opinions accordingly, you have shown good judgment and your WIS has increased by 2!**

I felt my mind grow sharper and clearer, and I breathed a sigh. I felt... a lot better, to be honest.

I smiled and hummed while washing away grease and syrup, feeling like I could possibly bring my family back together, that I could repair the damage of a disagreement brought to its ultimate strength.

Maybe... just maybe...

 **QUEST RECEIVED!**

 **Quest: This over'arc'ing drama must be stopped!**

 **Description: Johnathan and Juniper Arc are now more civil with one another, but the road to recovery is a long one. Help them reconnect and rekindle the love that brought them together in the first place.**

 **Reward for Success: 100,000 exp, Johnathan and Juniper Arc get back together, the Arc family is reunited, Maximum Closeness to John Arc, Maximum Closeness to Juniper Arc, Increased Closeness with Jacaranda Arc, Increased Closeness with Juicia Arc, Increased Closeness with Juniper Arc II, Increased Closeness with Jade Arc, Increased Closeness with Jasper Arc, Increased Closeness with Jamacia Arc, Increased Closeness with Kira Arc.**

 **Penalty for Failure: 10,000 exp for every salvaged relationship, Johnathan and Juniper Arc either do not get back together or officially divorce, the Arc family is divided until your own fatherhood, Decreased Closeness to John Arc, Maximum Un-Closeness to Juniper Arc, Unknown Alteration to Closeness with Jacaranda Arc, Juicia Arc, Juniper Arc II, Jade Arc, Jasper Arc, Jamacia Arc, and Kira Arc.**

 **Time Limit: Until success or failure.**

 **Accept? Y/N**

I calmly finished the dishes.

I put them on the drying rack.

I walked up to my room.

I closed my door.

I turned towards the notification.

And I Power Strike slammed my fist into the Yes button.

I grinned. Maybe, maybe just maybe...

I could make everyone happy.

* * *

I panted as I entered the park once more, my Run having drained my SP, but I had other things to worry about over being tired.

-/\\-

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Novice Hero  
** **Level: 3  
** **Class: Tank  
** **Nickname: None**

 **HP: 550/560  
** **AP: 880/880  
** **SP: 0/560**

 **Strength: 31 (+30%) = 40.3  
** **Dexterity: 35 (+30%) = 45.5  
** **Vitality: 33 (+30%) = 42.9  
** **Intelligence: 44 (+3) (+30%) = 61.1  
** **Wisdom: 40 (+3) (+30%) = 55.9  
** **Luck: 18  
** **Charisma: 37**

 **Stat Points: 5**

-/\\-

I frowned. My DEX was going up very slowly. Sure I was only level 3 and had 5 stat points, but I'd figured a few things with my increased mental stats.

There would come a point where I would have to level up just in order to have more HP, AP, and SP to work with. When this time came, I would most definitely level up in order to increase my efficiency, but until then, I was like a player of an idle game who stubbornly refused to Prestige until it took literally days until I could get my next upgrade or building.

I could wait. I had my whole life to play The Game, I could do it.

I was going to play this game, and I was going to fucking win!

I walked over and smiled at Old Man Jenkins, "Hey there old-timer." I chuckled, waving to him with a friendly smile, "Need any help?" I asked with a jovial tone, high spirits obvious in my voice.

"Ah, Jaune was it? Nice to see you're still roaming around outside rather than, well, locking yourself up in your room on your computer or whatever." he chuckled wheezily, a small quest appearing and immediately being accepted, "Mind helping me to my bench?"

"Not at all." I said while helping him walk with a strong and steady hand. I walked him over to the bench, "So, what kind of stories do you have for me today?"

He smiled and chuckled, "Well, how about I tell you about some of the better parts of the war?" I nodded to him, eager to learn about something so historically significant.

...

I listened and nodded, occasionally providing comments as Jenkins recounted his more joyous tales of the Faunus Rights Revolution, carefully moving his arms around in gestures of the motions that had been done in the scenarios he'd described.

I watched windows flow through, a couple of increases to Charisma, and learning and gaining levels in Assault Rifle Skill and Pistol Skill, just from hearing him talk about and gesture with them, Gamer's Sight feeding me information.

 **Robert Jenkins  
** **Title: Forgotten but not Lost  
Level: 17**

 **HP: 200/200  
AP: 0/0 (locked)  
SP: 50/50**

 **Strength: 36 (-75%) = 9  
Dexterity: 25 (-80%) = 5  
Vitality: 40 (-80%) = 8  
Intelligence: 50 (-20%) = 40  
Wisdom: 40 (+25%) = 50  
Luck: 60**  
 **Charisma: 43**

 **Age: 76  
** **Birthday: September 13th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'9  
** **Weight: 145  
** **Build: Withered Old Man  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Aged White / Dimmed Brown / Aged Caucasian.**

I hummed, figuring that his drop in level, especially considering skills I saw on his list such as 'Pistol Mastery', 'Assault Rifle Proficiency', 'Militant Conditioning', and 'Deficit Effort', he had been quite a badass in his time. I looked at him respectfully, staring at the skills hard.

...

Nothing?

Weird... maybe I just didn't have the necessary stats for them.

Who knows?

I certainly didn't.

Smiling at him, I spoke up, "So, as much as I'd love to stay here and chat, Jenkins, I have things to do." I said with a smile, standing up, "You need anything before I go?" I asked politely.

"Uh, y-yeah." he said while looking up at me, "Ya said you're a wizard?"

"I DID say that." did I say that? Shit... "Well, I'm currently limited on the scale of my spellcasting, if that's what you want."

"Well, I do want that. If ya can, young man, could you maybe find a spell or whatever to fix me achin' joints?" he asked while rubbing his lower back as if to emphasize his point, letting out a low groan.

I opened my mouth to say something, that that wasn't exactly very possible, when the proof nearly slapped me in the face.

 **QUEST RECEIVED!**

 **Quest: Witch Doctor's got what you need!**

 **Description: find and use a magic skill on Robert Jenkins to mitigate his status effect "Withering of Age"**

 **Reward for completion: 1000 exp, Massively Increased Closeness with Robert Jenkins, unlocks "Cleric" class**

 **Penalty for failure (depending on time and conditions of failure): Robert Jenkins worsens in his condition, Robert Jenkins dies, Get charged for murder**

 **Time Limit: 6 months**

 **Accept? Y/N**

I accepted with a solemn thought, "I'll see what I can do, friend." I said with a smile while walking away.

I let the feelings of benevolence flow through me, and suddenly a new window popped up.

 **You have received the status effect "Dedication Motivation (Med)"**

 **Description: A miracle of the human heart that derives energy and strength from the bonds one shares.**

 **Effects: +50% STR, DEX, and VIT for 117 minutes, +500% SPR for 42.9 minutes.**

Huh... my Aura's numbers affected the duration of this status effect... I guess it's meant to be the sharpness of my mind, and then... my Vitality? I guess that sounds right... whatever, free status effect!

I picked up speed and Ran to the gym.

* * *

"Damn, that's pretty impressive, newbie." I heard a semi-familiar voice say. I turned to my left and say Yang again, but this time my mind stayed steady.

I smirked, "Well I'm just getting started, really." I chuckled, flexing my arms as I worked with a little over three hundred pounds, "But you can spot me if you want, Yang." I said with a playful smile.

"Alright... there you are." she giggled as she pointed at me, and I chuckled in response.

"Hehe, good one, but seriously though, help a guy out please?" I gave her a bit of a pleading look.

"Alright, slick, but only because you asked." she smiled and walked over, standing behind me as I lifted the barbell up and down methodically, feeling muscles tear and reform within seconds of doing so, my Strength going up by a few points.

"Thank you for doing this. I can tell, you're really strong. I'm guessing you go to the academy?" I prepared for my joke, a smile on my face.

"Beacon? No, I'm not ready for Beacon yet." she said with a slightly humble smile, "YET." she added with a slight smirk.

"Beacon? As in the hunter academy? Heavens no! I was talking about Caspomatic, the supermodel academy." I chuckled as I watched her face turn red from my statement, hearing a notification pop up before receiving a flick on the forehead, letting out a small "Ow." in response.

"Sh-shut up, you, I'm in my last year of Signal right now, and next year I'm going to Beacon, and I'm going to rock the school."

"Too late, the school is already made of rock." she giggled, "But you can shine on it, you already shine plenty enough." I saw her cheeks redden a little more, and I became a bit confused.

I set the bar on the rack and sat up, checking the notifications and my profile quickly.

 **By using your wits to embarrass another, you have gained the skill "Teasing"!**

 **Teasing's level increased by 7!**

 **+3 Closeness to Yang Xiao Long.**

 **Strengthening your bonds with others has increased your Charisma by 1!**

 **Increasing your skills' levels has gained you sufficient EXP. Your level increased by one!**

 **-/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Novice Hero  
** **Level: 4  
** **Class: Stud  
** **Nickname: None**

 **HP: 1000/1000  
** **AP: 1120/1120  
** **SP: 1100/1100**

 **Strength: 36 (+30%) = 46.8  
** **Dexterity: 35 (+30%) = 45.5  
** **Vitality: 35 (+30%) = 45.5  
** **Intelligence: 44 (+3) (+30%) = 61.1  
** **Wisdom: 40 (+3) (+30%) = 55.9  
** **Luck: 18  
** **Charisma: 41**

 **Stat Points: 10**

 **-/\\-**

Huh... I didn't even realize that increasing the levels of my skills got me EXP.

Checking it, I realized that it was a tiny amount of EXP per skill level, usually less than five per, but eventually it had all added up and I leveled up, giving me a significant boost.

I looked and realized that Stud had been equipped... checking the description again I realized that it provided twice the SPR benefit of Tank, and decided to keep it like that, especially if it'd help me deal with Yang.

Smiling, I turned back to her, shooting her a confident look, "Well, I think I'm done. Why don't you sit your pretty little self here and do your benches?" I patted the bench after cleaning it with my towel, which apparently counted for a new skill Mopping, now. I guess it was probably a difference in materials it was used on. Wood + Sweat apparently equaled Polish. It probably has to do with the oils.

Regardless, with this skill, as well as some that I earned during my routine this morning, including Dusting and Waxing, I suddenly saw a new window pop up.

 **New title "True Home Cleaner" unlocked!**

 **Home Cleaner: Granted for having all the skills of a home cleaner. -50% SP costs when using Housekeeping skills, +50% to the effects of these skills.**

Well... that'd make my chores easier, at least. Still... I had to be careful about one thing, I realized. If I leveled up one of my stats to 51 or more, then I'd lose the ability to use the Novice Hero title, which gave me +10% to all EXP gains.

"Oh well aren't you just a charmer?" she said with a giggle, laying down on the bench, "Put some more weight on the bar." I did as told, smiling, "Alright, now let's start." she lifted the bar up, Gamer's Sight showing me patterns of Aura along her arms as she lifted the bar up and down, causing some jiggling of her chest, but I ignored it for the most part, mostly by keeping my eyes half-closed.

"Well I just try to be nice to girls, like my dad taught me to be. Personally, though, I'd say it was working." if what the 'Friends' tab showed me was anything to go by, at least.

 **Friends:**

 **Juniper Arc: +54, Beloved Son  
Johnathan Arc: +75, Beloved Son  
** **Robert Jenkins: +37, Personal Friend  
** **Annabelle Sytrus: +12, A Nice Young Man**  
 **Yang Xiao Long: +28, Friend**

We talked during our break, my physical stats crawling up barely anything even after so much working out. I guess the weights were growing too small for me.

I let spill that I was a wizard, which wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the truth either, rather just a small nugget in comparison to what I REALLY was. The talking was what got me even more closeness to her, and by the time we left the gym, thoroughly tired and feeling the burn (at least she did, I pretended to be less effected by it, which was to assume that any of the pain hadn't left in seconds)

We said our goodbyes after exchanging Scroll information, however I saw her add a funny 'a' to my name, so I did the same for her name too, only in revenge.

I'd also, through normal conversation, gotten a little over thirty more levels in Teasing. I just don't understand how-... okay, NOW I see how she could misconstrue 'I waited until my parents were asleep to polish the family sword'... god I must have looked like an idiot, but at least she seemed to be happy enough. It felt nice to make such a beautiful girl smile.

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Misc:**

 **Teasing (Passive) Level: 40, EXP: 45.63%  
** **The act of using your own charms and wits to bring other people to a state of being red-faced, stuttering, speechless fools who can hardly react. Effect increases with Skill Level and CHA**

 **Teasing Effectiveness: +88%**  
 **Teasing Resistance: +30%**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Yang Xiao Long: +45, Good Friend**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Novice Hero  
** **Level: 4  
** **Class: Stud  
** **Nickname: None**

 **HP: 1030/1030  
** **AP: 1120/1120  
** **SP: 1130/1130**

 **Strength: 38 (+30%) = 49.4  
** **Dexterity: 35 (+30%) = 45.5  
** **Vitality: 37 (+30%) = 48.1  
** **Intelligence: 44 (+3) (+30%) = 61.1  
** **Wisdom: 40 (+3) (+30%) = 55.9  
** **Luck: 18  
** **Charisma: 45**

 **Stat Points: 10**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

I smiled. It was nice to see that Yang was taking responsibility and, even if she didn't know it, helping me grind up the increases to my Charisma. I looked at everything, then sighed. The unevenness was going to kill me. I applied some of my points to make it all even.

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Novice Hero  
** **Level: 4  
** **Class: Stud  
** **Nickname: None**

 **HP: 1050/1050  
** **AP: 1150/1150  
** **SP: 50/1150**

 **Strength: 40 (+30%) = 52  
** **Dexterity: 35 (+30%) = 45.5  
** **Vitality: 40 (+30%) = 52  
** **Intelligence: 45 (+3) (+30%) = 62.4  
** **Wisdom: 40 (+3) (+30%) = 55.9  
** **Luck: 20  
** **Charisma: 45**

 **Stat Points: 2**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

I sighed, my desire for evenness sated. I began to Run towards... I don't know where, to be honest.

I still hadn't organized my tasks and objectives, but I could do that tomorrow morning. There wasn't any need to rush, right?

Exactly.

I still had time to do everything I need to.

EVERYTHING.

And yes.

I believed in miracles.

* * *

 **Well, here we are again. This chapter is a little more chaotic, I guess. It represents how Jaune is feeling much different now, and his focus and goals are still unknown to him, hence the literal lack of any planned events.**

 **The way things played out for Johnathan and Juniper... well, there are a few things to understand about the Hunter psyche:**

 **1) They are drilled to understand that shit happens, it's really nobody's fault, but shit just happens and they have to adapt.**

 **2) They are drilled to desire unending improvement, and John wants Jaune to do even better than he did, while Juni is one of the ones who doesn't want her son to take to the family business.**

 **3) Though stubborn and convicted, they can change their mind on just about anything if it's for the best for everyone involved.**

 **And that's just for starters.**

 **Seems Mary Sue-ish? It might to some, but you need to understand that these people are literally superhuman, so they have superhuman minds and bodies. This puts them several leagues above normal people in all regards, but they're still human.**

 **As for Gamer's Mind's lack of preventing Jaune from being overcome by emotion... he's still a teenager under all this, he's still a kid, he's still a PERSON, behind the Gamer's Mind. The power drags his emotions, kicking and screaming, down to zero, but if they kick and scream enough then they can break from the hold. The game has to settle down and possibly even reboot after that.  
**

 **Stealth... well as Jaune said, he's not going to be using it all that much, but one thing to note is the reason it leveled up so quickly... Imagine you're the superhuman Huntress, the one and only Juniper Arc. You're coming to visit your son and hopefully not see your idiot of a husband. Your beloved son suddenly runs up and punches you in the face with strength you didn't know he might have had. He asks what you're doing here, panting like he just ran a marathon, and then he collapses after coughing up blood. Naturally you'd be worried as fuck. After taking your son to where you know your husband's home is, you find him there and the two of you start arguing because _Holy shit our son is unconscious and started coughing up blood_ , John pours a glass of water for Jaune to drink when if he wakes up before any doctor called can arrive, and you two start arguing downstairs. Even though the spit and vinegar is flying between the two of you, you're mainly focusing your _superhuman senses_ on every little noise in the house in case Jaune wakes up and starts moving around or somebody breaks in suddenly (which they thought when Jaune unsheathed the sword, leading them to temporarily think he was an armed robber) and so you're kind of both willing to shut the fuck up for five seconds to listen to every little creak and crack of the building, in case it might actually be creaking and cracking because of your clearly sick son's footsteps. However, even though you're so worried on the inside, you can't really show it on the outside, or else it's going to affect your son too, and teenagers are, next to children, the worst at handling their emotions. Bad emotions means an increase, if only a very tiny one, that Grimm will attack the city. It's paranoia refined into a psychological advantage.**

 ***wonders if that paragraph made me sound crazy***

 **Moving on...**

 **Cheats... he can't use these often, mainly because they crash The Game within 10 seconds of being in use. Crashing The Game means his two biggest defenses against the world, Gamer's Mind and Gamer's Body, are turned off for a while. There are going to be things Jaune will face that _only HE CAN FACE_ because he's The Gamer, and those two abilities let him take ungodly levels of punishment for next to no cost.**

 **Already Jaune is starting to set himself up for an eventual fall by letting a nugget of truth slip to his family and (two) friends. He'd better learn some "spells" before they start asking for some proof that he is what he claims he is.**

 **Next chapter will come when I get it done, it might be a day, it might be a week, or it might be (god forbid) a month, because I want to get into the habit of writing and finishing these chapters in relatively short amounts of time.**

 **Here's to hoping I can do it! *holds up glass of water to toast all you wonderful readers***

 **I might go back at some point and correct my spelling mistakes, but who knows? Thank you all for reading this chapter, and goodnight. *takes a bow***

 **-/\/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Novice Hero  
** **Level: 4  
** **Class: Stud  
** **Nickname: None**

 **HP: 1050/1050  
** **AP: 1150/1150  
** **SP: 50/1150**

 **Strength: 40 (+30%) = 52  
** **Dexterity: 35 (+30%) = 45.5  
** **Vitality: 40 (+30%) = 52  
** **Intelligence: 45 (+3) (+30%) = 62.4  
** **Wisdom: 40 (+3) (+30%) = 55.9  
** **Luck: 20  
** **Charisma: 45**

 **Stat Points: 2**


	4. Back to the Grind and to the Ground

**Back again for another chapter! I'm not going to rush, but we'll see if I can get this out really soon, since a lot of people are really liking the story.**

 **Let's just jump right into it, shall we? First a couple of review responses.**

 **QuantumZero:** Power Strike enhances whatever his attack is by exerting aura or a boosted effort into it. So it's his arm, technically, that is being enhanced, in order to enhance his attack. He cannot Kaioken, unfortunately.

 **Nik41:** this is an unexpected request, but I'll see what I can do, *writes it down*

 **MysticSpider:** I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that. He's going to have to talk to someone eventually.

 **AryanGodJaune:** first off, I love your username, second off, thank you for your supporting words. Trust me when I say that this story will grow into something BIG, I'm talking HUGE, I'm talking MASSIVE, I'm talking... well, you get my point. It's going to be very definitely not small.

 **A particularly innocent Guest:** I have read TGWP by Ryuugi from start to finish, and I won't say that I haven't drawn any inspiration at all from his work, but I will say that I will be making all efforts I can to not be a copycat to him.

 **A particularly rude Guest:** ... I shouldn't feed flamers, but I happen to be hard at work trying to make a decent The Gamer story for people to enjoy reading. Let's just say that if I had to plot a completely straight line between this person's statement and the truth, along the shortest possible path, it'd touch the moon.

I know I haven't technically established a plot yet, so it might seem like this story is aimless, but for those of you with doubts, please remember that Jaune is still technically in _the beginning_ of the game, he hasn't been introduced to any plot lines _yet_. He hasn't even had _TIME_ to be _._ Hell, he hasn't even gone on a training spree yet (he does in this chapter). I happen to have BIG plans for this story (conveniently the plot starts to be introduced in the next couple of chapters, actually) and things will be started on a roll.

 **Still,** a major focus in this story is the more human part of Jaune being, well, _Jaune_ , so there will be drama and there will be fluff aside from the action. Sadly for those of you who don't want him to tell anyone about The Gamer, he's gonna have to eventually. It's part of my plan and he's bound to open up to someone at some point (most-likely a fellow blonde who happens to have a very impressive pair of... gauntlets).

 **For those of you who like the story, but are a bit confused about the plot, just know that I have plans for the story and this story will become VERY big.**

 **Now a note of worldbuilding: I'm using a bit of a different map than the normal Vale map, basically just put Beacon more to the north and put some small cities and towns that are part of the Vale Kingdom to the south of our main city.**

 **Oh yeah, there's a subtle reference in this chapter, see if you can find it. If you can, you get a cookie, ^w^**

 **Now let's get to the chapter.**

 **EDIT AGAIN: OKAY I'M SICK AND FUCKING TIRED OF GETTING FLAMED OVER THIS FUCKING CHAPTER SO I WENT BACK IN AND PUT SOME MORE SHIT INTO THE SCENE EVERYONE GETS THEIR PANTIES IN A BUNCH ABOUT! Spoilers: Jaune isn't 100% immune to panicking and has a bit of panic and in said panic he dumps a ton of points into LUK and then regrets it because he gets some skills that, in his bad mood, he can't fully see the true value of and feels like the game is shitting on him for making a decision while in a panic. If you read this note and then read that scene and you STILL feel the need to bitch about it, then save me the excitement of seeing a new review and the crushing disappointment of it being just another person complaining about his LUK boost, and either keep it to yourself or fuck off**

 **Chapter 4: Back to the Grind and to the Ground.**

* * *

I groaned, exhausted as I ended up in the forest east of the city. I pulled out a towel I'd bought at the store, among a few other little things, and wiped my face and neck clean of the sweat I'd shed.

I still had the Stud class equipped... but ONLY because it gave me the boosted SPR, that was the ONLY reason why I had it equipped. I was not interested in getting a girlfriend, and Yang was still WAY out of my league.

I came out here for a reason, and that reason was that I needed to fight Grimm in order to level up. Hilariously convenient that in a world of murder-monsters, I have a power that lets me get stronger for killing them. I activated my aura to boost my SPR some more, sighing as it raised even more.

I could practically feel the EXP coming to me as I anticipated the fights ahead...

And then I LITERALLY felt the EXP coming to me.

 **Sense Danger's level increased by 1!**

 **Augmenting your senses with Aura has created the skill "Detect Bloodthirst"!**

 **Detect Bloodthirst's level increased by 1!**

 **You sense a dangerous, bloodthirsty presence nearby! Origin: Grimm**

I grit my teeth, equipping Crocea Mors and Candidus Murus.

Now was the time to test my mettle.

Looking around, I listened for the Grimm approaching me... THERE!

I spun around and saw a Beowolf rush from the foliage. I raised my shield and its attack slid past the metal while I kicked it to the side, sending it sprawling to the ground with flailing limbs as I saw Shield Skill get added to my skills.

I sent a Gamer's Sight at it. I had to know my enemy right?

 **Beowolf**

 **Title: Strength of the Wolf**

 **Level: 6**

I groaned. Great, even one of the lowliest Grimm in the world was stronger than me? I looked through its stats to confirm.

I was surprised.

 **HP: 150/150  
** **SP: 1500/1500**

 **Strength: 14  
** **Dexterity: 25  
** **Vitality: 15  
** **Intelligence: 1  
** **Wisdom: 2  
** **Luck: 6**

Huh... I was actually a LOT stronger than it. Though given the difference in my growth and its growth, it made sense suddenly.

I looked through its status effects and found a few that stood out, namely 'Burgeoning Potential', which meant it could grow to be far more than what it is now, 'Dark Energy', which was why it had so much goddamn SP, and 'Suboordinate', which allowed it to take boosts given by higher ranking Beowolves.

I felt just a little bit outclassed, but it had no AP, while I had a significant amount of it.

I charged forward and swung Crocea Mors at it, cutting off its arm with the Elemental-sharpened blade. I saw its HP drop to 110, which was a little concerning, since the damage for Crocea Mors is supposed to be about 200. I quickly came around and cut off its other arm, then shield-bashed it in the face, followed by cutting its head off.

It fell to the ground with a thud while I backpedaled, expecting another any second.

Nothing.

I looked at the ground and was surprised to see a small bundle of Lien and a few teeth. I picked them up and used Gamer's Sight.

 **You gained 50 lien!**

 **You gained the item "Beowolf Fang (x4)"**

 _ **Beowolf Fang**_

 _ **Description: The fang of a Beowolf, preserved despite its body disintegrating. Can be used in crafting.**_

 _ **Type: Grimm Loot**_

I stared at the teeth. I could... craft with these? All that came to mind was a tooth necklace and attaching them to a club as spikes, and the latter sounded morally wrong, so I guess I could do the former.

I just needed to, y'know, find out how to make a tooth necklace.

I saw that my EXP bar had gone up a decent amount.

I ran off in search of another Beowolf. I didn't use Run, instead gauging my speed to be below what it would take to activate it. It was surprisingly easy, since my INT helped me mentally react faster. I saw that my SP was barely going down at all and mentally recorded that.

Before was just training time. Now? It was serious time.

I kept almost-running until Sense Danger and Detect Bloodthirst pointed out another Grimm. I activated my aura to recover that much more SP, when I saw the message change from 'Nearby' to 'Close'

Ceasing my panting, I listened to the sounds around me, and I forced my aura to glow brighter in an attempt to-

 **A special action has created a skill! By shining your light to attract the creatures of Grimm, you have gained the skill "Signal"!**

 **Signal (Active) Level: 1, Exp: 12.54%, Cost: 1500 AP  
**

 **A power of the ancient wizard Patches O'Hullohan Newcastle, the founder of Patch. His semblance partially allowed him to become a signal of light that would attract the forces of darkness to him. Able to be manifested through the powers of The Game, this skill allows the user to attract the Grimm to themselves, even bypassing other warriors of the light, so that they shall not come under harm.**

 **Attracts Grimm to you from up to 100 meters away.  
** **Bypasses aggro-drawing of fellow warriors of light that are up to 10 levels below yours.  
** **Costs an additional 1500 AP per hour**

I felt like my Aura just short-circuited, and sure enough...

 **ERROR! Aura Point Value has become incomputable! ERROR! ATTEMPTING TO FIX!**

 **You have received the status effect "Aura Confusion"**

I facepalmed. GREAT, and I was JUST about to try to use an aura attack too!

In my distraction, I felt something crack my knees and I fell to the ground like a sack of bricks. I scrambled to my feet and looked at what had come for me.

 **Name: Boarbatusk  
** **Title: The hungry, bloody teeth  
** **Level: 23**

 **Hit Points: 1200/1200  
** **Stamina Points: 3700/3700**

 **Strength: 24  
** **Dexterity: 30  
** **Vitality: 40  
** **Intelligence: 3  
** **Wisdom: 3  
** **Luck: 10**

I spat on the ground, checking its other details. It was heavy, but I could... hehe, THAT would be fun.

I unequipped my sword and shield and met its charge with my gloved hands. I felt my arms ache as I slid back several feet, but eventually my opposing force had stopped it. I lifted with my arms and back, feeling its weight , and I used my Strength to lift it up and over my head, practically suplexing it as I slammed it upside down into the ground, dealing a few hundred damage. I scrambled to my feet and got out my sword again, stabbing it in its unprotected underside, seeing its HP plummet, then stop. I wrenched my sword around and ripped it out, spraying vile ichor and gore all over.

If it weren't for Gamer's Mind and Gamer's Body, I'd have thrown up. I had to do THIS to kill the Grimm? The smell alone would make a D&D character have to do a Constitution saving throw in order to not vomit!

Instead, I simply retched a couple of times before pulling myself together. I saw a few new windows appear.

 **Your level has increased by three!**

 **You gained 750 lien!**

 **You gained the Skillbook: Stampede**

"Nice." I smiled and looked at the book itself. It was a book on Aura Channeling techniques. Odd... how is only one skill in this book? I opened it and flipped through the pages, finding that many of them were torn, smudged, and dirtied, and the only remotely legible pages were the ones detailing Stampede.

I shrugged, figuring the book was useless in its current state, and hit Yes to 'read' it.

The golden flakes of information soared into my head, forming another 'box' of information in my memory.

I looked at the skill curiously.

 **Stampede (Active) Level: 1, EXP: 0.00%, Cost: 100 AP  
** **By channeling Aura through specific leg, back, and arm muscle groups, users of this skill may unleash a powerful charge, breaking through defenses or tossing foes aside.**

 **Increase movement speed by 100%.  
** **Increase charging force by 100%.  
** **Costs an additional 100 AP per minute**

"Huh... that's pretty cool." I read the skill again. Specific muscle groups? Well... that actually gave me an idea.

I pulled out a notebook and pencil I'd taken from my backpack, in case I happened upon something that inspired a set of plans.

Writing things up, I was suddenly pulled from my writing when I heard a new notification. Seven dangerous, bloodthirsty presences nearby. Origin: Grimm.

Shit, seven Grimm nearby? I activated my aura to start regenerating the rest of my SP, looking out for them. I drew my sword and shield and checked the description of Shield Skill while I waited for an update to the information.

 **Shield Skill (Passive) Level: 1, Exp: 10.00%**  
 **A skill denoting... well... a skill for wielding Shields**

 **Defense: +2%**  
 **Stamina Discount: 1%**  
 **Toughness: +1**  
 **Attack Damage: -95%**

I hummed, it wasn't much, but I could work with it. However, before I could contemplate any further, I sensed an attack flying towards my face and quickly raised my shield.

I slashed randomly, hoping to defect the attacker for a second while I backpedaled.

And I just so happened to back into another Grimm.

I sent a round of Gamer's Sight at the enemies who had approached.

 **Name: Elder Beowolf  
** **Title: Stronger than the Wolf  
** **Level 10**

 **Hit Points: 400/400  
** **Stamina Points: 2000/2000**

Its stats were just a bit of a cut above the normal Beowolves, the main difference being that now these ones have armor plates and far more dangerous claws, as well as an extra foot of height.

I took a deep breath, Gamer's Mind helping me keep calm in this situation. I had skills that these things didn't. My stats were far higher, I had Aura, AND I had the ability to plan things out.

One of them charged at me and I bashed it in the face with Candidus, then used Crocea to chop off its arm. I followed suit with the others.

Clangs of bone on metal rang out as I kept Candidus solid and Crocea true, hacking off limbs and spilling vile Grimm ichor all over the forest floor. I ignored the smell, growing a little used to it, much to my shame, and after a long while of Power Strikes, Double Strikes, and even gaining the ability Whirlwind Strike at the end, finishing them all off.

With a small "Woo!" I checked everything that had come out of that.

 **You gained 2000 lien.**

 **You gained the item "Elder Beowolf Fang (x10)"**

 **-/\\-**

 **Whirlwind Strike (Active) Level: 1, Exp: 20.00%, Cost: 50 SP  
** **An attack performed by spinning around, using spiral motion and taking advantage of torque to carry force along multiple targets.**

 **Hits all targets immediately surrounding the user.  
** **Stacks with all buffs  
** **Base Damage: 40%  
Number of Spins per use: 1**

 **-/\\-**

 **Your level increased by one!**

 **You gained the item "Canishigek Du"**

I blinked at the strange name and browsed through my inventory, letting out a small "Aha." when I found it.

 ** _Canishigek Du_**

 ** _Description: An Elder Beowolf hide shaped into leather jacket. The inside is lined with fur and it has slightly reinforced white leather patches at the elbows and shoulders._**

 ** _Effect: +5 Armor, +1 DEX, induces status effect "Bloodthirst"_**

I hummed. Dare I put it on? Bloodthirst sounded like a mental status effect, which Gamer's Mind would negate. I shrugged. Better I put it on to test it rather than make someone else go crazy with bloodthirst trying to test it. Who would I even ask to put it on?

I removed my hoodie and replaced it with Canishigek.

 **You equipped the jacket "Canishigek Du"!**

 **You gained the status effect "Equipment Buff"!**

 **Gained +5 Armor!**

 **Status effect "Bloodthirst" was negated by Gamer's Mind.**

I looked at the icons for the status effects. Equipment Buff had a plus sign next to a helmet and a breastplate, and Bloodthirst had a fang-filled smile with a drop of blood on the corner of the mouth. However, it was also crossed out with a bright green X, with an icon that looked like a game controller plugged into a brain, which was the icon for Gamer's Mind.

I grinned excitedly. This jacket was almost as comfortable as my hoodie, even if it looked a little odd. I probably wouldn't wear it all the time, but I'd definitely wear it in a battle.

"I wonder what else I can get out here?" I asked myself, looking around, then running off in a random direction.

* * *

 _(Hours Later)_

Not feeling the soreness one would usually associate with hours and hours of strenuous exercise, I considered myself very lucky. I slowly trudged through the forest, my destination being home. I was sifting through the many windows that had popped up over the course of my training. I'd ignored them before and let myself go into a trance, fighting as hard as I could and attracting as many Grimm as I thought necessary. Given that I hardly needed food and didn't need sleep at all, I could have stayed out here all night, but I needed to be responsible.

I had school tomorrow after all.

"Well... time to go through all these windows..." I sighed to myself, starting from the top.

 **-/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
Title: Novice Hero  
Level: 19  
Class: Tank  
Nickname: None**

 **HP: 2960/2960  
** **AP: 5120/5120  
** **SP: 3140/3140**

 **Strength: 40 (+30%) = 52  
** **Dexterity: 35 (+30%) = 45.5  
** **Vitality: 44 (+30%) = 57.2  
** **Intelligence: 45 (+3) (+30%) = 62.4  
** **Wisdom: 40 (+3) (+30%) = 55.9  
** **Luck: 24  
** **Charisma: 45**

 **Stat Points: 77**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Boxing (Log)  
** **A fighting style used by heavy hitters and catering to the tall and broad. It focuses purely on punches and guarding. Normally used non-lethally, it can easily injure and kill when used the correct way. This skill logs the mastery levels and effects of all Boxing techniques. The power of the techniques increases with STR, DEX, and VIT.**

 **Left Hook: Level 9  
** **Left Jab: Level 9  
** **Left Uppercut: Level 5  
** **Left Low Guard: Level 12  
** **Left High Guard: Level 12  
** **Right Hook: Level 14  
** **Right Jab: Level 16  
** **Right Uppercut: Level 12  
** **Right Low Guard: Level 5  
** **Right High Guard: Level 5**

 **-/\\-**

 **Rhythmic Combat (Passive) Level: 3**

 **Power Strike (Active) Level: 18  
** **Double Strike (Active) Level: 22  
** **Whirlwind Strike (Active) Level: 10  
**

 **Unarmed Skill (Passive) Level: 26  
** **Sword Skill (Passive) Level: 32  
** **Axe Skill (Passive) Level: 23  
** **Dagger Skill (Passive) Level: 24  
** **Shield Skill (Passive) Level: 30  
** **Terrify (Passive) Level: 20**

 **Run (Active) Level: 25  
** **Dancing (Passive) Level: 8  
** **Stampede (Active) Level: 5**

 **Craft (Active) Level: 9**

 **Humming (Passive) Level: 9  
** **Singing (Passive) Level: 8**

 **Summon Elemental (Active & Passive) Level: 10  
** **Aura (Passive & Active) Level: 6**

 **Physical Resistance (Passive) Level 7**

 **Sense Danger (Passive) Level: 13  
** **Detect Bloodthirst (Passive) Level: 15**

 **-/\/\/\\-**

 **You gained the item "Skillbook: Leadership"!**

 **You gained the item "Skillbook: Power Arm"!**

 **You gained the item "Orsitranas"!**

 **You gained the Grimm Mask "Lupus"!**

 **By defeating a major Grimm, you have unlocked the title "Grimm Slayer"!**

 **-/\\-**

 **Leadership (Passive) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00%  
The ability of particularly smart individuals to lead their fellows through tasks. The addition of a good leader can turn the tide of almost any battle. Effects of this skill increase with Skill Level and other Interaction Skills.**

 **0% increase to allies' stats.  
+0% effectiveness to allies' abilities.  
**

 **-/\\-**

 **Power Arm (Active) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00%, Cost: 100 AP  
By channeling aura through specific arm and shoulder muscle groups, users of this skill may swing their arms with tremendous force, hitting hard enough to shatter boulders or dent solid steel with their bare hands.**

 **Increases strength in arms by 50%  
Increases striking force by 200%  
Costs an additional 100 AP per minute.**

 **-/\\-**

I whistled lowly at all my accomplished work, feeling proud of myself for having accomplished all of that in less than a day. Orsitranas was a jacket made from an Ursa's pelt, which was pretty cool. I smiled a little bit. Lupus was gained from a big Beowolf, I think it was an Alpha. I couldn't quite remember, I'd halfway turned off my brain as I trained, and hadn't retained every little piece of information. Actually, speaking of which, I didn't even know how long I've been out he-...

My fingers trembled slightly as I held my scroll in my hand, the numbers on the clock not changing even after I rubbed my eyes, "It's three in the morning? SHIT! FUCK!"

My dad was gonna kill me for being out this late!

Wait... why does it look so bright out, then?

I checked the few other windows, just notifications of my skills leveling up. Why didn't I pay more attention to these? What's wrong with me? Dammit!

Aha! Shortly after I'd gotten the Lupus mask, I'd put it on.

 **You equipped the item "Grimm Mask: Lupus"**

 **You gained +5 Darkness Affinity**

 **You gained the status effect "Strength of the Pack"  
** **Effects: Gives +15% boost to allies' STR, DEX, VIT, and INT**

 **You gained the status effect "Call to the Moon"  
Effects: Increases damage done by mouth-related attacks by 40%. Grants Nightvision**

 **You gained the status effect "Running in the Night"  
** **Effects: Increases movement speed while by 30% during Nighttime**

 **You gained the status effect "Bloody Working"  
Effect: All enemies must be killed. (Negated by Gamer's Mind)**

 **You gained the status effect "Primal Instincts"  
** **Effect: Reduces effective INT and WIS by 50% (Negated by Gamer's Mind)**

Oh... well then.

I'd save that for later, in that case. Removing the mask was simple and I didn't have a single problem as I put it back into my inventory.

For right now... I needed to get home and hope my dad didn't chew me out for being out so late!

Images flashed through my mind, his tired, worried expression as I came home, me telling him what I was doing, the surprise and brief pride in his eyes that would immediately get squashed by anger and parental worry. He'd tell me off, chew me six new ear holes, two assholes, ground me, confine me to staying in the house and away from training. After all, if I was so irresponsible with my safety that I didn't even tell him where I was when I'd be gone for such a long period of time, I couldn't be trusted to not get myself killed in the pursuit of getting stronger.

For all my stats had helped me vanquish my foes, I could put up no fight against my father with any level of Strength, Dexterity, Vitality, or even Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma. He'd be too pissed to listen to one word of my reasons for staying out.

Oh gods, my career as a huntsman would end before it could even begin!

Wait...

I had a lot of stat points... and one particular stat that could help: Luck!

I could increase my Luck and hope that would be enough to boost my chances of not getting caught by my no-doubt extremely irate father and barred from my future attempts at training to be a Huntsman.

The purpose that this Gamer power had presented me with was now on the line. With this as my only foreseeable hope, I figured it was worth a shot.

Somewhere deep in my mind, a dark cloud of thoughts and fears replaced the image of my cowering form standing before my dad's screaming figure with one of my screaming mother.

That settled it then.

With little hesitance, I pulled up my profile again and hit the button to distribute every single point I had.

 **-/\\-**

 **Luck: 24-} 101**

 **Stat Points: 77-} 0** **  
**

 **-/\\-**

I confirmed the change in the numbers, then I felt a change take place in myself, deep and strange, like I was being pulled in all directions... it was odd, it hurt... it hurt so badly...

I cried out in agony, but all too soon it ceased, leaving me breathless. The feeling was so unbearably _odd._ I felt blurry and yet at the same time sharp... was this the effect of increasing my Luck?

Wait... what are those windows? My vision cleared moments later and my mind took in and processed the words presented to me.

 **-/\\-**

 **By raising Luck over 50, you have gained the skill "Lucky Spark"!**

 **By raising Luck over 100, you have gained the skill "Fate Coin"**

 **By raising Luck over 100, you have gained the skill "Stay True"**

 **By raising Luck over 100, you have gained the skill "Night Omen"**

 **-/\\-**

 **Lucky Spark (Passive) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00%, (Gained by raising Luck over 50)  
A gift of those who are born particularly lucky. This little spot of good fortune will aid you in gaining more power.**

 **0.1% chance of gaining 300% the EXP for any random thing you may do.**

 **-/\\-**

 **Fate Coin (Active) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00%, Cost: 2000 AP, (Gained by raising Luck over 100)  
A metaphorical coin that provides good or bad fortune for particularly powerful warriors.**

 **When used, the user's next attack has a 50% chance to deal 200% damage, and a 50% chance to deal 0% damage.**

 **-/\\-**

 **Stay True (Passive) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00%, (Gained by raising Luck over 100)  
An ability granted to people whose luck is strong enough to be a weapon of information. People slip up near you, letting loose a truth that they might rather want to have bee kept secret. Unfortunately, you are not immune to this slip up either.**

 **1% chance for anything someone tells you to be replaced by a random unknown truth.  
20% chance for anything you tell someone to be replaced by a random unknown truth.**

 **-/\\-**

 **Night Omen (Passive) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00%, (Gained by raising Luck over 100)**  
 **A power given to the fortunate and the unfortunate. A sign of bad luck in the eyes of most, this ability allows one to receive messages through their dreams.**

 **Unlocks "Ominous Nightmares"  
** **Unlocks "Terrifying Nightmares"  
Unlocks "Animate Fear Nightmares"  
Unlocks "Traumatic Nightmares"  
Unlocks "Hopeful Dreams"  
**

 **-/\\-**

 **By having Luck be the first skill to be raised above 50, you have gained a bonus +3 Luck!**

 **By having Luck be the first skill to be raised above 100, you have gained a bonus +6 Luck!**

 **-/\\-**

That... that was...

Okay... now I wish I hadn't done that...

Following the shock to my system, my mind cleared greatly, like the fog generated by the thoughts of my future being ripped away had vanished. It dissipated completely, blown away by the implications these skills provided.

Night Omen was a very shitty skill, I really wish I didn't have that now.

Why did I panic and dump all my points into Luck? Sure I got Lucky Spark, Fate Coin, and Stay True, but Night Omen was going to haunt my every waking hour!

I didn't want to sleep anymore... I just didn't...

Why does this have to happen to me~? WHY?!

So... let me just review this... I have a Random EXP Boost skill, a Double or Nothing skill, a quite unique Randomly Tells the Truth skill, and a Nightmare skill... wow.

Wow... I was kinda fucked.

And I can't use Novice Hero anymore because I have a stat (my now-decidedly-shitty Luck) that's over 50! Goddammit!

I was screwed no matter what. People around me had a one in one hundred chance of spilling a secret, and I had a one in five! It wasn't fair!

I just hoped that skill leveled up quickly... I'm never increasing Luck again, it's 110 now anyways so it wouldn't irritate my sense of order, which was fine. I probably wouldn't increase it even if it DID!

I sighed and began to Run back home now that my SP was recovered, taking a moment to store my loot in my inventory again, which had expanded massively since I started The Game, probably due to my Strength.

Dammit... just... I was still mad about that. I shouldn't have just dumped all those points in there, but what was I supposed to do? I couldn't let my bad (or was it now supposed to be good?) luck get me... lectured? Grounded? My dreams crushed?

None of those were fun, anyways, and now that my panic had cleared I had also realized that none of them were really all that likely either. My dad was a reasonable man, of course. He'd just make sure I didn't go out training until the wee hours of the morning again.

I could have used those points to boost my Wisdom or Intelligence more, or even my Strength!

... and that reminds me that now I can't use Wizard anymore either! GAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!

I sighed exasperatedly, mentally screaming and stopping to cut a tree in half in one sword swing, then I continued along my path after that helped me feel a little better.

At least things would go well at home.

* * *

 _(One run home later)_

I rubbed my eyes. It had been half an hour my dad had been telling me over and over how irresponsible I'd been, being out so late without telling him or at least my mom about it. Without giving any indication that I'd not ended up dead.

I sighed and stood up, "Dad, I'm fine, okay? I'm a Wizard." not anymore, unfortunately, but I did unlock a few new classes in the wake of my horrible decision.

 **By having high LUK, you have unlocked the class "Gambler"!**

 **By having high LUK, you have unlocked the class "Gambler v2"!**

 **By having high LUK, you have unlocked the class "Gambler v3"!**

 **By having high DEX and LUK, you have unlocked the class "Assassin"!**

 **By having high DEX, LUK, and a sufficient level in the Stealth skill, you have unlocked the class "Ninja"!**

 **By having high LUK and INT, you have unlocked the class "Dice Mage"!**

 **By having high LUK and VIT, you have unlocked the class "Flesh Knight"!**

The first version of Gambler increased the possibility of a good outcome by 50%, but also increased a bad outcome chance by 50%. The second shifted that to 60-40 in favor of good and added a +25% increase to the positive effects of Luck-based skills, and the third shifted it further to 70-30, as well as boosted the positive skill effects increase to +50%.

Assassin had the lovely effect of increasing the effectiveness of Poison, Stealth, and Acrobatics, as well as increasing my mastery of small weapons like Daggers and Pistols. It also gave me a 1% chance to make any attack a 1-hit takedown, which translates to "Reduces target to 0 HP but doesn't kill them". Needless to say I wouldn't be using that in any fights against any person I didn't want to take any risks killing.

Ninja doubled the effects of my acrobatic skills, increased my Flexibility and Motor Control, doubled my Movement Speed and Speed Control, and allowed me to cast a Smoke Bomb spell and an Invisibility spell. I also gained a boost to my effectiveness with Throwing Weapons and Daggers.

Dice Mage gave me a 0.0002% (1 in 5000) chance to instantly gain 20% EXP for the level of any MP-based skill, instead of the normal amount of EXP it would gain from that one usage. It increased the chance of any beneficial special effects happening by 10%, which was a flat increase, not a compounding one, so if I had that equipped, I think it'd increase the chance of Fate Coin's double damage effect to 60%, or if I had a skill that had a 16% chance to boost my speed, it'd increase to 26%. I also had a 0.0001% (1 in 10000) that any new minute would be a "Shining Minute", which gave me ten times my normal APR for that one minute.

Flesh Knight was weird. It gave me a 20% chance to give me +50% STR after any hit that would dismember or decapitate me.

Overall, not too bad, but I preferred Wizard. Wizard had effects that I would be using more often in my up and coming training.

Wizard was fun. Why can't I be a Wizard anymore?

I cleared my head once more, "I can handle myself, dad, I'm _your_ son, after all." I said sincerely, playing to his fatherly pride and hoping that would be enough to convince him to stop. I had enough going wrong tonight (or was it this morning?) that I didn't need the guilt of having worried him sick bearing down on my conscience.

"Well still, be careful, son, I don't want you to get hurt." he looked me in the eyes and I met his gaze with a firm conviction.

"My Wizard powers deny me from getting hurt too badly. Trust me, an Ursa would have broken my arm with a really powerful hit, but I didn't let the hit do that." I wasn't wrong, but I wasn't giving the whole truth.

"Heh... that once happened to me... I choked the bastard to death with the broken arm." he chuckled, and from the increase in Stay True's EXP after his statement, I figured that was the truth.

"Damn, that sounds painful. Don't worry, dad, I'm sure you're so strong now that you could break an Ursa's arm with a plastic spoon." we laughed together, and I yawned, "Anyways, I need to go to bed." dammit, I didn't want to be tired, why was I tired?

Maybe it was just the effects of Gamer's Mind being put to the test, I suppose. I got a lot of messages about it being reinforced and stuff, but I didn't really pay too much mind to it.

Hehe... pay too much 'mind' to it.

I'm clever, shut up.

I trudged up the stairs, my father behind me as he went towards his room and I to mine. I had noticed my mom wasn't on the couch tonight, but I didn't say anything in case the answer was an unpleasant one, as I didn't want to make my dad upset.

Heh... funny, how I say that, yet I just finished making him upset because I stayed out late fighting Grimm.

I equipped the Tank class and the Grimm Slayer title and laid down in bed.

 **Grimm Slayer: Obtained by killing a major Grimm. You have slain a true beast of the darkness! Become a true hunter and continue to slay the enemies of Humanity! Effect: 50% increase in damage against Grimm. 50% increase in defense against Grimm. +25% to beneficial status effects while fighting Grimm.**

I smiled and closed my eyes. Sure I'd probably have a nightmare, but I did a lot of good today, so it's not going to be ALL bad.

Right?

* * *

 _Darkness encroaches on the city, I'm there, standing amidst it all._

 _I'm crying. Why? I'm the Gamer, this is just The Game. I can rebuild the city, that can be a quest, right?_

 ** _QUEST RECEIVED!_**

 ** _Quest: From the ashes we rise._**

 ** _Description: Save the survivors of the incursion._**

 ** _Reward for success: +100,000 exp, Increased Closeness to all surviving Valeans._**

 ** _Penalty for failure: (depending on severity and conditions of failure) Death, the Vale Kingdom ceases to exist._**

 ** _Time Limit: Until all citizens or all Grimm die._**

 ** _Accept? Y/N_**

 _See? It's a quest. I can do it. I can save everyone. I can be a hero! I can be..._

 _I slice an Ursa Major in half, feeling like I'd aged ten years in just a few steps. I looked down at what my foot threatens to kick._

 _Gamer's Sight helpfully identifies the scorched object._

 ** _Joh# *than A() !_**

 ** _Tit*(: ?!)!$!%_**

 ** _L#$( &: ?!# _**

_Oh... right... it's my dad's head._

 _I can fix him. That's just... a quest, right?_

 _I... I can do it..._

 _I can be a hero..._

 _I can..._

 _I can..._

 _I fall down amidst the ashes, far too weak to do anything. Why? Why? My luck was high, why didn't it help me?_

 _Why?_

* * *

"Why?" I asked as I awoke with a tear-stained face, sniffling like a child.

 **You suffered a Nightmare of Animated Fear. You did not recover any HP, AP, or SP.**

 **You have received the status effect "Poor Rest (Med)"!**

 **Description: Your sleep was terrible and you're now suffering from it.**

 **Effect: -50% SPR for 44 minutes. -50% APR for 44 minutes. -50% STR, DEX, VIT, INT, WIS, and CHA for 44 minutes.**

I wiped my face on the sleeve of my onesie, sighing sadly as I sat up, slowly trudging to the bathroom.

That... that was what it was like, then? I... I felt like I wanted to scream. I was about to scream when I remembered the fact that I couldn't, or else I'd wake up my parents and send them into a panic.

A nightmare of animated fear... it was true, though. I was afraid of a good few things now.

I was afraid that Gamer's Mind was going to become too strong, and I'd be left crying with my emotions locked in a cage. I was afraid that Gamer's Body was going to make me endure to the point that I end up alone after everyone else dies. I was afraid that I'd become so engrossed in The Game that I'd forget this was real life.

I was afraid of being weak, and slow, and pitiful.

I was afraid of losing my humanity and reasoning because The Game was like a giant safety net.

I was so, SO afraid...

But... I... I couldn't let that overcome me.

I stepped out of the shower and my aura glowed as I focused hard, my left eye glowing particularly bright, I noticed. I wiped the fog off the mirror and looked at my reflection.

 **Your human convictions have filled you with determination! Debuff "Poor Rest (Med)" was cured in the process!**

I felt clearer, stronger, faster. I'd do something. I'd do everything! I'd do whatever I needed to do in order to save everyone I could.

I just had to start training as soon as I got dres-

"Son! Wake up! You've got school in an hour!"

Goddammit, dad.

* * *

I mulled over the window in front of me.

 **Quest: A Glorious Sendoff**

 **Description: Your last day of school is Wednesday, make it a good one by leaving a lasting impression on all those lame civilians.**

 **Reward for success: Massively increased respect from your dad, Moderately increased respect from your peers, 500 exp, +3 Charisma, 10,000 lien, ?**

 **Penalty for failure: Slightly decreased respect from your dad, 50 exp, 100 lien, have a boring day.**

 **Time Limit: until 3:30 PM Wednesday**

I had talked with dad during breakfast. Apparently mom had only been in town for a day, which while almost a little disappointing, was reassuring that she wasn't going to leave my sisters alone for too long without a babysitter. I'd also talked to him about dropping out of high school to start training to be a full-time Huntsman. I needed it. I didn't need the bullshit that high school was trying to give me, I needed to train for Beacon. I needed to train until I was strong enough.

The problem was... I would never be strong enough...

Maybe... maybe if I was smart enough, I'd know what to do.

I was certainly apparently lucky enough. I just needed to brawn and brain to back up my luck.

Sighing, I began to Run to school, earning another ability as I stopped in an alleyway to test another theory.

 **By using aura to enhance physical actions, you have gained a new skill! You gained the skill "Power Jump"!**

I used my respectable Strength to launch myself up to the nearest rooftop. From there, I stacked Stampede and Run to speed myself up as much as I could, activating my aura and using it to boost my DEX even further.

I needed to get to school on time today.

...

Jumping down into an alleyway, I let out a groan of pain when I hit the ground, feeling like my leg bones had cracked. The pain and cracks vanished and I even saw that the damage from the fall had been enough to push Physical Resistance up to level eight.

Feeling better from that notification, I Ran out to the sidewalk, obeying the law and crossing the street at the crosswalk, I slowly petered off as I got into the school grounds.

Casually, I threw a Gamer's Sight at the building.

 **Cherrywood High School**

I ignored the rest of the window and closed it, not really caring about my shitty highschool's history. I was going to be a Huntsman, dammit! Why should I care about THIS place?

Still... I didn't wish anyone here any harm.

*CLANG*

"Outta the way, nerd." okay, scratch that, one person.

*CLANG*

"Yeah, nerd."

Okay... make that two people.

I glared at the two bullies that had made my school life a shithole.

 **Terrence Frexon**

 **Title: With Ivory-tinted Glasses**

 **Level: 6**

 **...**

 **Name: Johnny Firleaf**

 **Title: Poisoned and yet Cured**

 **Level: 4**

I blinked. Those were... odd titles, and also why were their levels so low? I don't understand...

Sadly, or maybe fortunately, they were gone before I could use Gamer's Sight on them. I sighed, picking up my backpack from where it had fallen.

Something was odd about Johnny, though... I could have sworn...

Oh right!

His dad tried to mug me and I Terrified him by bending the gun with my mind.

... okay when I say it like THAT, it sounds fucking crazy.

Regardless, I had to go to some crappy class that wouldn't teach me how to better fight Grimm. I didn't like the class, I didn't like the people, I didn't like the material.

Hell, the only two reasons I didn't sleep through this class every day were the professor had been in battle and was quite entertaining, and I'd get hit with spitballs, paper balls, pencils, and anything else anyone would dare to hit me with.

I sighed, resting my chin in my hand, ready for a new week of work.

Suddenly, a trumpet sounded off and the professor marched into the room.

 **Jefferson Steelflex  
** **Title: The ringing of gunfire  
** **Level: 20**

He had decent stats, but no Aura, and no clear advantage against me. If I ever had to fight him, I'd win in just a couple of hits.

... was I seriously starting to grade my teacher's combat value and likelihood of winning against me in a fight? I kinda was, but I also kinda wasn't. My actions had slipped between that and my original goal, which was to figure out how he had a higher level than me.

"Welcome back, students, I hope that woke all of you up!" he said with a cheesy grin, "Now you're probably wondering why I came into class playing a trumpet."

One guy, a class clown, piped up, "Nah, I'm wondering why *I* didn't come into class playing a trumpet."

"Haha, very funny Joe, the reason I did that is because this week is Hunter Appreciation Week!" he pulled a cord and a banner of Vale's symbol unfurled, "It's a kingdom-wide thing and we gotta do it. I happen to very much appreciate Hunters, and it's part of my job to make sure that you do too." he smiled, walking to his desk in the corner of the classroom.

I sighed, so much for today being too entertaining... wait a second, it's possible for me to test something I'd thought of.

I had a habit of casting Gamer's Sight at everything new I saw, and had raised it to level 30, which had added a bonus to the bottom of the skill's description.

Level 30 Bonus: Observation can extend past physical sight.

It was kinda vague, to be honest, but I had a theory.

I'd gained **Nunchaku Skill** by watching a video of some famous guy who was a master martial artist, apparently died by a bullet that was supposed to be a blank, but ended up being an actual round. He'd lit a match held between another man's teeth with a strip of abrasive material on the end of one side of the nunchaku, without hitting the man or breaking the match.

It was impressive, and just watching that and a few more videos of his crazy skills had earned me level ten in the actual Skill I got. As for what this meant for the level thirty bonus... I had a theory.

I'd started thinking more clearly and getting more outside-the-box ideas. The fact that I could use Gamer's Sight to observe something 'past physical sight'... could I observe someone in a photograph or in a video? It was worth a try.

Granted, what would that do, exactly? Would I see that person's info in the state they were in at the time the video was recorded? I don't know...

Which was why I was going to find out.

I sat up straighter and watched the video intently.

Sure enough, I saw something new as my eyes locked onto the image of a lean cowboy with a triple-barreled revolver.

 **(Information Outdated!)**

 **Calico Magson  
** **Title: I've got three shots  
** **Level: 51**

 **HP: 16,364/20,730  
AP: 7,522/10,650  
SP: 21,451/43,980**

 **Strength: 94  
Dexterity: 123  
Vitality: 104  
Intelligence: 36  
Wisdom: 45  
Luck: 30  
Charisma: 21**

I blinked... that had actually worked. Huh... I could see previous versions of people just by using Gamer's Sight on an old picture... that could be useful.

So... that kind of guy had THOSE kind of stats? With THAT level?

That was... a little over two hundred points higher than his level would suggest. That was a LOT. So what was the big deal?

I could see his skills, though they were blurry, I could pick out some decently high levels on what I could see... so it wasn't his skills.

It had to be his mindset... no, no that wasn't it. I tuned back in to see him expertly handling several Ursa Majors. If anything, his level should have been at least in the 70s... unless...

Unless it was his actual _mind_ , or rather his mental stats. I focused a little harder and saw the bonuses he had from his Aura, which oddly were focused mostly into INT and WIS, with DEX as a close third-wheel, and STR and VIT being left out almost entirely. His semblance was... odd. I couldn't tell what most of the blurred words said, so I was left with a patchwork of words that suggested enhanced vision.

A poor semblance and a lackluster brain, that was bound to drag his level down significantly. Hopefully he'd grown mentally since the time of that recording.

I hummed softly, watching for the remainder of the class while keeping my hands in my hoodie pockets, fueling both Stampede, since I didn't have to technically USE the skill, just have it active, and another skill couple of skills I'd created quite easily while experimenting during the walk to class.

 **Magic Hands (Active) Level: 1, Exp: 40.14%, Cost: 50 AP  
** **A power gifted to some people, either by birth or by learning, the ability to consistently focus one's aura around and onto the hands to both enhance the hands and focus skill effects onto them. Increases ability to channel aura through the hands.**

 **Can focus most magic skills onto the hands.  
** **Increases ability to channel aura through the hands.  
** **Additional 15 AP per minute**

My current APR was about 205 per minute, while I was currently using 115 with both these skills active. To use the other 90, I had Crocea Mors slightly tamper with the metal of the desks around me, altering them slightly and making them tougher, as well as fixing some bits of damage.

By the time my AP had run dry, class was over and I was jogging to my next subject at a very quick pace, people who had previously spat insults at me instead watching in awe as I practically ran through the halls.

Today was a bit boring, but after school, I was going to try a LOT of things out. Today was Aura day, tomorrow would be preparation day, and Wednesday I would show everyone that I was a badass!

A badass I say!

Tch, I sounded pathetic shouting that in my head...

...

I put my books away in my locker when my Sense Danger told me something was wrong. I spun around to see Johnny there, his teeth bared.

"Hello." I greeted casually, using Gamer's Sight on him.

 **HP: 200/200  
** **AP: 120/120  
** **SP: 300/300**

 **Strength: 14  
** **Dexterity: 17  
** **Vitality: 15  
** **Intelligence: 12  
** **Wisdom: 8  
** **Luck: 3  
** **Charisma: 9**

Wow... was he REALLY only ever threatening because my stats were stuck at ten? Now I could probably casually KILL this guy...

Not that I WANTED to, no, that's just fucking _sick and wrong_ , murder wasn't the answer.

Terrify was.

He cracked his knuckles and I saw his HP drop by a point... wow. I guess the rumors were true, "Or else." or else what? What was he even talking about?

"I'm sorry... what were you saying? I zoned out." I said with a cheeky smirk.

"I said give me your lunch money, faggot!" he said louder, not fearing being caught because we were in a mostly-empty hallway, the few people around seeming to choose to ignore him out of fear.

I had no such qualms, "Ya know, projecting your emotions is wrong." I teased him, grinning cheekily and dodging a punch.

"How about I project my fist into your face if you don't hand over the cash?" he scowled, throwing another punch that I dodged with seemingly lazy grace. I'd dodged maybe a hundred Beowolf claw swipes, this guy was slower was had worse form, not to mention he wasn't threatening in the slightest.

I chuckled, "See, first projecting onto me that you're gay, and then threatening to fist me... doesn't really help your cause, little man." I said while shrugging casually, showing that I was not taking him seriously in the slightest.

He punched next to my head. I didn't dodge, he'd purposefully slammed his fist into the locker, several points of his AP and a couple of points of his HP being lost. He'd partially boxed me in, to try to increase his intimidation factor, "Y'know, you've grown quite the mouth over the weekend." he grit his teeth, "So if you don't want that mouth to get punched, then I _suggest_ you hand over the cash."

I chuckled, "I wouldn't want that." I said with a smirk, "You might hurt your hand, little guy." I ducked out of his reach, "I'll just let you play pretend with the lockers." with my business done, I began to walk away.

I heard him growl slightly, "THAT'S IT!" Sense Danger started up.

He threw another punch at me and all I had to do was duck under his fist. Then I whipped around and patted him on the head, "Don't worry little guy, ya might one day eventually be able to hit a stationary target." I chuckled and smirked, seeing another level in Teasing as he stuttered for a second before just punching at me again, which I dodged flawlessly, "Y'know if I didn't know any better I think the air must have done something very bad to upset you with all the times your punching it." I smirked wider.

"Hold still you bitch!" he demanded angrily, attempting another punch.

I stood still and just caught his fist, making sure he felt like he'd just punched a stone wall before gripping his fist so he couldn't escape, "Well, I stood still, so _there,_ you can say ya hit me when ya write this down in your little diary tonight, I'm sure it's pink glittery pages look fabulous." I let go and kept walking, this time backwards as I just kept smirking at him.

He scowled at me and let out a grumble of anger, "Fuck you, asshole!" he attempted another punch at me.

I just dodged again, "Come on this is getting ridiculous. I have things to do and you're getting in the way." I caught his fist, then forced it open and put a single lien into it, then closed his fist forcibly and pushed it back to him, "There, you can get yourself another rainbow ink pen or maybe some stickers for your diary." I started to walk away again, making it clear I was not threatened by any of his attempts at hitting me.

He just let out an agitated growl, "I'll get back at you later, little faggot." I chuckled. I was only an inch shorter than him at five-foot-eleven, and I weighed a decent few pounds more than he did from my newly acquired muscle mass. He didn't scare me.

He didn't even come close.

* * *

Lunch went by rather okay, and so did the rest of my classes.

I came back to my locker a bit late due to having accidentally focused a LITTLE too much Aura into one of my magic hands and accidentally... well...

 **By enduring magical damage, you have gained the skill "Magic Resistance"!**

 **By concentrating aura into a basic projectile form, you have gained the skill "Energy Bolt"!**

I MIGHT have blown my dick off by accident... MIGHT have... I'm not saying it HAPPENED, I'm just saying that one second I was just standing at the urinal and the next I was on the ground clutching an extremely pained, but otherwise just fine crotch, and then Gamer's Body made the pain go away, so I was fine.

Still... I was haunted by a surprisingly reassuring horror that I will most definitely not go into details on.

Needless to say after THAT debacle, I wanted to just leave, head into the forest, and start training.

Of course it wouldn't be THAT easy, would it? No, of course not. I came to my locker to find that it had been hastily spray-painted pink.

"Wow... this is a new low." I opened my locker and put my books in, "For a guy that gets off on trying to punch people, this is a rather... subtle... reaction to failing as hard as he did." I chuckled, closing the locker and sighing as I walked towards the front of the school.

...

I made a point to sneak, activating Espionage Action mode and seeing the eye partially open and shifting side to side, **Suspicious** , I lowered my head a bit and walked slower, and slowly the eye began to close as Stealth covered me, its EXP going up maybe only a couple of hundredths of a percent. Then again I was dealing with stupid teenagers, so it was clear this wasn't too much of a challenge.

But then again, wasn't I also a stupid teenager?

No... no I wasn't... not anymore, at least. I had 45 INT and 40 WIS, I was far from stupid at this point. These people didn't really care about anyone but themselves or their precious 'cliques', so they didn't even bat an eye as I walked past unnoticed.

I got out onto the front lawn of the school and calmly walked to the edge of the campus, crossing the street and entering an alleyway.

I checked my progress with Stealth and found that due to basically a bunch of stupid teenagers being my 'seekers', I hadn't even gained a tenth of a single percent, not even a twentieth, really. I sighed, and stacked Stampede and Run together, using Magic Hands too, and throwing in a Power Jump to a rooftop for good measure.

I occasionally Power Jumped across rooftops and, after a couple of levels, I dared to jump across the street, landing with barely a foot's distance to spare.

Okay... I wouldn't be trying THAT again... oh who am I kidding? Of _course_ I would be!

I forced myself to run faster, gaining as much speed as I could, before suddenly Power Jumping across a street about the same width as the one I'd jumped over just a minute ago.

Unfortunately... this time I was not so lucky.

 **Physical Resistance's level increased by 1!**

I groaned as my knees and shins shattered against the stone edge of the building I'd landed on, my nose breaking wide open and smearing blood on the rooftop as I slid forward several feet, groaning lowly as my HP dropped.

I got up and found my pain and wounds healing instantly, my awkwardly bent legs righting themselves and my nose getting restructured. I sighed and brushed myself off, about to Run off again, when I suddenly was assaulted.

... well no not really 'assaulted', more like 'surprised'

Because I suddenly saw a blue window that popped up and began flashing yellow. I read the words carefully.

 **SYSTEM UPDATE: By receiving a message, "Messaging System" was added to The Game!**

 **You have received a message!**

What?

I hit **Open** and was greeted with a new screen.

 **You have 1 new message(s)!**

 **1 message from "Yang Xiao Long"!**

Oh... wait WHAT? How did she... oh right, we exchanged scroll info. Okay then...

Uh... check message?

 _'Hey wats up!? XP Wanna hang out mebe? I got nothin to do and Im bored.' -Yang_

Huh... weird. Alright, I guess I could... maybe she could help me train? It was worth a shot, she's much higher level than me.

 _'Sure thing! Where do you want to meet up at? :)' -Jaune_

Was I doing this right? Shit... I've never really had friends who wanted to hang out with me before. I also noticed that she had bad texting... everything. It was probably a habit of laziness in texting on her part.

 _'Lets meet Stone Cold Creamery, its a relly "cool" nd "sweet" place 2 hang out at LOL' -Yang_

 _'LOL nice puns. I'll meet you there, okay?' -Jaune_

 _'Noice! Gotta jus wait 4 dis stupid boatride to get there. 10 mins my ass! XP' -Yang_

She was on a boat ride? Okay then... I had the brilliant idea of meeting her at the navy docks, which was probably good because then we could talk some more. I really liked talking to her when she's not making her boobs bounce in gloriously ridiculous ways... I just have to stop thinking about that... right, where was I?

Ah, yes! I stacked Run and Stampede and took off towards the naval docks, intent to meet her there.

 **SYSTEM UPDATE: By finding a simple and repeatable task not fit to be a quest, you have unlocked "Minigames"!**

 **Unlocked Minigame "A Friendly Meetup (Yang)"**

 **Description: Meet Yang at a predestined location.**

 **Standard Reward: 50 exp and +1 Closeness to Yang for reaching the destination before Yang gets bored being there alone.  
** **Premium Reward: 100 exp and +3 Closeness to Yang for reaching the destination before Yang does.  
Failure Penalty: 5 exp and -1 Closeness to Yang for being too late, additional -2 Closeness for every 5 minutes late.**

Wow... okay, well that was some good EXP waiting to be dropped into my lap. I smiled and accepted it, continuing to Run towards the docks.

I had a friend to meet with, after all.

And I wasn't going to disappoint her.

* * *

 **Ah, here we are, the end of chapter 4! Yaaaaay~! ^w^**

 **This one threw me for a loop, but I did it.**

 **For those of you who wondered what the subtle reference was... reread the first words of the 3 skills he gets from having 100 Luck.**

 **Also, that thing... yeah, I know it's pretty weird, probably even a sin to have him boost his luck, but he had fair reasoning to want to do it. He was kinda panicked because he didn't want his dad (y'know, the _cool_ parent/the parent he actually _likes_ ) to be pissed off at him. Regardless, he's got it now and it can't be undone.**

 **I probably overreact to some reviews (just seeing the email that starts with "Review" makes my heart race), but I have a decent system for it. For every opinion given in a single review, I'm 85% sure that that same opinion is shared by about 3-6 other people who won't say it out loud. So... every negative review is like 3-6 people all saying it, however the same goes for 3-6 people all saying positive things and words of enjoyment and love. I'm infinitely thankful to all the people who take the time to express their love for my story or who would have the tact to try to constructively criticize my work in an effort to see it (and consequently me) improve.**

 **Out of my three stories, I think I might love this one the most, and so I want to make this little thing blossom into a long, thick, fleshy... novel-like story of awesomeness (What? What did you THINK I was gonna say? d3)**

 **On the topic of Jaune telling others about The Gamer... he's going to be going solo for the most part, but he's going to do what he can to use his powers for good, whenever he can. He wants to be a hero, not the _idiot_ stuck in a _tree_!**

 **Anyone who has mixed feelings about me adding Cheats, just know that Jaune won't be using them with a frequency even APPROACHING being able to accurately say "often", and even if he DOES, he won't be using the granted power for long, and it comes with a heavy penalty (The Game will punish cheaters)**

 **However, one thing that WILL be done with the cheats, is the following omake.**

* * *

 _Omake: RWBY Theft Auto: Vale City_

* * *

I could hardly believe it. I'd worked tirelessly for almost a year now, working to raise my stats through legitimate means and being a generally upstanding citizen and a morally sound Gamer.

But then, who knew that all I had to do to cheat The Game's system of cheats was to just use them through my scroll?

Dialing in a few numbers, I altered my profile's numbers. It had started as something small, just a one-time thing, increasing my Vitality to a very high value to give myself a massive HP bar, but now...

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: The God Above All  
** **Level: 999  
** **Class: Avatar of Light  
** **Nickname: Master of Love**

 **HP:** **24,635,105,750** **/24,635,105,750  
** **AP:** **51,146,550,500** **/51,146,550,500  
** **SP:** **29,487,936,830** **/29,487,936,830**

 **Strength: 7500 (+100%) = 15,000  
** **Dexterity: 5000 (+100%) = 10,000  
** **Vitality: 10,000 (+100%) = 20,000  
** **Intelligence: 10,000 (+100) (+100%) = 20,200  
** **Wisdom: 10,000 (+100) (+100%) = 20,200  
** **Luck: 110  
** **Charisma: 10,000**

 **Stat Points: 9999**

 **Age: 23  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Godmode (Human shape)  
** **Height: 6'9  
** **Weight: 542  
** **Build: Extremely Athletic and Muscular**

 **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Rich Golden Blonde / Pure Starry Azure / Sexy Tan.**

To be honest, if I hadn't seen it on Yang first, I'd think the system was being ridiculous with my Skin Color.

Still, I think that should be less ridiculous than my title, or my _class_.

With that class equipped, my 6-seconds-to-full APR was enhanced even FURTHER to 0.6-seconds-to-full. In short, I could do something like what I was doing now.

Fire flew through the air, all coalescing towards a specific point; my hand glowed white-hot with its sheer incandescence, and then I unleashed it.

I watched with eyes fine enough to see individual molecules as several miles of desert were turned into glass, slag, or disintegrated into smoke from my spell, a giant beam of unstoppable fire called **Millia Infernum**.

Thousands Hellfire, apparently... a weird name, but hey, I wasn't complaining.

Next was **Unda Oceani** , Ocean Spray, which was essentially the same thing but with water. I combined it with another spell to suffuse the water with the seeds of grass and flowers, and let it loose.

I watched the wiggling path of the trench of glass I'd made flood with water, sending most of it spilling over the edges and flooding the sands.

I was doing Vacuo a favor, since my Luck had miraculously made one of the leaders of their archives be convinced that I was trustworthy enough to take some of their books.

This was the fifth massive river I'd made today.

I checked my watch, 1:26 AM, I was doing pretty poorly, actually.

Well, time to get back to work.

* * *

I'd finished terraforming thousands of square miles of desert into lush, grassy plains, sending a series of life-giving rainstorms throughout them and to the border where consolidated dirt met the shifting sands, letting nature take its course.

I had some important people to see.

Landing on a panel of stone that my Earth Elemental had reinforced to be over a thousand times stronger than diamonds, I sighed as a few cracks spread from the center of my landing to the edges of the panel.

Maybe I should stop testing the material's limits...

I walked into the extravagant palace I'd made with my mind and my Elementals. It was beautiful, I'd tested my limits while working on it, so of course it nothing less than an impeccably wondrous sight of masonry and construction. There was artwork carved into every inch of every wall in the entire palace, my own choice, influenced by Yang's pleas.

Speaking of Yang...

 **Yang Xiao Long Arc  
Title: The Golden Phoenix Queen of the Desert Sun  
Level: 136**

I smiled as I waved to her, the two of us walking to the grand dining hall. She blushed just from the action, smiling and hugging me around the side.

"Good morning, oh dear 'Master of Love', teeheehee." she smiled, resting against my side.

"Good morning, love. How are the others doing?" I asked with a gentle tone, despite the fact my voice could sunder mountains and displace oceans at its loudest.

"Rubes is playing in the latest river near the palace, Blake is tending to the kids, like I was going to do after breakfast. Weiss is out on a diplomatic mission to convince the Vacuan government that we're an independent city-state. Nora and Ren are cooking breakfast, and Pyrrha is still asleep." she recounted with a smile.

I sighed softly, "Go on to breakfast, love, I'll go get Pyrrha up." I carefully moved her hands from me, but she stood fast and clung to my side like a child, "It's going to be one of THOSE mornings, isn't it?"

She nodded, pouting slightly, and I reached down and kissed her forehead, then lifted her up onto my back effortlessly, "Onwards, noble steed!"

I chuckled, then lunged, already at Pyrrha's room in just a second, a shockwave of air back at my starting point and reaching us soon enough, whipping Yang's long hair around.

I entered the room, which was as bright to me as the midday sky, seeing her there.

 **Pyrrha Nikos Arc  
Title: The Bronze Firelight Queen of the Desert Sands  
** **Level: 144**

I smiled, snapping my fingers and giving her a boost of energy that woke her up easily, "Wakey wakey sleepy head~." I said with a chuckle, picking her up and starting to straighten out her hair.

I hummed a tune, my very high level of Humming turning the simple act into a one-man symphony of sound. I mused as I thought back to how this all started.

* * *

 _I opened my scroll while thinking of my cheats, of which I'd unlocked three at that point, now several months into my first year at Beacon Academy._

 _I brought up the menu and hummed lightly, looking at the three of them._

 ** _Cheats:_**

 ** _"He sees all": Temporarily removes all restrictions on Gamer's Sight._**

 ** _"The Genesis Prism": Temporarily gain the ability to mimic the essence of the souls of those your light has touched._**

 ** _"Jack of Trades, Master of One": Temporarily use a single skill as though it were Level 99._**

 _Odd... now they'd appeared on my scroll... wait what?_

 _I stared at the screen of my scroll._

'You have unlocked Ultimate Cheat Mode, removing the system's restrictions and instabilities when cheating, and unlocking many more cheats!'

 _I hummed curiously, then saw a cheat that changed everything, **Change Stats.**_

 _I did it, changing my VIT to 1000 and gaining a multitude of odd stat skills, then I changed it to 10,000 and saw my HP and SP shoot up to extremely high numbers._

 _Wow... I had to do this more!_

* * *

I'd summoned vehicles, made my weight into multiple tons, changed my hair color and skin color a thousand times, earned skills out the wazoo, changed how quickly my skills got EXP, raised **Gaster Blaster** to level 99, earning me **Master Gaster Blaster** , to which I had laughed at the time.

I'd gotten bored quickly as I opened up an Instant Dungeon dimensional barrier and used the skill to clear Vale City down to the dirt.

Then I'd done it again with fires that raged throughout the city, heating up and breaking the buildings apart by crippling their structural integrity.

Then I'd done it again with floods that tore everything apart with their ferocity, crashing in massive waves that blew down even the thick concrete pillars of the highways.

Then I'd done it again with earthquakes that turned the place into a canyon that swallowed up even the tallest towers.

Then I'd done it again with gravity manipulation that lifted the city into the air and smashed it all into the ground, making it collapse under its own weight.

Then I'd done it again with lightning storms so furiously raging that the temperature in the air had melted stone and metal together.

However, even with suddenly having this infinite power, I was still a human being, despite the power of my mind now being so far above and beyond human comprehension. I had desires and dreams and goals.

I slaughtered Grimm by the millions, by the _billions_ , but still barely made a dent in their numbers.

I didn't worry, however, Vale had gained the room to expand to three times its size.

Next had been Mistral, where Pyrrha had come from. I cleared the lands between the regions of the kingdom out, slaying every single bit of Grimm and destroying all of it. I gave the people peace.

I gave them protection.

Atlas had gained new territory, I'd terraformed many of the areas between their spattered cities, helping connect borders as I made mighty walls rise from the earth, every single stone of them many times harder than diamonds

And now Vacuo, where my friends and I, now deemed worthy of the titles of Huntsman and Huntresses due to our great power (mostly my boosting them through the party system), had moved to. I'd made the kingdom grow a hundred times in size, raising my palace out of the ground and reinforcing it with everything I could.

I'd gotten bored of just fucking around, so I found myself a goal.

On average, the appearance of Grimm across the entire world had apparently dropped by a massive 50%

I'd cleared out 50% of the Grimm in the world in only a few weeks.

That was 50% too little, but I didn't want to put my friends in danger fighting the ancient and legendary Grimm, so I stayed my hand in the efforts and took them away to... well... take care of them.

It would be boring to some people, but I was not some people.

I found it... nice. That was the only word that accurately described the feeling other than perhaps 'pleasant' or 'lovely'.

Nice...

"Nice..." I smiled as I took Pyrrha by the hand to the grand dining hall. My hands that could break the world if I tried (and I HAD tried in a dimensional barrier before. My full strength, used in as mighty of a punch as I could make, had shattered a continent into dust and blew 90% of the ocean into the sky. I'd exposed the mantle of the planet and, in some small part, the core as well.

Where was I? Oh yes right. My hands that could break the world if I tried, were now gentle enough to not even crack delicate porcelain as I led two of my queens to the grand dining hall.

The second had joined at some point during the slow and lazy walk.

 **Ruby Rose Arc  
Title: The Silver Soulreaper Queen of the Desert Sky  
Level: 150**

It was only by her sheer skill with weaponry and ability now to control wind and fire with ease, plus her much higher kill-count that had pushed Ruby to be six whole levels higher than Pyrrha was.

I smiled down at her. She'd grown a lot in the past couple of years, now only a couple of inches under six feet tall, with a lovely bust that would be envied by most women.

I sighed softly, letting the air fill with color as Yang colored in more of the artwork around us with her minor control over colors. That had been a big discovery, and an impressive one as well.

We entered the grand dining hall to see the others there already. I smiled at each of them.

 **Blake Belladonna Arc  
Title: The Midnight Angel Queen of the Beautiful Dusk  
Level: 127**

 **Weiss Schnee Arc  
Title: The Brightly Burning Queen of the Joyous Dawn  
Level: 124**

 **Nora Lie  
Title: The Thunderous Queen of the Sacred Hall of Heroic Light  
Level: 132**

 **Lie Ren  
Title: The Blessed Monk of the Sacred Hall of Heroic Light  
** **Level: 136**

I hummed curiously, "Weiss, I'd heard you were on a business trip with the Vacuan Council."

She set down her fork, turning to me as the very impressive bust she'd grown jiggled slightly with the movements, "When they saw what you'd done to the desert, they signed the contracts on the subtle threat that you'd terraform the city into an ocean."

I clicked my tongue as I started to eat. I was literally eating like a king, cutting off slabs of meat from a whole turkey and chomping them down, "Tsk, that's not very nice. I'd at least leave the land there for them to rebuild." I joked with a smile, resting my cheek in one hand.

Everyone laughed softly at my statement, then tucked into their breakfast.

Today was just going to be another long, boring day.

But hey, I was fine with that, I'd be doing... something.

Damn... how boring is life now? I'm always thinking of ways to make everything more amazing and just overall better... but I just either have too much free time on my hands, or everything is too EASY... shit.

I guess when you cheat in video games, you ruin the fun, and when you cheat in the game of life, you also ruin the fun.

I had five wives, a magnificent and extravagant palace, a forest of large and healthy trees, a network of rivers both deep and wide, vibrant grass with thick roots, flowers of every color under the sun, and other beauties created from the act of nature's grace and man's creation intertwining.

I had no less than two dozen children. I counted them a thousand times in a second and it always came to about twenty-five, an average of five per wife.

I had everything a man could dream for.

So what was the point in dreaming, if there was nothing else to attain?

Damn...

I'd pretty much exhausted all of the fun out of my life.

Well... not ALL of it, I realized, as I felt a tiny presence settle into my lap.

I smiled as I looked down.

 **Luna Arc  
** **Title: The Tiny Golden Princess of the Moon  
Level: 4 **

I looked down at my oldest daughter, just barely turning four now, and smiled, "Hello sweetie."

"Hai daddy." she said softly, hugging me as best she could, "Good mornin'." she said sleepily, and for the briefest of moments I thought about giving her a little boost of energy, before just as quickly deciding against it when I saw Yang's beaming, adoring smile at her adorable daughter. She was the most motherly of them all with Ruby coming in an extremely close second, and all the kids loved her.

Granted, I found it just a LITTLE ridiculous that she and the other four had taken it upon themselves to breastfeed every child we had. It always confused me, even though among my powers, I had the ability to change into a woman, and doing so had played with my emotions somewhat. Even after that, I didn't understand.

Then again, I never really would.

The human heart is something I'll never understand.

... hmmm~?

That... that sounds like a goal, to me. Figure out what the human heart is all about.

Yeah, yeah I could do that. I accept the quest that pops up, ready to start my experiment.

Suddenly, I hear Ruby shudder and groan into a trashcan, Gamer's Sight telling me that she'd begun to show signs of pregnancy... _again_.

Perfect.

And so as my wife threw up into a trashcan, I smiled and gently petted my daughter's head, feeling a new purpose in my heart.

* * *

 **Well, there we go.**

 **Honest, it had started as Jaune doing stuff like in Vice City, but then it very, VERY quickly changed course while I was typing it up. I guess... yay?**

 **I don't know, I'm not exactly good at omakes, but I hope it was entertaining to some of you, at least.**

 **Well... time to end this chapter and everything, so... bye~!**

 ***waves as I slowly slide down in my chair until I can't be seen again.**

 **-/\/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Novice Hero  
** **Level: 19  
** **Class: Tank  
** **Nickname: None**

 **HP: 2960/2960  
** **AP: 5120/5120  
** **SP: 3140/3140**

 **Strength: 40 (+30%) = 52  
** **Dexterity: 35 (+30%) = 45.5  
** **Vitality: 44 (+30%) = 57.2  
** **Intelligence: 45 (+3) (+30%) = 62.4  
** **Wisdom: 40 (+3) (+30%) = 55.9  
** **Luck: 110  
** **Charisma: 45**

 **Stat Points: 0**


	5. Getting a Big Update

**Back in the business and not in time for 4/4/16!**

 **4 times 4 is 16, if ya don't get it, if you're bad at math maybe, or just not too clever. Or it's just a terrible joke.**

 **Either way, hopefully this gets out soon enough.**

 **Anyways, let's start off with a bit of review response.**

 **MEleeSmaster:** it's whatever you want it to be, baby~... XDDD okay but for reals, I haven't reached that part of development yet. We're still in early March in terms of what we've gone through in the timeline, and have gone through just the weekend. Pyrrha will come in later and may or may not be wooed by our lovely blonde Gamer's charms.

 **The lovely people who voiced their enjoyment of the story** : I love you all, especially you, HoboJoe, ALL the homo, :P

 **CircledSquare** : Okay let me explain Run... it's free to ACTIVATE, but to MAINTAIN it costs the SP per second. It's that simple. Also my habit of putting minuses on the "Stamina Discount" thing is just, well, a habit... also yeah that would have been pretty weird for me to do for just a silly omake, XD

 **picnic990** : because Jaune does not think his actions through. His INT and WIS usually only help if he he actually THINKS. He was mostly just like "Oh yeah, Luck? Damn, sounds like exactly what I need right now! I'm gonna do that." and then he did it.

 **Zyxis Ouroboros ReArchtypist** : uh... y-yeah... I did... I used "the face"... *hides under my desk out of fear*

 **Smithrooks** : I like you, I like you a lot, you're the kind of reader I wish I had more of, please continue reviewing my content. I'm going to reply to each of your reviews, just because I CAN! 1) I've been stewing over a more... unique... title for a little bit, but I'm gonna wait until maybe next chapter to change it. 2) Yeah, he might be The Gamer, but he's still a human with human desires and needs (and a thing for blondes and redheads *wink wink nudge nudge*) also food crafting is necessary, especially for Jaune, who is the "item spammer" type of gamer, since he's willing to do what would ruin a normal human's body and drink 10 protein shakes in 10 minutes while running full-tilt down the sidewalk, _just_ because he wants to Run for as long as he can. 3) Yeah, I'm surprised I'm probably the first one to do that, but I guess given the nature of The Game in this story, it makes sense. Most modern games can be broken with the right combination of actions, no matter how complex, so why not The Gamer semblance? It just seemed like common sense. Also the other Elementals (yes he'll have more) will have their own little fancy poetic scenes as well. 4) Well, there are 5 different things he unlocked, so since they're all equally likely, NONE of them have a 50/50 chance. Also... not really predictions of the future, more like predictions of POSSIBLE futures (after a certain point of his INT and WIS) and also, one of them is special. That is all I have to respond to, please continue to provide your lovely and (for me, personally) heartwarming, lengthy, and upbeat reviews, good sir/madam.

 **ARSLOTHES:** I will admit, I drew some inspiration from that story, and a few skills (mostly two of the ones that will come up in this chapter)

 **dragoon109:** I hope your opinion of the story has improved since reading the first chapter, sir/madam.

 **JanusderLandstriecher:** Thank you, sir/madam. You've refilled my heart with the will to continue writing as I have been, and strive to improve myself and my works. *takes a bow*

 **EDIT: I've gotten some complaints that I wrote Yang like an airhead and so I did some work to fix that. Not as much as I did in the previous chapter fixing up the shit with LUK that people were bitching about SO FUCKING MUCH, but I made an effort at it.**

 **Alright, now that we have that settled out, let's start the chapter!**

 **I don't own anything (except that kitten over there, I own that, ^w^)**

 **Chapter 5: Getting a Big Update.**

* * *

I petered off with my speed as I grew very near to the docks, reducing from a practical sprint to a run, then a jog, and finally I powerwalked the fuck out of the last twenty feet.

The naval docks had two main sections, passenger boats and trade ships. Passenger boats were what Yang and others would be coming in on, while trade ships would be carrying things like cloth from Mistral, or Dust from Atlas.

Looking over, I saw that a shipment of Dust had arrived and was waiting to be moved out. I hummed, my inner Gamer telling me to-

 **SYSTEM UPDATE: By contemplating the morality of your actions, you have unlocked "Morality"!**

 **QUEST RECEIVED!**

 **Quest: Cleaning up Ship**

 **Description: The Dust shipment that has recently arrived at the naval docks is awaiting transport. Sneak past the guards and steal some of it!**

 **Reward for success (depending on circumstance and degree of success): Unknown double-digit, triple-digit, quadruple-digit, or quintuple-digit number of Dust Crystals (colors unknown), 1-25 reduction in Morality.**

 **Penalty for failure (depending on circumstance and degree of failure): Unknown number of years prison sentence, Death, Become even more of a social outcast than you already are, Lose all Respect from everyone who learns of your failure**

Yeah~... I wasn't going to take that risk.

Nor was I going to waste time thinking through ways to make that WORK. I just walked closer to the smaller, higher-up docking area and waited while scrolling through my skills.

I had to develop my Magic-type skills. I HAD to. I needed them as a Huntsman.

I didn't have many goals right now, all I knew was 'Become a Huntsman', but that's not exactly a clear goal. I could try to sneak into one of the lower combat schools and train THERE, or I could possibly just train in the wild, given that I didn't need to worry about nutrition or injury, just give me a sufficient supply of time and reasonably-leveled enemies, and I could eventually surpass my parents.

I could go to Beacon, or Haven, or Shade, or Atlas. Four main Major Huntsman schools, with a few alternatives like...

Nevermind. I was going to Beacon, I knew that much. I'd join a team and be a good Huntsman with my abilities.

It was my duty, it was my destiny, it HAD to be.

I've come from a family of warriors, so I need to carry on the family name and do this!

I checked the time and saw a small flash of gold on top of a white boat heading towards the docks. I smiled and put my hands in my pockets, taking a deep breath.

Why was I nervous? I could feel Gamer's Mind suppressing a surge of nervousness from me. I had no reason to be nervous, I was just meeting my friend at the docks, that's all!

It's perfectly normal.

So why was I nervous?

I have no reason to be, so WHY?

...

After about half a minute of contemplation, I saw the boat dock and I stood up from the bench I'd sat down at to breathe, as well as... well, Breathe.

 **By channeling magic through your lungs and mouth, you've unlocked the skill "Ki Breathing"!**

 **Ki Breathing (Active) Level: 2, EXP: 34.65%, Cost: 10 AP  
** **A technique used to parallel the monks' Meditation skills in an active form, utilized by warriors needing to recover when the flow of battle has ebbed. As such, while not as powerful mentally, this technique is very useful if managed while in an active, but not strenuous mode of activity.**

 **Increases APR by 15 AP/min.  
** **Great external shock will break Ki Breathing and induce Aura Confusion**

I'd done that by accident, just trying to channel my aura through my body, and THAT had come up, as well as **Power Stomp** and **Load Bearer**.

Power Stomp was exactly as it said, a powered-up stomp that caused a shockwave of aura to travel outwards from my feet. Load Bearer channeled into my shoulder and back muscles and increased my physical carrying capacity (not my inventory).

I smiled at Yang as she turned around to look towards the docks, "Sup, Sunshine?" I greeted coolly, a confident expression on my face.

She blinked in surprise and blushed a tiny bit, "Wha-? I told you to meet me at Stone Cold Creamery!" she moved over to another side of the boat, trying to hide her pink-tinted face from me, but I knew she was blushing, "Why'd you come here?"

She deserved it, making me think all those distracting things, "Well you said you were on a stupid boat ride, so I figured you'd be at the docks, and meeting you here gives us more time to talk about _stuffs_." I noticed that little speech tic during our conversation the previous day, she said 'stuffs' instead of 'stuff', which I found adorable.

She blushed a great bit more as she pulled her motorcycle from the small lot on the lower deck of the boat, "W-well... uh... good." she said hesitantly, getting on Bumblebee.

I saw something odd, just then.

 **Minigame Finished!  
** **By performing a special action, you've revealed a new reward to the minigame "A Friendly Meetup (Yang)"!**

 **Deluxe Reward: 250 EXP, +5 Closeness to Yang, awarded for meeting Yang at the docks when her boat from Patch arrives.**

 **Due to your closeness, your relationship with Yang has upgraded from "Good Friend" to "Close Friend"**

Huh... wow. Nice.

I smiled, looking at her with kind eyes, "Well, is it safe to assume that I get to ride on the badass motorcycle too?" I got closer, a playful smile on my face.

She let out a small, soft giggle and flashed me a joking smirk, "Nah, you gotta walk." she laughed for a second, then waved her hand, "DUH. Hop on Jaune." she patted the seat behind her and I climbed on, making sure there was a good few inches of clearance between where she ended and I began, for obvious reasons.

I didn't want her to think I was a creepy bastard, after all.

Of course, then she cranked it up, revved it, and put the pedal to the proverbial metal as I put my arms around her to make sure I didn't go flying off.

Huh... y'know, this helplessness reminds me of a game I once played...

 **UPDATE!**

 **Pondering upon a special brand of games has unlocked a special game mode! You've unlocked "Tale Teller's Story" mode!**

Wait what?

I switched to it quickly and blinked as the world became a little bit blurrier, then it cleared.

And then Yang spoke and I saw her words appear in subtitles, "So... you got a motorcycle helmet?" she asked me as turned her head back, one covering most of her face. Her INT and WIS scores were becoming more obvious as she said that, given that we'd already starting moving at an almost frighteningly fast speed... well, for being on a motorcycle.

Dammit, I forgot about a helmet... wait, what the-? I saw five choices for an answer appear.

' _No, I didn't think I'd need one.'_

 _'Do I LOOK like I have one?'_

 _'Hehe, NOPE.'_

 _'Don't you have another?'_

 _'...'_

In the corner of my vision, I saw a small note appear, **Silence is also a viable option.**

Damn... uh, well, the thought of needing one had crossed my mind since I wasn't sure how much damage grinding my face fifty feet along the asphalt would do. She possibly had another one, given that... wait of-fucking-COURSE she has another one! She lets her little sister ride with her a lot, so of COURSE she'd keep her safe. That's one thing I could respect about Yang, she cared for her little sister.

That was something I could relate to.

"Do I LOOK like I have one?" I asked with a small, joking chuckle, noticing her cheeks were flushed pink... was that from the hug?

Weird... "Okay smartass, I get it." she giggled back at me, "There's one in the hidden compartment behind you." she pointed her thumb over her shoulder, taking a turn.

Thankfully there weren't any police officers nearby. I saw an arrow directing me and turned my upper body, opening the compartment and finding a black and red motorcycle helmet inside. I picked it up and carefully started to put it on.

Tch, too small... but wait, she'd ignore the fact that I'd equip it due to being outside the game... of course! I equipped it and it appeared on my head as a perfect fit. I flipped up the visor and gave her a somewhat covered smile and a thumbs up.

Yang looked back at me, "Looks good on you, dude." she smiled and returned her eyes tot he road. I looked around for a bit, watching buildings go by, then Yang spoke again, "So... why are you hugging me?"

I knew what option I'd select the second I saw them, "Because you drive like a crazy woman and I don't wanna fly off the motorcycle."

"I do NOT, I am going at the perfectly safe speed of fifteen miles above the speed limit." she said proudly, pausing for a moment to let the words sink in, then laughed at the joking statement, "I just find it easier to go faster. Hehe... sometimes I envy Ruby for being able to enjoy the wind in her hair... of course my hair is way more fabulous than hers.

I turned back to my default Adventure RPG, then answered, "Hehe, yeah it is... anyways, so uh... how IS Ruby?"

I saw Teasing raise another level for whatever reason, "She's good, I made sure she got home okay and then I started contacting my friends... you were the only one who was available, by the way, the others were doing homework."

I hummed, "Shouldn't YOU be doing homework too?"

She waved her hand, laughing my statement off, "That shit's for nerds."

"As an expert nerd, I take offense to that." I said with a mock offended tone.

"What kind of nerd are you?"

"Mostly video games and comic books, sometimes some manga." I hummed, noticing that I'd somehow gotten a little closer to her.

Huh... how did that happen? "Well I'm not really much of a nerd, though I DO read the occasional manga. I'm usually too busy making sure Ruby is cared for. Our dad does a good job, but..." she sighed softly.

I carefully reached up and tickled her neck, "Don't be sad. I want my friends, all one of them, to be happy." I said resolutely as I made her giggle uncontrollably, only stopping when to motorcycle started to wobble, "So... where is this little sister now? I haven't seen her and I'm starting to think she might not exist."

She kicked me in the leg, cracking the bone inaudibly with her great Strength, "Don't fucking say that! Ruby is my precious and beloved sister, here, look at this. I took it this morning." she pulled out her scroll when we reached a red light and brought up a picture, handing me the device before starting off again.

It was a selfie (a term I found dumb as hell but, in concept, not as bad as some people claimed it to be) of Yang next to a far shorter girl with black hair that was crimson at the tips, shining silver eyes smiling even more brightly than her lips as she looked at the camera. The two of them were huddled up in front of a man with a gruff look on his aged face, stubble present.

 **Yang Xiao Long  
Title: Hotter than the Summer Sun  
Level: 36**

 **Ruby Rose  
** **Title: The Swift Red Rider  
Level: 40**

 **Qrow Branwen  
** **Title: ?  
Level: ?**

Huh... odd. Ruby was higher level than Yang, and... who was that guy? "Who is that guy with you?" I knew who he was, but I didn't know who he was to Yang.

"That's my uncle." she replied simple, smiling as if having referenced something that I didn't get.

"Uh... care to elaborate?" I saw the store approaching rapidly as Yang began to slow down, stopping just in front of it, shutting off her bike after parking on top of one of the parallel parking lines.

I realized then and there that Yang Xiao Long did not get on well with Vale City's traffic laws. I unequipped the helmet and stored it back in the compartment, then removed her helmet, to her surprise, and put it away as well, "Uh... what?"

"What?"

"Why did you just do that?"

"You were being slow." I said with a chuckle, "So um... the weird gray-haired guy with red eyes?"

"He's not weird, he's my uncle! His name is Qrow Branwen, and... well... he's my dad's brother." she said awkwardly, and I got off of Bumblebee, lifting her off as well and setting her on her feet, smiling slightly as she blushed furiously, and Teasing raised a few more levels, as well as a notification for plus four closeness popping up.

"If he's your dad's brother, then why is he Branwen, you're Xiao Long, and Ruby is Rose?" I asked curiously, finding the explanation strange as I opened the door for her like a gentleman.

She tensed, and the sudden notification of **-2 Closeness to Yang Xiao Long** , as well as a previous minus one that I hadn't noticed before (probably from me joking that Ruby didn't exist) told me I'd fucked up pretty badly.

Then again, I guess my Luck was hard at work making sure nothing hit us with Yang's reckless driving habits.

"I don't want to talk about it... let's talk about YOUR family... how's your dad?"

I nodded, taking the opportunity the return to the happier moment before, when I'd gotten +4 Closeness, "He's good. He's going to be taking me out of civilian high school in order to give me time to train more for Beacon, but I gotta train, so I was hoping maybe we could do that on this outing?" I suggested with a soft smile as we walked up to the counter.

"Sounds good to me." she grinned, "Try not to let the icky civilian weakness slow you down in our training, okay?" she joked, giggling like it was a piece of comedy gold.

"Don't worry, I'm really strong." I said with a smirk, "Either that, or you're really light, because I was able to lift you pretty easily." I chuckled softly.

There was, of course, also the fact that my Aura was now passively increasing my Strength by 35% at level 12 now, I'd noticed it had changed when it reached level 10, so... maybe it went up based on increments of 10 levels?

It was worth a shot, to be honest.

"Well don't think that next time you lift me up, it'll be so easy, alright dude?" she warned, blushing despite herself.

I responded by grabbing her by the sides and lifting her up, "Eh, still pretty easy." I said with a smirk, setting her down, "Face it, Sunny... er, uh, can I call you Sunny?" I received a nod, "Well face it, Sunny, you're light when it comes to weight.

"Y'know... I should be happy about that, but for some reason I just can't find it in me." she turned from me to order her ice cream, as I did the same, mint chip with chocolate syrup, an old favorite.

We sat down and I spoke up as she took the first bite of orange sherbet, "It's probably because you're a huntress, and you don't want to think yourself fragile and weak, and weight attributes to that in some cases, especially when it comes to having dense, well-defined muscle tissue." I chuckled, "Still though, I do feel the need to remind you that Beacon trains Hunters, not supermodels."

I saw Teasing's level raise several times in the time it took her to respond, "Sh-shut UP, Beacon ALSO doesn't train... uh... casuals?" she didn't seem very confident in her answer, mainly because it was pretty hard to come up with an insult for me when she still knew relatively little. We'd mostly talked about what we wanted to do, rather than who we were, and that was something I wanted to fix.

As a good friend, of course.

So I talked to her.

* * *

 **Dexterity: 36 (+35%) = 48.6**

 **Charisma: 47**

 **-/\\-**

 **Teasing (Passive) Level: 64, EXP: 45.63%  
** **The act of using your own charms and wits to bring other people to a state of being red-faced, stuttering, speechless fools who can hardly react. Effect increases with Skill Level and CHA**

 **Teasing Effectiveness: +136%  
** **Teasing Resistance: +42%**

 **-/\\-**

 **By channeling aura to various parts of the body, you have gained the skills "Skull Bash", "Crushing Grip", "Heavy Hauler", "Hardened Chest", "Mana Shield", "Adamant Foil", and "Reinforced Bones".**

 **Yang Xiao Long: +60, Close Friend**

And so it was now, after straining to create those skills, that I found myself recharging my AP and waiting for Yang. I'd channeled aura into every muscle I could conceive, as well as my bones and skin, the latter of which had briefly escaped my skin and instead rested atop it, gaining Mana Shield.

Some of these were expensive, like the 2060 AP Reinforced Bones. Others, like Heavy Hauler, were closer to just a hundred or two. Crushing Grip was the cheapest at fifty, but all of them (except Mana Shield) were the same concept. You channel aura into your muscles to make them stronger, or you skin and bones to make them more durable. Aura was my best friend right now, and I'd learn to master it.

Thankfully, the process of doing all of this was both subtle enough to not be seen by even Yang, and EXP-worthy enough to raise Aura Channeling to level 18, even after only having some of them active for a few seconds.

Right now I had three personal objectives: 1) convince Yang to train with me, 2) activate all of those skills simultaneously, and 3) get the supplies necessary to try out elemental magic, which I was assuming was a thing, since I saw that Yang had a Fire Affinity of 50, and I myself had a Metal Affinity of 10 due to having Crocea the Elemental.

Something pierced my inner thoughts.

"I guess I've struck you speechless." Yang giggled as she stood a few feet from me, wearing a simple yellow sundress with a few flower patterns spotted about it.

I found it pretty cute, and thankfully it didn't show too much of her _lovely cleavage_... I REALLY need to stop that... "You look really cute. Modest in one way, beautiful in another, you're fashionably sound... then again, you could make a frog costume look good." I chuckled with a soft grin on my face.

Her cheeks turned bright pink, "What's THAT supposed to mean?" the smile on her face was only slightly shy.

Her blushing smile only made me grin wider, "It means whatever meaning keeps that pretty smile on your face."

I suddenly saw Teasing go up by a whole TEN FUCKING LEVELS just from that, and Yang muttered something under her breath which sounded like she was admonishing me for landing several strikes on her in our little ongoing teasing battle, before attempting to regain her composure and the metaphorical 'ground' in fight, "Well how about YOU get something, slick?" she smirked at me, brushing off the teases with ease, "Here I am trying stuff on and you're just acting like a... like a..." she stuttered a tad as she tried to think of something.

"Fashion magazine editor? I'd put you in a fashion magazine if I had the power." my grin lightened up into a gentle smile, "I'd make you a fashion model just so you don't get hurt being a Huntress." I blinked as I saw a broken Closeness notification pop up, as if it had done so while Yang was still making her mind up if she did or didn't like that statement, and to help out, I quickly added, "Because you're my friend and I don't like seeing my friends hurt, EVER." the notification shined and showed a +3, which was pretty good.

"You're a really great guy, you know that, Jaune?" she smiled even wider, so much that it probably hurt, but her joy was probably negating the pain.

I returned her smile in kind, "I try, Sunny." I stood up, "Well, I think I should probably go find something to try on, too. Be right back." I jogged off to find something while Yang changed into her street clothes.

I was feeling really good. I using a couple of my new muscle enhancing skills to just exercise my aura and increase the levels of the skills, and sought out something good to wear.

...

 **By optimizing your time training and working, your Wisdom has increased by 1!**

 **Summon Elemental's level increased by 1!**

 **Magic Hands's level increased by 3!**

 **Skull Bash's level increased by 3!**

 **Stampede's level increased by 1!**

With my high INT and WIS, it was surprisingly easy to optimize my skill usage with my APR... I'm surprised I even managed to get that increase in Wisdom.

Of course, a few days ago I was violently refusing to even LOOK at those, but as my knowledge and understanding grew, I came to... well... know and understand that The Game was supposed to be rewarding me for doing well, and these free points from training were only going to become harder and harder to obtain.

It was weird, making that transition, but I got over it. With Gamer's Mind and Gamer's Body, I could 'get over' a frighteningly large amount of things.

I'd been stabbed in the leg and walked just fine moments later. I'd been SHOT through the fucking HEAD and recovered in SECONDS. I could probably get my arms blown off and they'd grow back.

I was more durable just by these simple and all-encompassing preserving skills than most Hunters could be. Of course Gamer's Body did nothing to PREVENT the damage, but it sure as hell FIXED it really quickly. Even Aura didn't stop it, only Mana Shield did.

I picked out a few things, thankful that this store catered to Hunters as well as civilians, and smiled when, in my luck (or possible Luck), I found a nice orange shirt and a new black hoodie that was reinforced with several layers of kevlar. Dark blue jeans, and new shoes. I needed something better to wear than what I currently had, in order to make fighting Grimm easier, even if only slightly.

Every little bit counts, right?

Right.

I returned to the changing room to see a... rather interesting sight.

Yang was dressed up in what I could only describe as a female version of my street clothes. A black hoodie with the sleeves rolled up, an orange a-shirt, faded denim shorts, and black sneaker boots.

"Heh, you could pass for my twin, almost, except for your eyes." I said with a chuckle, "Now then, I've got basically a tune-up version of my current outfit." I entered the changing room, quickly swapped out the clothes, then walked out, "I'm also REALLY fast at changing clothes, too." I chuckled and spun on one foot, seeing a tiny piece of EXP for Dancing appear in the menu. I smiled at her, "How do I look?"

"You look pretty great, 'bro'." she giggled a little, then sighed at the failed joke, "Nah, I'm not gonna play that card. It feels weird. I'm gonna change, okay?" I nodded as we both went back into our respective changing rooms.

...

A few minutes later I was pulling out lien to pay for her clothes, seeing a random boost in Closeness as I did so. I shrugged and took both our bags. "I'm glad she isn't the type of girl they portray in the TV shows." I mused internally.

"What do you mean?" she asked me suddenly, and I realized I must have been thinking out loud.

Shit... "I mean, like, uh... if this were a TV show or something, then you'd try on like a million different clothes and buy like five bags of them. Instead you tried on... what? Like five or six things? And your actual purchases only take up one bag. I'm glad I don't have to lug a bunch of bags around, and I'm even MORE glad that you don't waste money on clothes that you'd never wear." I chuckled, "You're almost like a guy in that regard, despite being one of the girliest girls I've met... minus the motorcycle driver thing, but that's just plain cool." I didn't really know what I was saying, but luckily my Charisma and Luck were helping enough that she didn't take it the wrong way.

"I... guess... makes sense, I just like to get what I like best, that way I'll always have clothes I like to wear." she smiled softly, "So... what do you want to do next?"

"Well, I can do some metal magic, so I was hoping to get some metal maybe, and try out my Wizard powers with Dust... so... get Dust." I said with a shrug, getting onto Bumblebee behind Yang and storing the bags in my inventory, "Don't worry about the bags, I've got them stored with... a storage spell." I excused, letting out an internal sigh of relief when Yang let out an intrigued sound.

"OoooooOOOooooh~." she drawled, smiling, "Sounds fancy, and pretty convenient too!" she started driving us to another location, and I activated Heavy Hauler as I held onto her to avoid flying off the harsh turns.

I saw another rise in Teasing's level, _'How in the hell is that skill getting all these levels? Am I SERIOUSLY making her feel THAT teased? That's a bit ridiculous...'_

Regardless, I held her tightly in my arms as we rode off through the streets.

... why did that sound so romantic?

I... I don't like her like that, do I?

No, no of course not, I can't! I won't! She's WAY too good for me. We're just friends, is all.

If she was interested in me, I'd go for it, but I'm pretty sure she's not interested at ALL, given how silly and simple and friendly things are.

Love is complicated, after all.

* * *

"Thank you so much for putting up with me today." I said suddenly, surprising Yang as we rode towards the edge of town.

"It's not just 'putting up with you', dude, we're friends." she dismissed my statement, "I like hanging out with you, you're fucking hilarious." she grinned brightly and let out a soft, sweet laugh as I brushed my fingers over my inventory, or as she knew it, my 'storage spells'.

I'd gotten twenty of each color of Dust I could find in that store, Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Metal, and Lightning. I'd also gotten a few books from a random bookstore, as well as an ingot of blade steel and another of whitesteel. I was nearly out of money even after having fought all of those Grimm yesterday, but I'd replenish my wallet soon enough with loot after Yang went home.

"And you're fucking hilarious AND fucking awesome. I swear, the way you did that bunny hop that sent us through a shortcut through the park was cool as hell." I was mostly thankful that nobody had been on that pathway when we'd done that, because I'm sure there'd have been a LOT of complaints and probably more than a few calls to the police because of that. Again, I think that might have been my Luck running in the background, making sure our little trip through town didn't get interrupted.

Yang blushed as we continued towards the emerald forest. It was a straight shot eastward from my house, a path I'd convinced her to take, and just like the rest of our trip around town, it was going smoothly.

Eventually we reached the kingdom wall, and as I promised, I used Crocea to levitate Bumblebee, an act that wouldn't have been possible if he didn't have the power of four Basic Elementals within him, and took us over the massive structure, draining a little over half of my aura in the process.

Luckily, during our trip, as I'd thanked Yang for dragging her around town, I'd come across a few books.

Well... I wasn't proud of how I'd gotten them, but I had no money and they sounded REALLY cool!

 **By committing multiple thefts, you have lost 4 Morality!**

 **Gained item "Skill Book: Qing Long's Azure Dragon Style"**

 **Gained item "Skill Book: Soul of the World"**

 **Gained item "Skill Book: Soulforge Restoration."**

 **Gained item "Skill Book: Summon Elemental"**

Okay, well admittedly I could have gone without the Summon Elemental book, but I'd taken it for a good reason! I wanted to test a theory of mine.

I'd consumed Summon Elemental, Stampede, Leadership, and Power Arm (which was destroyed and replaced with Heavy Hauler when I'd used that, as it turns out the book had been heavily damaged and the name had been lost temporarily). Each had been useful to me.

But, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if I used a skill book for a skill I already had. Rereading a normal book would improve your memory of it, so would reading a copy of a previous skill book cause me to gain levels in the skill? It was certainly possible, but given how weird The Game is, I won't hold my breath.

I started at the beginning, taking out Qing Long's Azure Dragon Technique. I'd picked the book because Gamer's Sight told me it was a martial arts style. Martial arts were quite useful even in this day and age, since a well-rounded fighting style could make or break a Hunter, and being able to fight unarmed was a big part of that. Plus, I HAD to go for the one that sounded the strongest, and _Azure Dragon_? Not only was that BADASS, but it also matched my aura, "So, Yang, are you ready to see some wizardry? Because THIS spell lets me consume these books I bought the other day to gain their knowledge. It's pretty cool." I had to make a spin on the facts, not only to save face with her, but to make sure she still believed I was a Wizard.

She nodded, seeming excited, "This is gonna be SO fucking cool!" her grin warmed my heart, and I took a breath and secretly hit Yes to 'read' the book.

The 'read' window flashed red a few times and I sighed at the sub-window that popped up.

 **You do no meet the following requirements to use this skill book:**

 **50 WIS**

Dammit, skills had prerequisites? I had hoped that wasn't the case for The Game, but oh well. Repeating the attempt with the other two books, I found that they had the same requirement, which I felt was bullshit.

Does my game have bugs or something? Maybe glitches? Dammit, I don't even know, I just know that I don't like these prerequisites.

"Okay, I've used a bit of the spell, so I've consumed a little bit of the knowledge in this book, but I can't use the full extent of my power just yet, I need... more aura, so let's kill some time fighting Grimm while it recharges, okay?" I smiled at her and was pleased that she took the bait.

Yang unfolded Ember Celica, grinning from ear to ear, "Alright~! Getting to the action already, you're my kind of man." she winked at me and I couldn't help but blush and look away, "Come on, I bet there's like a TON of Grimms to fight that way." she pointed to the north as I turned my focus onto Sense Danger and Detect Bloodthirst.

Now that I had spent plenty of time near the bloodthirst and danger of apparently not only my classmates (nice to know I was as hated as I hated the school), but also, if my Wisdom and Intelligence from those that didn't like that I was with Yang (fuck them, Yang's MY friend, not theirs), both skills had raised to level 25 each, raising the base range to a staggering 150 meters, as well as making it sensitive enough to detect the exact number of meters away that something.

I sensed two things almost immediately, "Yeah, my sensing spell tells me there's some Grimm in that direction and some more in that direction. Be careful, they can probably knock trees over, and even you probably would have some trouble lifting one of THOSE." I chuckled, "So be careful, alright, Sunny?" the ingot of blade steel seemed to melt around Crocea Mors, filling in every little scratch, cut, and nick the surface had taken, as well as making it a little thicker and longer, and I did the same with whitesteel and Candidus Murus, fixing its weak points and making them both gleam in the light. I smiled at the almost mirror-like sheen on the blade, seeing Crocea the elemental smiling back at me with rejuvenated features.

I looked at Yang and smiled, "Metal manipulation spell." I said simply to her curious, almost kitten-like expression, unable to keep from smiling even wider at how cute she looked.

She grinned.

I grinned back.

Then we dashed off, flattening grass with our charge. I don't know how it happened, but we just seemed to understand it together.

Well... time to nut up or shut up.

...

We burst into the clearing like a pair of charging bulls, a pair of very large Ursa present as I quickly threw a Gamer's Sight at it while barreling into it shield-first.

 **Ursa Major  
** **Title: Ravenous for Sweet Blood  
** **Level: 28**

 **Hit Points: 1470/1500  
** **Stamina Points: 4000/4000**

 **Strength: 75  
** **Dexterity: 16  
** **Vitality: 53  
** **Intelligence: 3  
** **Wisdom: 4  
** **Luck: 7**

The other one was pretty similar, a little lower STR, a little higher DEX. I grit my teeth, slashing off its head with a well-placed strike to its downed form, then I charged over to Yang, jumping in front of a massive claw strike shield-first, getting blown off my feet and sent into a tree.

"Jaune!" she cried out in shock, but I got up and gave her a thumbs up.

I saw her Aura flare up, which wasn't too surprising, given that Gamer's Sight told me that particular skill for her was level 54. Her semblance was only level 13, however, which was odd, because the way she'd described it, it was a major part of her personal fighting style. Well... I guess it just hadn't grown much in terms of its total power. That made sense.

However, I watched her gain the status effect "Ignited Strength", which had, as the name implied, increased her damage with Fire element magic and boosted her Strength by 20. The Ursa Major was blown across the clearing by a single punch. I whistled as I got up, seeing Physical Resistance had gone up a level from that. I quickly stuck Crocea Mors into the ground and raised a hand, firing an Energy Bolt at the Ursa Major, watching a small chunk of HP disappear from its bar.

I fired again, and again, and again, Magic Hands assisting me as Yang watched me pelt the foul beast with Energy Bolt after Energy Bolt. I saw it level up a few times during my assault, and grinned. I fired one last time before taking Crocea Mors and slicing its stomach apart, watching pale yellow ichor pour from the wound and dissolve into black smoke even as it poured out over the grass. I smiled as I saw the notification pop up.

 **Your level has increased by one!**

I looked around, then darted back to Yang, "You okay, Sunny?" I asked with a bit of concern sprinkled over my expression.

"I didn't even get hit, meanwhile you got thrown clean across the clearing! I should be asking if YOU'RE okay!" she grabbed me surprisingly gently for the speed at which her arms moved, and looked me over, "You're not hurt, are you?"

"Only my pride, but I healed THAT by beating the shit out of that thing!" I chuckled and grinned confidently at her, "Don't worry about me getting hurt, okay, Sunny?" my expression softened, "All you need to worry about is not getting hurt yourself, alright? I care about you." I gave her a pat on the shoulder and an even softer, more genuine smile, then turned around, looking and darting to and fro to check what direction the next nearby Grimm was in.

 **+4 Closeness to Yang!**

 **Yang's Respect for you greatly increased!**

Huh... well, I guess she likes being cared about, at least a lot more than I've seen from my sisters, who would just blush and look away.

Oh right... my sisters.

I sighed, a wave of eviscerated sadness flying into my focus as I led the charge more slowly this time, a tear forming in my eye.

Dammit... my parents may be getting along with one another now, but that doesn't make up for almost SEVEN GODDAMN YEARS of regret and sadness. I haven't seen my sisters in so long, that I would forget their faces if I didn't have pictures of them on my scroll, ones that my dad took of them maybe... a week before he and mom split up? That's what he told me.

I wondered what they all were doing now, how they were faring under Juniper's care.

I threw an uppercut at my new foe as my mind wandered.

 **Name: Boarbatusk  
** **Title: The hungry, bloody teeth  
** **Level: 23**

 **Hit Points: 1200/1200  
** **Stamina Points: 3700/3700**

 **Strength: 24**

 **Dexterity: 30  
** **Vitality: 40  
** **Intelligence: 3  
** **Wisdom: 3  
** **Luck: 10**

I stabbed its underside, wrenching my blade to and fro as I sliced and rearranged its vile internal organs, watching its HP drop like a rock.

Yang had stopped the charge of two of them with each hand, a third one knocked off its course by an exploding slug from Ember Celica. I didn't want to be outdone, so I focused heavily and tried to use my Metal element to enhance my Energy Bolt.

 **By channeling the magical element Metal into a normal spell, you have gained the skill "Cannonball"!**

 **Cannonball (Active) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00%, Cost: 30 AP  
** **An energy bolt infused with the element Metal. Attack power increases with INT and Metal Affinity. Penetrates target's defense.**

 **Base Damage: 150%  
** **10% defense penetration  
Range: 10m**

I grinned and watched as the now silver-gray bolt of energy shimmered and slammed into the underside of the downed Boarbatusk, smashing its belly inwards and wrenching away a LOT of its HP. However the bolt disappeared, and so I fired another one, watching it slam through the remainder of the Boarbatusk's belly, effectively putting a massive hole into it. I chuckled, flicking my sword to the side to rid it of most of the smoking gore that had stuck to it. I saw Yang throw another of the evil things into my range of influence, and I reached out a finger as if to touch it.

Instead, a line of energy flew from my fingertip.

 **Shaping your aura into special forms has created the skill "Energy Arrow"!**

I read the description, and DAMN! This thing had some serious range! Too bad the damage was super low. At least I could probably spam it pretty easily, despite it costing twice as much as Energy Bolt.

So I spammed it, I fired another, and another, and more and more and more of them, earning a few levels for it while I assaulted the Boarbatusk, killing it after a few more shots.

And then a Longhorn decided to join us.

 **Name: Longhorn  
** **Title: Snorting in search of Gore  
** **Level: 29**

 **Hit Points: 8000/8000  
** **Stamina Points: 8200/8200**

 **Strength: 69  
** **Dexterity: 51  
** **Vitality: 41  
** **Intelligence: 2  
** **Wisdom: 3  
** **Luck: 11**

I hit it in the side with five more arrows before swinging Crocea Mors like a silver lightning bolt, feeding off Yang's blow-away punch and slicing it down its thick, meaty side. I growled when I saw Yang had taken a stab wound from its horns, and reached a fierce hand up, grabbing its horn and using its neck as a fulcrum.

I pulled with all my might, activating Aura to give me more STR as I tore its horn off of its mask, spinning around and stabbing it into the thing's neck.

I growled, watching it die as its hateful eyes turned to me, and I focused on my hand again.

 **Shaping your aura into special forms has created the skill "Gleaming Dagger"!**

I slammed the jagged, half-formed azure shape into its eye, then stood up with my teeth grit, looking at Yang.

Two wounds, one grazing her chest and the other stabbing her arm. I shook with guilt, then I saw the notification I'd been waiting for.

 **Your level has increased by two!**

I opened my profile while brushing the area around Yang's wounds with my fingers, "Don't worry, okay? Even after casting those spells, I've got my aura back and I gonna use the book, absorb its knowledge, and heal you, okay?" I earned a shaky nod and a sharp intake as I quickly threw ten points into Wisdom and the other five into Intelligence to get a boost to my Max AP.

 **By raising Wisdom above 50, you have achieved new heights! You gained the skill "Nature Affinity"!**

 **-/\\-**

 **Nature Affinity (Passive) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00% (achieved for raising Wisdom above 50)  
** **Long ago, Man, who was born from dust, realized the power of nature and the light that shines within all life and turned its wrath against the soulless Grimm, burning away the darkness. This skill increases the users sensitivity and control over those forces, improving their affinity with the elements.**

 **25% Increase in Mana Recovery Rate.  
** **10% Increase to Elemental Attacks.  
** **10% Increase to Elemental Defenses.  
** **50% Increase to Element related skill effects and Dust use.**

 **-/\\-**

I took out the books in order and quickly used them.

 **You used a skill book and learned "Qing Long's Azure Dragon Style"!**

 **By using five skill books, you have proven yourself very literate and knowledgeable. You earned the title "Novice Scholar"!**

 **Novice Scholar: You have learned by the ways of literature, taking up knowledge recorded from the past. By honing your skills, you can further recollect this knowledge from the vaguer wording and hints... Effect: Using Skill Books gives the skill at a starting level between 1 and 10**

I equipped the title with a smile and used the other two books.

 **You used a skill book and learned "Soul of the World"! Your knowledge in literature and affinity for keen reading have earned you level (4) in this skill for learning it via a skill book!**

 **You used a skill book and learned "Soulforge Restoration"! Your knowledge in literature and affinity for keen reading have earned you level (10) in this skill for learning it via a skill book!**

I felt like my heart was being torn at the seams with a sudden swelling, and I saw that my AP had risen even further than I expected, now at a whopping 6000!

I checked Soulforge to confirm my suspicions.

 **-/\\-**

 **Soulforge Restoration (Active) Level: 10, Exp: 0.00%, Cost: 48 AP  
** **In a world full of darkness, Man learned to create new light. They learned through study and experience that the soul is something infinite in distance and unbound by death. By releasing it, they found immortality even in their own passing. The old race of warriors know as the Spellwarriors created a technique to bestow their souls with the bounty of Nature's Might through the power of Dust, as well as mend their wounds and cure their ailments.**

 **Used without Dust Crystal, 95 HP restored, low-ranking Illnesses removed.  
** **Used with Dust Crystal, 95 HP restored, 75 AP restored, low-ranking Illnesses removed, variable effects dependent on type of dust.  
** **Status Effect duration: 30s**

I quickly drain my remaining AP casting a few of them on Yang, healing her bleeding wounds without leaving so much as a scratch, "Phew. Thank god that worked. PLEASE try to be more careful, Sunny, like I said I don't want you to get hurt. I don't mind playing medic, but I'd rather I didn't have to, okay?" my brotherly instincts were rising as I brushed away a couple of pained tears from her eyes and planted a small kiss on the top of her head, "Now then, how about we just relax for a little bit, okay? We'll head back to the wall, chill out, and I'll show you my new spells when my Aura is back up." I smiled tenderly at her.

 **+3 Closeness to Yang!**

She nodded back and I took her hand, walking with her while making sure she didn't fall behind or get hit by any super-speed Grimm that might be lurking around here.

You can never be too careful, after all.

 **+1 Closeness to Yang!**

 **Yang's Respect for you rose greatly!**

I sighed softly in relief, glad that Yang was happy. I didn't want to upset her, "Now if you still feel hurt, I can cast the healing spell again, okay?" I'd noticed her HP had risen back up to full and the Bleeding debuff was gone, but that didn't mean she didn't feel anymore pain.

We reached a clear area near the wall and I changed into a blue hoodie and my blue shirt, just in case any guards came 'round and thought I was a Grimm for some reason, since... well.

Black flesh, white plates, it was possible.

But I was far from a Grimm, I have a powerful soul, even more powerful than Yang's!

Actually... that was concerning...

 **-/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Novice Scholar  
** **Level: 22  
** **Class: Tank  
** **Nickname: None**

 **HP: 3350/3350  
** **AP: 6000/6000  
** **SP: 3450/3450**

 **Strength: 40 (+40%) = 56  
** **Dexterity: 36 (+40%) = 50.4  
** **Vitality: 44 (+40%) = 61.6  
** **Intelligence: 50 (+3) (+40%) = 74.2  
** **Wisdom: 51 (+3) (+40%) = 75.6  
** **Luck: 110  
** **Charisma: 47**

 **-/\\-**

 **Yang Xiao Long  
** **Title: Hotter than the Summer Sun  
** **Level: 36**

 **Hit Points: 900/900  
** **Aura Points: 1500/1500  
** **Stamina Points: 1100/1100**

 **Strength: 67 (+85%) = 123.95  
** **Dexterity: 39 (+30%) = 50.7  
** **Vitality: 52 (+65%) = 85.8  
** **Intelligence: 17 (+30%) = 22.1  
** **Wisdom: 22 (+30%) = 28.6  
** **Luck: 18  
** **Charisma: 69**

 **-/\\-**

She was fourteen levels higher than me and had eight more VIT than I did. Not to mention her aura, which was level 54, and gave her THOSE boosts?

Something is SERIOUSLY wrong with her. Those numbers made no sense! She should have at least QUADRUPLE what she does right now! Damn... maybe it had to do with her Luck?

Luck was seriously fucking people over, now. I was quickly growing to hate Luck. I was going to become good enough to make my OWN luck, instead of relying on a stupid stat!

'Fate' my muscle-bound ASS!

...

A short fifteen minutes resting, Ki Breathing, and friendly chatting between us later and I stood up, "Alright, now then, I'm going to try to do something..." I did a pose and focused on my aura.

I channeled it throughout my body, through all of my muscles, bones, skin, and even my hair for good measure.

 **Channeling aura in a special way has created the skill "Radiant Mane"!**

Simply put, it added a small armor boost to my hair, which was cool in a way.

Then I saw it.

 **You feel life force filling every cell in your body!**

 **Your soul resonates with power, boosted by your physical condition!**

 **You feel great energy fill you completely!**

 **By channeling aura throughout your entire body, you have gained the skill "Ki Body"!**

 **-/\\-**

 **Ki Body (Passive & Active) Level: 1, EXP: 16.34%, Cost: 5000 AP  
** **The body of a true warrior enhanced by aura in every aspect. To bring the internal power outwards, the user has infused their entire body with Ki, the soul energy of Life Force and Vigor. Due to this connection, the user is vastly more powerful than a normal man.**

 **Passively grants 50 AR to entire body.  
** **Passively increases Attack Speed, Movement Speed, Movement Control, and Motor Control by 50%  
** **Passively increases the ease of channeling aura throughout the body by 25%  
** **Passively increases the effectiveness of Ki Techniques (now marked) by 10%  
** **Passively boosts SPR by 100%  
** **Additional +200% SPR when active**

 **+50% STR when active  
** **+50% DEX when active  
** **+50% VIT when active  
** **Adds the values of HPR and APR together when active, granting the total to both stats.  
** **Maintaining costs additional 500 AP every 5 seconds.**

 **-/\\-**

I whistled, "THIS spell is fucking AWESOME." it was like a different version of Aura, almost! I noticed the many skills I'd gained through channeling my aura throughout my body had now been marked with what looked like a soul fire ball with a vigorous glow and symbols of wisps of wind around it.

I deactivated the skill, mainly because having it active for even 10 seconds would drain the rest of my AP.

I grinned at Yang, "This spell is going to help me a LOT... so how did it look?"

Yang was wide-eyed, "Dude... it was like you went super saiyan!" she made a few wild gestures, "You were glowing bright, uh, cyan-kinda-color, and your hair was waving around and it was so fucking COOL!" she excitedly grinned, "You GOTTA teach me how to do that!"

I chuckled, panting lightly, "Well... I can't teach you THAT one, it's exhausting, even if it IS awesome... but I CAN teach you something else. First, let me get ready." I took out an Earth Dust Crystal and waited, ready to start focusing my aura onto it, "I'm going to make a symbol on the ground." I used Crocea Mors the sword to cut away some of the grass with swift swings, then focused on the Earth Dust Crystal with my restored aura, of which I got back a little over 6 per second.

 **ERROR! ERROR!**

 **CORRECTING!**

The summoning circle was there, but I felt the rest of my aura shudder from the errors I'd committed. I fell to my knees and coughed up an earthy dust.

 **By channeling the elements through your aura, you have gained the skill "Elemental Aura"!**

I checked it, smirking lightly as the Element I'd used, Earth, gave me increased Strength and resistance to physical status effects, however it had the downside of increasing my Inertia, which if I wasn't mistaken, would reduce my movement speed, since it'd be harder to move my mass around.

I didn't know exactly how that worked, but I shrugged it off, just like I had that dream from last night.

After having thought on it for a while, I'd come to the conclusion that if something like that WERE to happen, Vale City had Beacon to supply them with a few hundred huntsmen and huntresses in training, as well as a few dozen full Hunters that would no-doubt have ridiculous stats like I'd seen on Calico.

So I was worried about nothing.

I got to my feet, "Okay, that spell didn't work out so well..." I excused, rubbing my head lightly and brushing dirt from my hair, "Now then, watch as I summon an elemental, a source of incredible magical power! First..." I took out some paper I'd stored in my inventory in case I came up with some sort of coherent short-term plan. I balled it up along with some grass and set it into the middle of the raised ground, "Now then, Yang, my dear friend, would you like to do the honors and light the fire?" I trusted her with this, at least.

She took in a deep breath, then focused like I'd shown her, and fire danced along her fingertips. She touched the small pile of kindling and it caught fire. Just to add good measure, I crushed part of a Fire Dust Crystal and threw it into the flame, then held out my hand, touching the fire as azure glowed around my body.

Yang watched me intently as I focused on using the fire as a catalyst to reach out to the magical element itself.

I'd already done this once, so hopefully it wouldn't happen again now that the process had been completed once before.

The flame was sucked into my aura and I opened my eyes...

... and then the world went dark.

* * *

 _Dark... it's so dark._

 _All I see is a plain of darkness._

 _It's so cold... so... so cold..._

 _Then, I see it._

 _I see light._

 _Hot light._

 _Bright light._

 _Light that burns intensely._

 _I am that light, but... I am not._

 _I am a part of that light, I am so hot that I glow._

 _So hot._

 _I burn all throughout the world._

 _I am lava._

 _I am magma._

 _I am the hot blood of the earth._

 _I feel volcanoes erupting all around the world._

 _I feel forests consumed by massive swathes of flame._

 _I feel oil on the ocean burning despite its proximity to its antithesis._

 _I feel hot._

 _I feel corrupted._

 _I feel hateful._

 _I feel wrath._

 _I feel a hunger for revenge._

 _A hunger for..._

 _A hunger for EVERYTHING._

 _I burn everything.  
_

 _I feel..._

 _I feel warm._

 _I feel purified._

 _I feel loving._

 _I feel mercy._

 _I feel a desire for gentleness..._

 _I feel cleansing._

 _I feel myself cleansing EVERYTHING._

 _I feel fire and I am fire._

 _I am fire and I feel its power._

 _I am its power and I feel its light._

 _I am its light and I feel the fire._

 _I feel the bright fire of the sun._

 _I feel it shining down on the earth._

 _I feel it feeding the plants their energy.  
_

 _I feel it promoting life._

 _I feel it._

 _I feel the sun rising._

 _I..._

 _I shine brighter._

 _I..._

 _I burn like the sun._

 _I keep Man safe from the darkness._

 _I keep them warm in the midst of this cold reality._

 _I rise like the sun over the western deserts and my name is Xiburichu._

 _I..._

 _I rage._

 _I destroy._

 _I blind.  
_

 _I..._

 _I calm._

 _I heal._

 _I guide._

 _I am fire and fire is I._

 _I am a part of Nature's Might._

 _I am Dust._

 _I am Magic.  
_

 _I am Elemental._

 _I know now my purpose._

 _My life is one of unending chaos, tempered only in the stability in that it is uniformly chaos._

 _I change as quickly as the minds of Man._

 _Different colors, different fuels._

 _All the same purpose._

 _Might._

 _I am the willpower of the earth._

 _I am fire._

 _I am... Xiburichu._

 _I feel myself break away from a whole._

 _But... I am merely a piece..._

 _A piece of an even MORE glorious whole._

 _I am a splinter of a tree._

 _It is growing, it does not have much power._

 _But that will change, i_ _t shall grow strong._

 _As it grows strong, I too shall grow strong._

 _I am Xiburichu._

 _I am fire._

 _My might is infinite._

 _I am Jaune Arc._

 _I am human._

 _My soul is eternal._

 _I am... one._

* * *

I crack my eyes open, awakening in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room, under an unfamiliar ceiling. I close my eyes as a notification comes into my view despite being blind to the world.

 **Acquisition of a Basic Fire Elemental has permanently increased your Fire Affinity by 10!**

I closed it with a thought and opened my eyes more fully, adjusting to the new brightness of the dim light of the room. I sit up and look around, "Dammit... not again." I mutter softly and quietly, rolling my neck and hearing it pop a little. I suddenly felt two arms hug me... wait... was it a hug or a heavy, but ridiculously comfortable blanket?

"Holy shit you're awake! Thank god~." I heard a familiar voice say, and I wiggled out of the hug to look at the female next to me, "Holy shit I was SOOOO worried~..." she had been crying a fair bit, "You've been out for about... like... 4 hours..."

She looked unfamiliar at first. Long blonde hair tied back into a cute ponytail, a beautiful face and adorable purple-rimmed glasses, a lovely neck, gently sloped shoulders, large breasts, a voluptuous and beautiful figure I could see was packed with muscle... She seemed familiar but something was off about her... She was wearing a white button-up shirt with a blue lapel, a beige shirt with a small string tying together two flaps of cloth that showed a little more cleavage on top of (or rather below) what it already showed, and a pair of blue denim short-shorts, ending mid-thigh.

I stared at her for several seconds before meeting her eyes, blushing a bit as she did too.

A beautiful shade of lilac purple.

It clicked and I mentally facepalmed at how I'd just STARED at her.

It was Yang.

Wow... "Cute..." I shook my head, "Uh, I mean... you, please don't cry." I gave her a gentle, brotherly hug, "Cute girls like you shouldn't ever cry, you shouldn't ever even think about crying." I said in a mock-stern tone full of concern, "I'm sorry, I didn't know I'd be passed out for that long." I looked around and realized this must have been some sort of bedroom, and it looked rather nice.

"I didn't know what to do!" she sniffled, "I used this dust-infused medicine shot that dad keeps in case one of us gets hurt while he's not here, and it didn't seem to do anything at all!" she pushed up her glasses, "I was just so fucking worried~!" she buried her head in my shoulder, wetting my skin with her moist cheeks.

Wait... my skin?

No time to think about that right now. Right now I needed to make sure that my surprisingly adorable friend stopped feeling sad.

Wow she looked adorable with those glasses on...

Prioritize, brain, cute pictures later, fixing tears NOW, "Well don't worry, Sunny, I'm fine, I'm a Wizard and unlike what you might hear about wizards in games, I'm tough as nails. No, I'm tougher than nails. I'm so much tougher than nails that nails look like paper compared to me!" I chuckled softly, slowly rubbing her back while I saw Teasing rise rapidly, as well as several more points in Closeness to Yang and her respect for me increasing drastically. Gamer's Mind allowed me to ignore the embarrassment associated with the warm and fuzzy sensations I was feeling, and I spoke up again, "So... where am I? Don't tell me you took us to a hotel..." I put on my 'what am I gonna do with you~?' tone and gave a similar sigh, showing I wasn't actually mad.

She calmed down, her body ceasing its faint shaking. She was a kind soul, I knew that, nobody could give the looks that she had to people who'd thrown a few jabs at her for some stupid bullshit (more than likely related to her looks, but I was looking more at her heart and mind). She took in a deep breath and spoke, "I took us to my house. My dad's out right now on a mission to get some more cash for us and I didn't want to show up to your house carrying your unconscious body. I'm pretty sure your dad would have a heart attack."

"Either that or crack some stupid joke about me getting a girlfriend." I laughed.

She laughed too, "Yeah, I mean, like, we haven't even gone on a date yet or anything."

I laughed harder, "Pffffft~, we don't need to go on a date." I pulled back and smirked at her, "I mean, raisins aren't even that good anyways!"

We both burst out into a new fit of laughter, I fell back in the bed and Yang fell forward, her head layig on my bare chest as we shook with mirth.

I was the first to speak, "So why am I shirtless?" I asked with a joking, but somewhat serious smile.

She blushed, "Well your hoodie and shirt started to catch fire, so I had to take them off of you."

I deadpanned, "What?" my clothes started to catch fire? Really?

"They started smoking, so I took them off of you, since I didn't want you to catch on fire." she said with a tinge of concern, "I gave more cold glares to people today than I have in the past six months." she sighed a bit... sadly?

"Wow... s-sorry about that." I rubbed the back of my neck while checking other notifications that had been backed up, "Damn... and that was my last good blue shirt that the cat hadn't claimed." I muttered lowly, sighing.

 **Teasing's level increased by 8!**

 **+3 Closeness to Yang!**

 **Metal Elemental "Crocea Mors" performed task "Routine Maintenance" (x4)**

 **By exploring the world through the eyes of an elemental spirit, you have increased your understanding of the world and your Wisdom has increased by 2!**

 **Sharpening your mind through expanding the range and clarity of your senses has increased your INT by 2!**

 **By raising your Intelligence above 50, you have achieved new heights, earning the skill "Mana Affinity"!**

"Oh, hey, uh... quick thing." she stood up and went over to something laying on another chair, "These must have fallen out of one of your storage spells." she showed me a pair of bracers.

I hummed, taking them from her and throwing a Gamer's Sight at them.

 **You gained the item "Ragrindus"!**

 ** _Ragrindus_**

 ** _Description: A Boarbatusk hide shaped into a pair of leather bracers. They are infused with the speed and powers of the dark beast. It has two small plates conjoined plates on the front end, pointed towards the enemy._**

 ** _Effects: +2 Armor, +2 DEX, induces status effect "Thieving Pig"_**

 **-/\\-**

 **Mana Affinity (Passive) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00%, (achieved by raising Intelligence above 50)  
** **Long ago, Man, who was born from dust, learned to draw upon the light of their souls to survive in an unforgiving world. This skill increases the user's sensitivity and control over that power, improving their affinity with Aura.**

 **10% Increase in APR.  
** **5% Increase in total AP.  
** **5% Increase to Magic Attack.  
** **5% Increase to Magic Defense.  
** **30% Increase to AP related skill effects.**

 **-/\\-**

Thieving Pig induced a minor form of kleptomania, as well as increased my Attack Speed by 10%, which was pretty good, because that was a bargain for me, since the kleptomania wouldn't affect me.

On the other side of things, I felt my Aura link closer to me, more pliable to my will, and more powerful overall.

"Yeah, I dropped those." I took the bracers and put them on, smiling, "So~... like I said, I'm good."

Yang smiled, "Yeah, you are. I know I wouldn't have been able to shake off a hit like that. You're amazing, you know that?"

"Uhhh~... well, I don't know about being amazing, but I'm certainly unique." I shrugged, giving her an 'I dunno' face.

"Yeah, but you're a good kind of unique." she smiled softly at my humble statement.

 **Rejecting calls of pride has further strengthened Gamer's Mind!**

"Hehe, maybe, maybe just maybe." I smiled dumbly, blinking, then I shook my head, "So um... I'm going to try t-"

Suddenly the door burst open, "SiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSS!" a high-pitched, adorable voice drew the word out to its fullest, raising the volume until it was almost painful to listen to, "Holy crap it actually worked!" I looked to see the girl standing there in the doorway.

 **Name: Ruby Rose  
** **Title: The Swift Red Rider  
** **Level: 40**

 **HP: 440/440  
** **AP: 2000/2000  
** **SP: 510/510**

 **Strength: 30  
** **Dexterity: 84  
** **Vitality: 32  
** **Intelligence: 42  
** **Wisdom: 18  
** **Luck: 15  
** **Charisma: 55**

 **Age: 15  
** **Birthday: November 11th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'1  
** **Weight: 90  
** **Build: Slim Adorable  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Black with Crimson Highlights / Silver / Pale**

I blew out a breath, ' _Damn... her bars are even more fucked up than Yang's! What is wrong with these two? I don't get it! I... I could use the cheat to find out...'_ I didn't want to, due to the fact that I didn't know what 'breaking the game' would cause. What would that even do?

How would that work? I didn't dare to find out.

Still... her level was higher than Yang's, and she had a massive DEX score. Her luck was pretty bad, her wisdom was lower than Yang's, her HP and SP were less than half of Yang's despite only being about 40% lower, and her build?

I had to agree, she was adorable.

But that was besides the point, "Uh, hello I'm assuming you're Ruby." I greeted with a slight smile, "Yang's told me a lot of good things about you, since you're her 'favoritest sister in the whole wide world~', as she told me." I threw out the tease just to buy some time to reorient, "You're just as cute as she said you were."

It was then that I knew I fucked up.

 **+3 Closeness to Yang!**

 **Your relationship with Yang has upgraded from "Close Friend" to "Best Friend"!**

 **+5 Closeness to Ruby!**

 **Your relationship with Ruby has upgraded from "Stranger" to "Friend"!**

 **By raising "Teasing" to level 99, you have gained the skill "Flirtation"!**

 **By honing your skills in charming people with good looks and wits, your Charisma has increased by 3!**

I blushed when I saw those last two, "Uh... y'know... j-just saying."

So... my skill had prestiged? How sensitive were these two that just two sentences had raised Teasing's level from the mid-70s to 99?

The answer was 'extremely sensitive', which made me feel bad, "So... my shirt?"

Yang nodded, "Er, right, of course!" my eye twitched when I saw Flirtation gain a level, "I put it in the washing machine, since it was perfectly fine other than a little bit of smoke damage."

I nodded and stood up, thankful that I hadn't suffered any status effects that would prevent me from walking. Having to get help with something as simple as _walking_ would be outright emasculating. The thought alone made my crotch ache with phantom pains, "Urgh." I held up a hand to stop Ruby mere inches before she grabbed me, "I'm fine, really I am, my legs are just stiff is all." I stretched out lazily, feeling a bit of lazy exhaustion from the impromptu nap.

I hummed, feeling an odd presence downwards to my left.

 _'A... fireplace.'_ a voice that was low, yet audible, and calm, like... a large candle, I felt, ' _I am Xiburichu.'_

I hummed, using Gamer's Sight on the name as it appeared in my mind and I found that it was of chinese origin, like Yang's name.

Then I was suddenly very thankful that I'd turned away from both of them, a massive blush spreading across my face as I realized, through Gamer's Sight feeding information to Gamer's Mind, what that name meant. I focused on something else, "So right, luckily, storage spell." I equipped my yellow shirt, turning and smiling at the two sisters while my face's coloration had been reduced to a faint pink, "So... what time is it?"

Yang checked her scroll, "Uh... it's almost eleven at night." she said, pouting a bit, "You shouldn't head home in the dark."

"I'm not going to, dear friend o' mine, not unless I can stay here for the night. I'd like to keep hanging out with you two." I smiled at them both, and they both smiled back.

"I'll go get ready! We're gonna have an awesome sleepover~!" she sped out of the room, leaving a trail of dust in her wake.

I whistled a bit, "Damn she's fast." I finished stretching and gained a small status effect, **Limbered Up** , which boosted most of my movement numbers by 25%, I dismissed it and turned to Yang, "So... Sunny... you never told me you wear adorable glasses." I smiled at her, sitting back down on the bed where I was facing her.

She blushed, turning away, "I usually wear contacts, but I can't wear those when I'm crying... I thought you'd dropped dead, or fell into a coma or something, I was so fucking worried." she hugged me again, "You know how my eyes turn red when I use my semblance?" her voice was a bit muffled from her head being buried in my chest, but I smiled softly, humming in affirmation while slowly, soothingly rubbing her back, "Well, the process that made that happen, the shifting in my aura, it made my eyesight go a bit bad. I can usually see pretty good without my glasses or contacts, but it's not ideal." she sighed softly, relaxing as I pulled her a bit closer.

"Well, it's good that you can still see fairly well." I looked around, "So um... yeah, I have sisters, and from what I remember, from all fiction stories with fathers that have daughters, I'm kinda expecting, like, a spear to fly by my head or something, just because I'm male." I just hoped Yang or Ruby hadn't contacted their father about what happened. Regardless, I chuckled at the (mostly) joking statement, "So how accurate is that?"

It was one thing to be a friendly guest, and a completely different thing to be barbecued chicken, however I felt that my status would shift drastically towards the latter if their father was anywhere near as fire-based as Yang is.

"Well, not very, because first thing's first, my dad doesn't use a spear. Two, I told him that you were a close friend of mine, and that we were doing a training exercise and you got knocked out, so I brought you back here so Rubes and I could keep an eye on you and make sure you were okay." she smiled at me and booped my nose, "And thankfully, you were."

"Hehe, of course I was okay, I'm a wizard, after all." I smirked, then let go of her, "Come on, I'm actually kind of excited to be having a sleepover, I've never been to one before." I admitted with a small chuckle, smiling sheepishly at her while rubbing the back of my neck, "So uh... yeah." I looked at the door, "I'll let you... y'know... uh... pajamas." I sighed softly as I did a little more stretching just to feel the satisfaction of it, letting Yang leave to get ready.

I took another look around, then heard some talking in the other room, before a quest window popped up.

 **QUEST RECEIVED!**

 **Quest: Sleeping on the side.**

 **Description: Ruby is excited that you'll be staying over, her bright enthusiasm is infectious and Yang agrees that it would be fun to liven this up to a little party!**

 **Objective: Have a successful sleepover with the Rose/Xiao-Long sisters**

 **Reward for success: +200 Max AP, +500 exp, a peaceful night's rest, +25 Closeness to Ruby, +5 Closeness to Yang**

 **Penalty for failure: kicked out of the house, -30 Closeness to Ruby, -50 Closeness to Yang**

 **Accept? Y/N**

Damn... given the extreme penalties for failure, I was pretty sure that I had to intentionally be a jackass in order to fail, or fuck something up royally. My Luck would hopefully help with avoiding that, and I'd get to stay here and possibly read (not 'read', but a normal read) some of their father's old books, which may lead to some new skills being acquired.

Also, I wouldn't have one of those four nightmares, according to the quest's reward, so maybe I could have a Hopeful Dream instead.

I don't even understand what that meant in the context of the skill, but...

As I hit the Y to accept the quest, I knew one thing.

I was a lot stronger than I was yesterday, and if it came to the scenario of my last nightmare, I might have been able to make a difference.

I would make a difference.

I WOULD.

One sleepover, one friendship, and one smile at a time.

And y'know what? That's a promise.

And an Arc never goes back on his word.

* * *

 **And here we are, at the ending notes.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. If you didn't then... I dunno... riot in the streets, or something.**

 **Favorite, follow, and review (especially review, I love those things)**

 **Not much to say, my schedule may be getting a significant block of it cleared up, so that's good, that's more writing time to make awesome stories with! Woot woot!**

 **And now, an Omake, because I can.**

* * *

 _Omake: Show me your true colors._

* * *

I walked along Beacon's entrance with a broad, confident smile on my face. I exuded an air of confidence the likes of which couldn't be seen by any other.

I quickly checked through everything I had prepared for today.

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Master of Romance  
** **Level: 86  
** **Class: Stud v5  
** **Nickname: Love Doctor**

 **HP: 36,450/36,450  
** **AP: 76,370/76,370  
** **SP: 43,680/43,680**

 **Strength: 105 (+100%) = 210  
** **Dexterity: 101 (+100%) = 202  
** **Vitality: 186 (+100%) = 372  
** **Intelligence: 207 (+3) (+100%) = 420  
** **Wisdom: 232 (+3) (+100%) = 470  
** **Luck: 110  
** **Charisma: 250**

 **Stat Points: 0**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 6'4  
** **Weight: 269  
** **Build: Heavy Sexy Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blonde / Dazzling Azure / Sexy Tan**

 **-/\\-**

 **By raising "Teasing" to level 99, you have gained the skill "Flirtation"!**

 **By raising "Flirtation" to level 99, you have gained the skill "Romancing"!**

 **By raising "Romancing" to level 99, you have gained the skill "Temptation"!**

 **By raising "Temptation" to level 99, you have gained the skill "Seduction"!**

 **By raising "Seduction" to level 99, you have proven yourself worthy of the title "Master of Romance" and your Charisma has increased to 250!**

 **-/\\-**

 **Stud v5 (high CHA+VIT, multiple experiences, high level requisite skills): +500% SPR, +50% "size", +100% positive outcome chance to all interactions with females, +25% negative outcome chance to all interactions with males. Boosts effects of Charisma**

 **-/\\-**

 **Love Doctor (given by Yang): By some miracle you've convinced both of the Rose/Xiao Long sisters to sleep with you. They both agree it was fucking awesome and awesome fucking. This nickname was a semi-serious joke from Yang regarding your seductive abilities.**

 **-/\\-**

I grinned, ready to face the challenges Beacon had to offer. I mean, I'd somehow leveled up and prestiged all five of those interaction skills over the course of a few sleepovers and 'non-dates', and out of the blue, my relationship with both sisters upgraded to **Madly in Love** and they dragged me to the bedroom.

If I could do that, I could do anything.

Speaking of 'doing', Beacon's women all looked like supermodels.

Just walking down the way, I flashed a smile at a distant Ruby and she nearly fainted, tripping over her own feet and falling into a pile of luggage.

I jogged over to help her up, but someone had beaten me to it.

 **Weiss Schnee  
Title: The Lonely Ice Princess  
Level: 35**

Huh... she was really beautiful, in the same way porcelain is. She was pretty small in all dimensions, but that didn't stop me. I'd been with Ruby, who was two years my junior, so age was not a problem for me.

I walked up, "Helloooo~ ladies." I drew out the word with a small flirty inflection in my voice, both my maximized skill level and my extremely high Charisma causing the words to have far more effect than they should have.

Weiss blushed furiously, "Um... c-c-can I help you?" I saw her eyes tracing over my muscular frame, admiring me as I smirked at her.

"I couldn't help but notice that you were harassing my dear, dear, CLOSE friend here. I think you should apologize.

I watched Weiss bow and immediately spew forth a string of desperate apologies, my sheer masculinity and sex appeal having torn her mental state into one of putty in my hands, "Now then, how about you two kiss and make up?"

Ruby blushed, but Weiss nodded, "An excellent idea, sir." she met Ruby's lips with her own, causing the poor girl to blush redder than either of her namesakes.

I whistled as I watched Weiss' title change to **The Lovestruck Ice Princess** , her kiss with Ruby becoming gentler, then I pulled her away, "Okay that's enough, girls. Don't want to cause a scene, after all."

Weiss nodded enthusiastically, "Right, of course, yes." she grinned and gave Ruby a cheerful smile, "Well, see you later then, girl." she skipped off cheerfully.

I looked at Ruby and brushed her off with tender, caring motions, smiling at her as she blushed even more, "You know, the amount of control you have over girls with your wizard spells is just ridiculous."

"That? That was hardly 40% power. I could have made her agree to public indecency because 'it sounds fun', if I wanted." I chuckled dangerously, smiling at my best friend.

Ruby was the only one I wouldn't cross lines for, she was just too likable, too endearing, and too... just... Ruby, to do that to her. I always asked kindly and made sure we were always well-concealed whenever we did 'things' together.

Thankfully, neither Taiyang Xiao Long or even Qrow Branwen had discovered the arrangements I'd made with their daughters/nieces, and with any luck it would stay that way.

I grinned and gave her a kiss on the forehead to help dispel her worries, "But don't worry, lil' Rosie, I'm not THAT kind of guy. I would never use my powers for revenge." well I would, but that revenge was for people who were so vile they didn't deserve the sweet mercy of death's embrace.

I had yet to find someone that terrible.

Speaking of finding... "So~... we're heading to the auditorium, right?" she asked me, having dropped her worries out of being convinced otherwise.

I nodded and picked her up, giving her a piggyback ride, "Yep, onwards~!" I chuckled and dashed forward on a burst of air and propelled stone and fire.

We had to get there on time, of course.

* * *

"These two are, like, the BEST girls you could make friends with, trust me." I attested with a proud and confident smile at the girl sitting in front of me.

 **Blake Belladonna  
Title: The Beauty  
Level: 37**

She blushed, her eyes flicking between my studly body and the Rose/Xiao-Long sisters, "W-well... if you say so." she looked at the two and cleared her throat, "I'm sorry, um... my name's Blake." she offered once again, and I let the girls handle this.

I walked through the room, a stench of sex appeal clinging to my body and wafting out for all the women in the room to smell. I noticed one girl who didn't seem to be affected, which was odd.

I strode to the laying-down pair, using Gamer's Sight on them.

 **Lie Ren  
Title: Blossom of the Wind  
Level: 39**

 **Nora Valkyrie  
Title: Hammer of the Storm  
Level: 41**

I smiled at the two, "Hello there." I greeted cheerfully, noticing the trance the two had been in get broken as Ren shook his head and Nora stopped her animated monologue about something with scrolls in movie theaters, probably quite important to her, "I agree, people should leave their scrolls off or at least silent and put away during a movie, it just ruins the experience otherwise." I agreed with her, layering on my skills with a second line, "Of course for as pretty as, say, _you_ for example? I don't think I could pay attention to anything but her."

I saw Nora's face turn more pink than the streak of pink in her friend's hair, and she looked at me, "Who are you?"

"The name's Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it." and they had, and some had loved it so much they liked to repeat it.

Over, and over, and over again.

"What's yours, sweet thing?" I asked with a slick, cheerful grin.

She grinned back at me, answering with great enthusiasm, "My name is Nora! Nora Valkyrie! Long, bitter, but kicks like a bull!" that piqued my interest.

"Oh? Is that so~?" I chuckled flirtatiously at her, a desire for mischief clear in my dazzling azure eyes, which had brought her into focus.

Time to unleash the beast.

* * *

"Thank you for dealing with Nora last night." Ren greeted as he approached me at the breakfast table.

"I just did what I had to to safe a fellow man. Oh yeah... if Nora's still coherent, tell her that a bull doesn't even COMPARE to how hard she can kick." I winked and looked at the almost zombie-like Valkyrie curled up on the bench, fully asleep despite having apparently dressed herself beforehand and collected a tray of pancakes. Luckily, Gamer's Sight told me that she was just sleepwalking in those cases, or sleep-dressing, for the former case.

I stood up, "You going somewhere?" Ren asked me in a low tone, and I nodded to him. He let me go, gently rubbing Nora's head while I relocated.

I relocated myself across the cafeteria, where I saw a sight almost like Weiss yesterday, but replace her tsundere tendencies with just... sadness and exhaustion. I sat down across from the girl, smiling at her.

 **Pyrrha Nikos  
** **Title: The Champion on the Pedestal**  
 **Level: 49**

"Hey there." I smiled, using only a small dose of my power to reach through to her.

Champion of the Mistral Tournament four years running, placed on a pedestal far too high to get down from safely, and wanting not fame and recognition, but friendship and camaraderie.

This... would be a special case.

* * *

I carried the exhausted spartan out of the cave we'd found ourselves in, her lazy smile and whimsical expression would tell anyone all they needed to know.

I'd known Pyrrha Nikos, champion of Mistral for four years, for a total of about four hours.

And I banged her in that time frame.

If anyone didn't believe me, Pyrrha could attest to it without even saying anything.

All I had to do was show them her face.

I used my Elementals to casually slay the weak Grimm around us both, their attraction to me probably due to my slight sadistic nature. I knew it had to be me because Pyrrha didn't have a single bad feeling in her body, not after I was done with her. She was faintly giggling in bliss, snuggling me happily.

I just smiled, enjoying the feeling.

* * *

I smirked at Professor Ozpin as my teammates and I stood together. I thrown a few cursory glances at his assistant, Glynda Goodwitch, my eyes telling the story and his eyes swiftly responding with a firm 'No'

Bad news, slick, that would only delay the inevitable.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance, looking out over the crowd at all of the ripe and beautiful young women who were gazing at me longingly, wanting my Charisma-enhanced body.

I smiled back, giving a small wave, and half of the crowd swooned, the other half giving me jealous stares.

No matter, I was pretty far beyond them all anyways.

* * *

My Elementals tore the battlefield asunder as I beat a poor and practically helpless young man to the ground.

 **Cardin Winchester  
** **Title: The 26th Cardinal Fledgling**  
 **Level: 28**

I chuckled, "This is the part where you lose." I said to him mockingly, aiming a boulder at his head, only for it to be blown apart by a sudden burst of telekinesis, not only saving the bully, but also ending the fight decidedly.

I looked at Glynda Goodwitch, smiling seductively at her. I saw her professional shell crack instantly, and she told me to stay after class.

I did, smiling just as handsomely and seductively as I had before, and I said a few words to butter her up.

Turns out, girls with green eyes look pretty much like emeralds when you break them past a certain point, erasing their denial of the eventual event.

* * *

"Captain's Log: Day 30, Year 1 of Beacon.

First Day of Beacon: Arrived at Beacon and slept with two girls.

Second Day of Beacon: Slept with most of the rest of the girls at Beacon, even the upperclasswomen too, and several members of the staff.

Third Day of Beacon: Slept with the remaining girls in the school. The Game finally recognized my authority and gave me the title **"King of Harems"**

Fourth Day of Beacon: I've taken over the school with sheer ridiculous displays of Charisma and wits, I now run this shit.

Fifth Day of Beacon: Just for fun, replaced Goodwitch with Ruby, Port with Yang, Oobleck with Weiss, and Ozpin with myself. Also Blake is an assistant to all the other teachers now.

Twenty-Eighth Day of Beacon: Oh shit, I should have used protection. Now I have approximately 453 children in the school, including several dozen pairs of twins. I've single-handedly disabled pretty much every Huntress-in-training that was here. This was a bad idea, why did I do this?

Twenty-Ninth Day of Beacon: I feel that Luck is to blame, somehow, DAMN YOU, LUCK!

Thirtieth Day of Beacon: Arranging for a one-way trip to Vacuo, and not telling anyone that I'm leaving. Wish me luck! But not Luck, though, Luck can go eat my Ki-enhanced DICK.

* * *

 **Ridiculous?**

 **Nonsensical?**

 **Riddled with spelling errors?**

 **This omake was brought to you by me at the hours of about 3 AM to 5:34 AM, already suffering some tiredness and minor bits of second-long passing-out sessions, typically going from 1-4 seconds. I've been dealing with this, as well as what are definitely sick-person coughs, on top of my body itself feeling like shit, JUST to finish this chapter, write the omake, and put it all up to be read.**

 **So with that being said, I hope you've all enjoyed the chapter! Next chapter coming soon enough!**

 **EDIT: Almost forgot this, thankfully one of you lovely reviewers pointed it out.**

 **Xiburichu =** **Xībù rì chū, which is chinese for "Western Sunrise". It's named so because this fire elemental was summoned in the presence of Yang and her first name means "Sun", so... yeah, ^w^ I personally believe its clever**

 **-/\/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Novice Scholar  
** **Level: 22  
** **Class: Stud  
** **Nickname: None**

 **HP: 3350/3350  
** **AP: 6300/6300  
** **SP: 3450/3450**

 **Strength: 40 (+40%) = 56  
** **Dexterity: 36 (+40%) = 50.4  
** **Vitality: 44 (+40%) = 61.6  
** **Intelligence: 52 (+3) (+40%) = 77  
** **Wisdom: 53 (+3) (+40%) = 78.4  
** **Luck: 110  
** **Charisma: 50  
**

 **Stat Points: 0**

 **-/\/\/\/\/\\-**


	6. A Night to Remember

**Here I am once again, ready to tell more of this tale.**

 **So let's start with the reviewer responses, shall we?**

 **garoorar:** astute observation, good sir/madam, and an excellent suggestion as well!

 **QuantumZero:** keep note, Jaune =/= good at nicknames, he's never had one, nor has he had any to call anybody.

 **Infinity'sbeat:** I added a note to the end of the last chapter after seeing this review, and I'll add another note here: Xiburichu = Xībù rì chū = Western Sunrise.

 **picnic990:** it's inside his soul along with his metal elemental? They aren't exactly physical beings (unless he manifests them) so they aren't going to "appear" very often. Also I have a document loaded with all of his skills, all with descriptions and effects (it's currently 16.8 pages long)

 **Zyxis Ouroboros ReArchtypist:** It's all cool bruh/sistah. I'm glad the Omakes are entertaining for my readers, it makes writing them a lot easier. Jaune is most-likely NOT going to have a harem, but it's possible. I write these chapters as I go, with quite loose planning from beforehand (I've got up to the next 3 weeks in-story semi-plotted). I've been inspired by TGWP, as well as several RWBY/The Gamer fanfics on this site, but probably the most significant is my personal attempt at running a RWBY/The Gamer ttg with a friend of mine on Roll20 (that's where I get my plans from, since his character is a lot like Jaune in some big ways. I've adapted things from the course of the story to fit for here). As for the characters' home life, yeah I'm kinda big on backstory (I have a mostly-coherent backstory for all of the peoples of the RWBYJNPR group), and I think that yeah, sometimes small things can have BIG results.

 **Drow79:** and by getting them pregnant, no less! THE FIEND!

 **AngelFusion:** keep in mind this is in March before the August that I refuse to believe is not when the show starts, Ruby would naturally grow more as she does more of her studies and does things over the summer too. Regardless, she'd have grown to a decent WIS, but one thing to note is that even the smartest people in Remnant rarely have more than 100 WIS, so on that scale, she'd have grown a very great amount.

 **Delicious Cookie:** I only copied those things because I couldn't really be bothered to come up with my own version of a meditation and a healing skill (that shit is HARD TO DO ^m^), also I liked how those ones worked, and I certainly feel like I could play around with them in ways that TGWP didn't, so just trust me that I'll make it good and won't be taking too many skills from there (some might appear but it'd be vague, since they'd be pretty generic skills).

 **Smithrooks:** Yeah, I've always had a very specific view of Yang. What we first see of her is that she's confident and brash, but I believe that that's just a front she puts up to hide the cuddly kitten she is inside (plus she's a kitten while Ruby is a puppy, they're the epitome of peace in the animal kingdom! ^w^ ) her soul is a gentle warm sun with a fiery hot core, rather than a fiery hot sun with a gentle warm core, like many other writers portray her as (or as a fiery hot sun with a fiery hot core and few if any redeeming qualities, which irks me intensely) she'd read to her little sister EVERY NIGHT to make sure she slept easy, and more often than not probably shared a bed with her so Ruby didn't feel alone, because that's just what she DOES. More on her will be observed by Jaune in this chapter.

 **4/10/16: I've been feeling fairly sick the past couple of days, sore throat, painful coughing, hacking up phlegm, I'm an even less pretty sight than normal.**

 **4/12/16: Good news, I made some cough syrup (just dissolved some cough drops in a bottle of water) and drank it and felt a fuckton better... bad news, my grandfather passed away. I wasn't always the closest to him, but I still loved him, he was still family, and now... well... sadly now I have to be there for them to bury him. I won't let this affect me TOO much, but I'm sure you all understand enough to give me some time to mourn.**

 **4/14/16: I'm feeling a lot better, at least, both physically and emotionally, and have finished the chapter.**

 **To counter the feels I've been feeling, I've probably subconsciously made this chapter really fluffy. I hope you all enjoy this probably fluff-filled interlude between the action and story.**

 **Also, there's a few parts in this chapter in which I attempt to make a POV change... tell me if you thought it was okay or if you think I shouldn't include those little bits for whatever reason.**

 **And now back to your regularly scheduled fanfic.**

 **Chapter 6: A Night to Remember**

* * *

I walked downstairs to find Yang and Ruby arranging things on a coffee table. I saw sodas, bags of chips, and a bowl of strawberries.

"You two work fast." I chuckled softly, smiling at them both as I walked over to the table and plucked a strawberry from the bowl, taking a bite and smiling at the sweet, fruity taste, "Dis is good." I said with the whole strawberry in my mouth, smiling at them both.

Ruby went red in the face, "Jaaaaauuuuuune~!" she whined loudly, "Those were miiiiiiine~!" a pout crossed her face and immediately I knew that these two girls were forces to be reckoned with.

They both had the adorableness to break down a significant chunk of Gamer's Mind's defenses. Then again, I was a human being, not a robot.

I was going to feel emotions regardless of my ability to ignore them easily, that was something I could never forget.

If someone, say, killed my father... I think I would rage so hard that Gamer's Mind would cower in fear.

He may have caused me more grief that most men were worth, but he was still my father and I still loved him as such, same with my mother even though I have little reason to do so.

No, no I have the perfect reason... she was my mother, and I loved her, even if she was a screechy bitch a lot of the times, I know that under that nails-on-chalkboard exterior was a truly kind and loving woman that had been good enough for my father to fall in love with her and have eight kids.

They had loved each other, and...

I sat down on the couch as a wave of guilt consumed me, tears rising to my eyes.

My god, it was literally my fault. They had split up because of a disagreement over ME!

I... I didn't know what to say... my vision went blurry as tears welled up in my eyes.

I felt a pair of heavy blankets lay over me, and I blinked, looking at the two girls to my sides, "H-hey... what are you doing?"

"It's called a hug, we're hugging you you sad wizard." Yang spoke softly, rubbing my back.

"You looked like you were about to cry, so we wanted to help you feel better. Friends shouldn't cry when they're with good friends having fun." Ruby's tone was low and full of emotion, "So please don't cry." it wasn't a plea, but it sure felt like one.

A single tear escaped each eye, "God I love you two, you're both amazing friends, you know that?" I smiled, giving them both a soft kiss on the tops of their heads and hugging them a little closer to my form.

Ruby let out a sound of protest at suddenly getting smushed into my side, "Too close, too close!"

Yang was much quieter, instead letting out a soft hum, "Hehe, you're a good hugger, Jaune." she sighed softly, then let go of me, "Alright, if you're feeling better, then we gotta decide on what movie to watch!" she grinned cheerfully.

Ruby squirmed out of my hold, practically chirping with cheer, "Robin Hood~!"

"No way, sis, we watched that last time. This time we're going to watch Iron Man!" she lifted the case into view and I grinned.

"I agree with Iron Man, but afterwards we can totally watch Robin Hood too. Nobody said anything about us not being allowed to watch two movies." I kept the peace, and saw a sudden **+5 Closeness to Ruby** appear, smiling as I had avoided making either of them mad.

Ruby perked up greatly, "Yeah! Of course! Now come on, we got stuffs to watch and snacks to nom." she picked up a strawberry soda and drank what I could only assume to be half of it in one go, which impressed me a little bit.

I wonder if Yang is that good at swallo-NO! NO NO NO! I REALLY need to stop thinking about her like that, even if she's wearing that very enticing outfit.

She somehow made 'modest' look... no.

No.

No.

NO.

NO!

NOOOOO!

Okay... cleared that up.

Now I just have to avoid thinking about her like that throughout the movie.

* * *

 **By letting go of your lust and abstaining, you have sharpened your mind! +4 INT!**

 **Gamer's Mind has been reinforced against the calls of lust!**

It was difficult as hell, but I had managed to not react to the fact that these _soft, lovely legs_ were being laid over my lap.

Ruby, as Yang had told me, liked to lounge when she was on the couch, and had her legs laying over my lap.

Yang, just being comfortable with me, had started to lay her legs over my lap as well. I didn't dare question it, but it had been that way for the past half hour.

Finally, Yang noticed the oddness and spoke up, "Ruby quit hogging the couch, Jaune is sitting between us now."

The younger sister pouted, "He wasn't minding it, were you Jaune?" she looked at me and I kept my mouth shut, watching this for a while longer.

Yang grit her teeth, "Of COURSE he's minding it! You kinda have your legs over his lap!" she wasn't wrong there, but she had her legs on my lap too.

"I put my legs over YOUR lap all the time when we're watching movies." came a protest.

It was met with hard logic, "Yeah, but Jaune isn't me."

And then it all came crashing down with a reminder of Ruby's childish innocent naivete, "But he's your boyfriend!"

I blushed, but Yang blushed even harder, which made me feel a little put-down. Did she really oppose that so much? "He's not my boyfriend! He's just a friend, who is a boy! I have other dude-friends, like Coalson, and Doug! You've never called THEM my boyfriend, so why does Jaune suddenly HAVE to be my boyfriend?"

This stumbled the little rose for all of five seconds, "Uh... because you've known him for what I THINK is two days and you've already invited him to a sleepover?"

The lovely Sunny pouted, which I found adorable. She was so precious, I felt like I wanted to just... I dunno.

I had the urge to just hug her for a while, but I wouldn't, because that wouldn't help her in this situation in the slightest. Luckily, she handled it well, "Well by THAT logic, that means Cherry is your girlfriend, because you knew her for, like, three days, and SHE invited YOU to a sleepover." she smirked victoriously.

Ruby blushed furiously, the shade of red not too unlike either of her namesakes, "I don't like Cherry like that! She's-... she's not-... that's not-... that's not how it-..." she stuttered over her words, before finally catching her sentence properly, "Girls like guys! That's how people are made to be!" her face turned as red as BOTH of her namesakes combined.

Yang giggled teasingly, "Well good, I don't wanna find out that you've been secretly kissing Cherry and stuffs."

I sighed loudly enough to catch the attention of both sisters, "So uh, y'know the movie thing? That there on the TV? Giant moving images?" I left the statement open, looking back and forth between the two of them.

My fellow blonde nodded, "Yes! Thank you for getting us back on track, Jaune." she sat up and leaned into me, "Here, I'll keep you steady, Ruby stay off of him." she wordlessly just leaned a bit more into me while letting her legs rest over the couch leg, looking almost casual if not for the slight, hard-to-see pink tinge on her cheeks, which my sharp eyes had caught.

Thankfully, Ruby didn't retaliate and we got back into the movie. I took a sip from the cold bottle of water Yang had provided me, which soothed my hot throat with every sip. I watched the movie with a smile, letting Yang lean on me as I sat up straight, supporting her much more than she had claimed to be supporting me as she rested her back on my side.

I enjoyed her smile just as much as I enjoyed the movie, but I noticed that she'd leaned in further, turning a bit and lightly snuggling into me as she got more comfortable.

I blushed a bit, but smiled even wider, ' _I'm glad I defused that situation. I just hope Yang doesn't think of me too differently now.'_

* * *

I smiled softly, turning a little more and snuggling my head into Jaune's broad, surprisingly comfortable shoulder. I couldn't help but let out a tiny giggle at the ridiculousness my sister had just tried to pull, _'Yeah, this might be really comfortable, but I mean, come ON Rubes!'_

 _'What she said was ridiculous! Silly Ruby, Jaune and I are not boyfriend and girlfriend! We haven't even gone on any dates yet!'_ I might be hugging him around the side, but that's because he's really comfy to hug. I just can't help but smile, blushing heavily as he does the same to me and adjusts his position so the slight soreness that had been building up in my neck and arm were dispelled.

It's a stupid idea anyways, I mean come ON!

 _'I am a girl with a lot of high standards!'_ I felt him shift a little, rubbing my side with a calming, caring touch, his tall, broad frame relaxing as he acts gently with me, a calm, confident, and happy smile on his slightly pinkened face. Oh...

Oh god...

 _'DEAR GOD HE'S MEETING MY STANDARDS!'_

* * *

 **+1 Closeness to Yang!**

Huh?

 **+1 Closeness to Yang!**

Wait... what is Yang thinking that would make this-

 **+1 Closeness to Yang!**

I don't get it! I'm just keeping her comfortable, is... of course, both of them are very sensitive.

 **+1 Closeness to Yang!**

 **Flirtation's level increased by 6!**

Dammit, Game, why do you have to do these things? I feel like my face is on fire, but Xiburichu's ability to sense flames clearly tell me that the only fire here is the one in the fireplace.

 **+5 Closeness to Yang!**

What even? I...

Fuck it, I'll do a dating sim, even if those are stupid to me.

How do you like THAT, Game, huh? How d'you like THEM apples?

 **SYSTEM UPDATE: Extensive bonding with a person of the opposite gender in a non-platonic way has added the Game Mode "Dating Simulator"!**

...

Fuck my life.

* * *

"WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO~!" Yang cheered, "I still LOVE the ending, it's so great!" she grinned and hugged me fully, "Wasn't that awesome, Jaune?"

I'd calmed down completely during the rest of the movie, and I clapped with a respectful smile on my face, "YEAH that was pretty awesome." who doesn't love explosions and robots?

Grimm, because that's what kills them.

Hehehe, I'm pretty clever.

Yang split the hug and looked at her drink, "Aw shit, soda's out. Hey Rubes, did y-" she looked over to the other side of the couch, where there was a conspicuous empty space where an adorable little sister should have been filling, "Odd... wait a second..." we both noticed that there were four empty cans of strawberry soda on Ruby's side of the coffee table, "THAT explains it." she deadpanned, "Silly Rubes, she'll end up peeing in her pants one of these days at the rate she drinks strawberry soda." she giggled, then turned to me, "So! Let's pop in the other DVD, shall we?" she got up and walked over to grab the case for Robin Hood, but it slipped from her hand after a few seconds because of either a faulty grip or something wrong with the case, "Stupid thingy." she bent over to pick it up... _dat ass~_

I couldn't help but blush, feeling like a creep, especially when she dropped it a second time, complaining "Ruby's greasy hands probably made the case all slippy." she bent down a little further, and I spotted a bit of yellow fabric creeping up from the waistband of her shorts... I crossed my legs to hide the effects of that accidental show while my _completely platonic friend_ stood up fully, hiding the _completely uninteresting fabric_ from view, "Alright, got it. I swear this case is oiled or something." she absentmindedly wiped her hand on the back of her _lovely, far-too-short_ shorts, then put the movie in.

 _'Goddammit Yang! Stop doing that shit! Gamer's Mind can't take it!'_ I nodded, "Right well that's good. Now we just wait for Rubes to get back."

She nodded, turning to me and smiling, "Yeah! Oh hey, wait, be right back." she walked into the kitchen with a slight sway of her _lovely_ hips.

I burned myself with Xiburichu's flames to provide a different sensation than the one I was being provided from the _absolutely incredible_ views I'd received, and thankfully it worked, and I was able to uncross my legs without _something_ showing when it didn't need to be. It would be considerably worse if Yang saw anything even remotely similar to what she'd shown me, mostly because of the fact that she _didn't know_ she was giving those views.

Was this Luck's doing? If so, then fuck you, Luck! Piece of shit! Give me something useful like, I dunno, a million lien!

A million lien would be pretty fucking awesome.

So there I was, waiting for one of the two sisters to return. I sipped at my glass of ice water, using Xiburichu to maintain the fire in the fireplace, a subtle tinge of azure to the crackling orange flames. It was fairly cold in the house, so I figured the fireplace was pretty necessary.

By the time I'd drained my glass down to just ice, Yang returned with a new set of sodas, two orange and one strawberry, as well as another bag of spicy potato chips.

I did a small double-take when I saw that she was holding the sodas to her _magnificent, soft, voluptuous_ chest, my teenage hormones adding the unnecessary adjectives as she set down the chips and Ruby's new soda, shortly followed by her plucking out one of the cans while rolling the other across her arm and chest to her hand, "Orange soda?" she offered with a smile.

"S-sure, thanks." I didn't blush, thankfully, but I did when I saw two little hard bumps poking through the front of her shirt.

She didn't cause that on purpose, did she? Shit... she doesn't like me like that, does she? I can't handle a relationship! I can hardly handle having this goddamn Gamer power! I've just been riding the current, letting The Game and others around me pave my path.

No more. I would stand up for myself and be a man!

Now if a certain _man_ part of me would just sit down, first! I shifted a bit and, thankfully without my fellow blonde noticing, I shifted 'myself' to not be obvious, and tried to calm down.

I meditated briefly, letting the sensations of the Soul of the World drag me to a state of peace.

Ah, yes~.

This was _muuuuuch_ better.

I blinked and my focus was broken when Ruby came running back in, plopping down on the other side of me, "ROBIN HOOOOOD~!" she whooped, grabbing the remote and pressing play.

Yang giggled, "Just in time, too, sis, we were about to start it without you~." she teased, grinning playfully.

I noticed Ruby was now snuggled up into a red... blanket? It seemed weird, so I threw a Gamer's Sight onto it.

 ** _Ruby's Rose-Cloak_**

 ** _A seemingly simple red cloak worn by Ruby Rose. It was sewn together by her late mother Summer Rose, and has a material known to some as "Soul Silk" woven into it, giving it a boost to its warm, soft texture that feels like one is wearing hugs. In addition, this garment can be summoned by only Ruby, by channeling her aura through her body and spinning around quickly. This cloak is Ruby's most precious worldly possession._**

That was... odd, sweet, interest piquing, and slightly depressing all at once.

"Nice cloak." I said with a soft smile, "Looks really cool."

Ruby was about to respond, when a bark pierced the air. Suddenly a ball of gray and white fluff jumped onto Ruby's lap, wiggling around until it settled down.

 **Zwei  
Title: Ruff, Tough, and Righteous  
Level: 15**

It was a dog... with that high of a level? What kind of shit has this thing seen? What has it done?

I reached over and scratched behind his furry ears, "Hey there, Zwei, I was wondering when you'd show up. Sunflower has told me so much about such a cute little pup." I smiled as he sniffed my hand, smelling Ruby and Yang on me, and thus apparently deciding that I was a friend. I pet him a little, "He's really cute, but of course not as cute as you two." I smiled at them both, then sat up straight, deadpanning when I saw Flirtation level up a couple of times.

Dammit, I REALLY hoped these skills didn't make things awkward.

Yang stretched, yawning as we tucked in for the movie proper.

* * *

It got worse. It didn't help that splintering my soul had induced a slight reduction in the effects of Gamer's Mind for a few hours, but it was only as the credits started rolling that I managed to stop blushing, even as Yang's _delectably soft_ breasts became squished into my side, effectively cutting off any and all attempts by me to speak, for fear of putting some chest-related word into my sentences without meaning to.

Damn she was beautiful, and adorable, adorabeautiful? I don't really know...

Luckily, Gamer's Mind focused back in as the girls started cheering... well, mostly Ruby.

"Yay for Robin Hood and Maiden Marine!" she whooped, one fist raised skywards. I chuckled at the gesture.

"Yay for awesome friends and really cool soul powers that happen to cost a lot of energy to initiate~!" I said lightheartedly.

"Really cool soul powers, eh? How about you show us some wizard spells?" Yang giggled softly, smirking with a playful expression, "Hey Ruby, wanna have Jaune show us some cool wizard spells?"

"Do I? That sounds SO FREAKING COOL!" Ruby grabbed me and lifted me to my feet, "Come on, Sir Knight, let's go!"

"Yeah, heehee, come on, Jantastic." Yang giggled, obviously making a pun with my chosen set of skills.

I chuckled, "Fine, fine, I'll show you some spells, you two... uh... hmmm... Sunflower, and Rosie." I threw together the two nicknames on the spot.

 **+2 Closeness to Yang!**

 **+4 Closeness to Ruby!**

 **Growing closer to other people and sharing bonds of friendship and camaraderie has increased your Charisma by 3!**

 **By raising your Charisma above 50, you have achieved new heights, earning the skill "Social Impression"!**

 **-/\\-**

 **Social Impression (Active) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00%, Cost: 100 AP (achieved for raising Charisma above 50)  
** **The skill of making impressions on people upon meeting them. By channeling Aura around your body and along your physical features, through your voice, and into the air, you can have a more powerful presence and thus be more prominent in a person's memories.**

 **Increases Closeness changes by 50%  
** **Increases Respect changes by 25%  
** **Unlocks Remembrance feature.**

 **-/\\-**

Remembrance, as I quickly read through the description, basically was almost like a Luck-based thing, really, but yet it made so much more sense with Charisma. It essentially loosened some of the hold of 'the wall' of The Game, allowing people to remember me more easily, which could be good or bad, it would depend more closely on my ability to bullshit things into my favor, rather than my numbers.

I smiled at them both.

Yang grinned, "Alright! Come on let's go~, slowpoke~." she started pushing me towards another part of the house, the far left of the room as opposed to the far right, where the staircases were. I walked along with her, chuckling as we passed through the dining room and then into the kitchen, and finally to a door leading to the outside.

Ruby went first, shortly followed by me, and then Yang, but suddenly...

Well, I didn't see it, but I understood what happened almost immediately, Yang had tripped over the bottom lip of the door's frame, letting out a sound of surprise as she started falling and clinging to me to keep off the ground, except she hadn't gotten a solid grip, and ended up slipping down to the ground anyways.

I didn't notice at first, instead immediately helping her to her feet, "Sunflower are you okay?" I asked worriedly, her safety being my number one concern.

She didn't respond, instead blushing to epic proportions while looking downwards.

I waved my hand in front of her face, "Sunflower did you hit your head?"

She still didn't respond, but suddenly I heard a damning statement from Ruby, "Awfully windy out here, i-isn't it?" I turned to her in confusion, then a sudden draft informed me of what happened.

Yang had accidentally pulling my pants down to my knees, revealing my underwear.

I had the decency to blush as I pulled my pants up, letting out an awkward chuckle, "Ahehehe~, yeah, it is." I tried to joke, feeling violated that my boxers had been shown to these two girls.

If I had been with two guys, brothers who were cool and my friends, then this would be just a joke that we could all laugh off.

But I wasn't, I was in the presence of two very adorable and considerably beautiful young women, both in my age range, and if my powers allowed it, I'd probably not have too much trouble making either of them my girlfriend.

Of course if I went after Ruby, I'd have to do several prerequisite acts to ensure that Yang didn't beat me into a self-regenerating pulp, but if I went after Yang, I'd probably have to convince Ruby that I wasn't stealing her sister away from her.

In either scenario, I'd have to put in time and effort.

But personally? I didn't know the first thing about love, despite what Charisma said, and I'd actually rather use my time to develop my combat skills, growing in levels and stats, so I could go for my long-term goal.

Become a Huntsman. I couldn't very well do that if I was putting all this time into learning how to love and how to be a good boyfriend and going on dates and stuff. I needed to boost my Sword Skill, my Shield Skill, I needed to complete my whitesteel armor, to develop my weapons more, to fight Grimm and level up and grow into the Huntsman that I know I can be if I just try hard enough.

Because if I have the determination, I can do just about anything, right?

Right.

...

After clearing the air about my choice of color (blue, by the by) and managing to crack a joke about 'primary underwear' to the girls without getting the shit kicked out of me, I was ready to cast a few spells.

It was... pretty simple, actually.

 **By channeling the magical element Fire into a normal spell, you have gained the skill "Fireball"!**

 **By channeling the magical element Water into a normal spell, you have gained the skill "Water Gun"!**

 **By channeling the magical element Lightning into a normal spell, you have gained the skill "Volt Orb"!**

 **By channeling the magical element Air into a normal spell, you have gained the skill "Wind Burst"!**

 **By channeling the magical element Earth into a normal spell, you have gained the skill "Stone Shot"!**

 **By channeling aura into a specific shape, you have gained the skill "Energy Shot"!**

 **By channeling the magical element Metal into a normal spell, you have gained the skill "Mana Bullet"!**

 **By channeling the magical element Fire into a normal spell, you have gained the skill "Ash Sparks"!**

I noticed a trend. My two Metal spells both had a defense penetration, and my two Fire spells both did more damage or were easier to use than the other spells, except for Wind Burst, which was easier due to the fact that I just had to draw in air, instead of create a ball of flames.

I grinned at both girls, wiping a light sheen of sweat off my forehead from the avid demonstration of those and my other spells, so I felt fairly accomplished.

I was about to unequip Mage when I saw a few windows appear.

 **Raising your INT and using many spells has unlocked the class "Mage v2"!**

 **Raising your WIS and harnessing multiple elements has unlocked the class "Monk v2"!**

 **Aligning yourself more towards ranged magic attacks has created the skill "Mana Barrage"!**

Huh...

I looked into the two classes, finding that they simply raised the two parameters they had before, but by greater numbers, +60% APR and +40% Magic Damage for Mage v2, and +25% efficiency to Meditation and +10 to ALL elemental affinities (I still didn't understand the difference between Wizard's EA boost and Monk's)

And then there was Mana Barrage...

 **-/\\-**

 **Mana Barrage (Active) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00%, Cost: 15 AP  
** **A power used by ancient Mages to will their attacks into existence with greater ease. By focusing Aura more wholly into the hands to be launched, some magic attacks can be fired repeatedly at a fast pace.**

 **Requires both hands to unleash.  
** **Fire Rate: up to 60 attacks per minute (1 per second)  
** **Additional 15 AP per minute.**

 **-/\\-**

That would be VERY useful when I was training.

"And THAT is how a Wizard does it!" I said dramatically, grinning broadly at both of them.

 **Yang's Respect for you rose massively!**

 **Ruby's Respect for you rose massively!**

"Now then, any questions?" Ruby raised her hand immediately and I chuckled, pointing at her, "Yes Rosie?"

She grinned, "THAT WAS FREAKING AWESOME~!"

I smiled and shook my head, "That was also not a question." I chuckled and both of them joined me.

Y'know, being deprived of it was probably just making the fruits sweeter... but I liked friendship.

It was fun.

 **By surpassing calls of despair, your mind has been sharpened! +6 INT!**

 **Gamer's Mind has been reinforced against all forms of temptation!**

I smiled even wider at that, feeling lighter and more free from my stresses. I was feeling good.

And then a roar pierced the air.

"What was that?" Yang asked, the mood shattered by the distinctly Grimm-made sound.

I groaned, "Grimm. Get your weapons." I quickly instructed, drawing Crocea Mors from my inventory while the girls quickly ran back inside the house. I prepared Mana Barrage in my hand while contemplating using Ki Body, but deciding against it. I'd need to train it in safer conditions before trying to use it against a threatening foe.

I saw it as it broke through the tree line, Yang and Ruby returning soon after.

 **Ursa Gigantus  
** **Title: Drinker of the Blood Lake  
** **Level: 45**

 **Hit Points: 5000/5000  
** **Stamina Points: 12000/12000**

 **Strength: 80  
** **Dexterity: 27  
** **Vitality: 65  
** **Intelligence: 6  
** **Wisdom: 7  
** **Luck: 12**

Dammit, this was going to be tough. This thing had a thick hide and lots of armor plates and huge spikes, as well as high mental stats for a Grimm.

Well, time to see if what I've learned will be good enough.

My left hand was thrust forward and I cast a Fireball at it, immediately following that with a Cannonball, then a barrage of Energy Arrows, running around it while Ruby, who was frighteningly good at ignoring the fire raging on its fur, charged in with her scythe, swinging at it with a mighty uppercut.

...only to fail to even cut through its dense fur and thick hide, dealing a single digit of damage that the damn thing healed in just a few seconds.

Fortunately for Ruby, and unfortunately for the Ursa, she still had the 'sniper' half of her Sniper Scythe, and she quickly fired it with no remorse, carving a deep and heavily bleeding furrow in its red flesh, firing again when then blade got stuck on the exit, and ending up with her scythe swinging around overhead and, due to it weighing over half as much as she did, ending up getting stuck about four feet deep into the dirt.

Unfortunately, for all her DEX, she didn't have too good of a reaction time when the Ursa moved again, its mostly mindless method of attacking causing it to bat her away as hard as it could. I winced when I saw her HP drop by nearly three hundred, and her AP fall to under a quarter of its capacity.

I heard a cry of anger and saw Yang, even MORE uncaring of the fire, charge in while firing a few shots from Ember Celica. I whistled as I saw her Ignited Strength status return and this time twice as powerful. I went wide-eyed, however, when she punched the beast that was thrice her height and probably at least hundred times her weight so hard that it was sent flying.

One of my eyes went blind as a spike punctured it. I didn't have the time, nor the power to heal, so I tore my body apart wrenching myself through its spikes, lifting its lower body with a Cannonball that I punched into it.

 **Physical Resistance's level increased by 1!**

I ignored that and a couple of STR and VIT updates, as I had to focus or I'd die here, bleeding out under a big Grimm bear bitch.

The pain was quick, but it felt like cleaving through my ribs with a blunt ax blade. I felt like my eye socket had become a leverage point to have my skull torn open like a calcium-solidified banana.

I managed to wrench myself out from under the damn thing with a double digit value for my HP remaining. My wounds had instantly began to clear up in less than a couple of seconds, but the damage was obvious in my raggedly torn clothes.

Several hundred pounds of disgusting flesh and bone gave way to my blade as I punctured its spine, disabling its hind legs before it could flail its way upright.

Yang looked at me in horror, and I looked down at myself to realize I was soaked to the bone in my own blood, while shards of my broken and shattered bones and torn, frayed pieces of my own skin dissipating into white mist like they always did. I groaned, realizing what was going to have to happen now, and to delay it, I performed a back-flip with a Power Jump boosting it, using Crocea the metal elemental to rotate myself in midair by manipulating my shoulderguards, and I landed on the Ursa Gigantus' stomach with a growl, having Xiburichu move the flames away from me as I punctured it with more and more Energy Arrows, walking up to its face and glaring deep into its soulless, hateful eyes.

It glared back in kind, those empty red irises showing nothing but pure hatred and rage against me, the one who would end its life.

And indeed I ended it, with an overhead swing Power Strike that sent my sword cleaving through its thick, fat neck, decapitating it with some difficulty, but not too much. It started to dissolve into smoke and I groaned, wanting to go to sleep and leave this night behind me.

Tonight had began with high spirits and even higher potential, and it had grown and grown, until this disgusting beast came in and acted as the rollercoaster dropping point.

Just. Fucking. Great.

But I could salvage this, I very well could.

I smiled at my friends, "So... uh... can I take a shower, then?" I joked with a chuckle.

They looked at each other and lightly, awkwardly laughed with me.

Well, shit on a shingle.

* * *

I walked out of the bathroom with a sigh, having gotten my clothes washed and cleaned and wearing an orange t-shirt and dark blue jeans. I felt a lot better, even if Ruby and Yang couldn't stop worrying about it.

I was fine, it was just some fleshwounds.

Sure I'd gotten out of the fray with only a double digit number left in my HP bar, but I was fine.

And of course, for the high risk, came the high reward.

 **Your level has increased by two!**

 **By exercising your muscles intensely, your Strength has increased by 2!**

 **By enduring great physical damage, your Vitality has increased by 4!**

 **Physical Resistance's level increased by 3!**

 **By convincing others of your point of view despite incredible opposition, your Charisma has increased by 6!**

 **You gained 43,000 Lien!**

 **You gained the item "Majorsaetranas"**

 **You gained the Grimm Mask "Uring"**

 **+4 Closeness to Ruby!**

 **Your relationship with Ruby has upgraded from "Friend" to "Close Friend"**

 **+2 Closeness to Yang!**

The stat increases were very nice, especially considering the fact that I hadn't done any good exercises lately, and extra Physical Resistance was always welcome.

Of course, convincing the girls I wasn't some evil human-looking creature that could regenerate like water filling a hole in itself was a HUGE challenge. I managed to just barely convince them that it was a very powerful spell I cast on myself to make me regenerate with extreme power and efficiency.

Personally, I don't know how long I can keep up this 'I'm just a wizard' justification, and I feared what would happen if I told anyone about this.

Was it like a birthday wish? Did it go away if I told someone else about it? I know that didn't make sense, but I'd awoken my aura, summoned two Elementals, gained a class that could increase the size of my dick instantly, another class that increased the effectiveness of armor, and ANOTHER class that let me cast Invisibility and a Smokescreen spells! ALL in just a few days of having this power.

So clearly, this thing was obviously not very well based in the realm of reality!

I sighed, walking back downstairs where Yang and Ruby were watching some cartoon. I saw bright colors and I think a lot of creatures that resembled... cartoon horses?

What? "What?" I spoke up, and before I could blink Ruby had changed the channel.

"What?" she asked nervously, part of it coming from having been caught, but most of it having come from the fact that I'd survived getting impaled eight times in the chest and head.

Yang looked back at me, worry clear in her eyes, "How're you feeling?" she asked softly.

I smiled reassuringly, walking over and giving them both a soft, reassuring kiss on the top of their heads, "I'm just fine, girls. You don't have to worry, okay? I already recast the spell in the shower, and I'm feeling even better than I was between the time I healed and the time I started taking my shower. Just trust me, okay? Would I lie to you?" I wouldn't, but I wouldn't tell a whole truth, which TO BE FAIR, was WAY different than lying.

Plus, I WAS feeling a lot better.

 **You gained the status effect "Refreshing Cleanliness (High)"  
** **Description: A refreshed feeling derived from being squeaky clean.  
** **Effect: +30% effective VIT for 8 hours, +20% SP for 2 hours, +100% SPR for 4 hours, +60% Disease Resistance for 12 hours.**

I was thankful for that, and thankful for the fact that my usage of Soulforge Restoration on both girls had (somehow) increased Yang's Max HP and SP by 10 each, and Ruby's Max HP and SP by 20 each.

I had cleared away, if only a tiny part, whatever status effect or something that they had. I didn't know what it was, but I hoped it was curable with what I had.

I didn't want my friends to be hurt, not at all.

"So... do you two just sit around being couch potatoes in your free time, or do you have anything else that you do for entertainment?" I asked with a small, joking smile and an identical chuckle.

Yang pouted, "We have some video games, or there are some books if you like reading, but only dad likes reading all that lame history stuffs." she waved it off.

I shrugged, "Sounds fine to me. History is important, after all." I straightened my back, "Well, if one of you could show me to this stash of books?"

Ruby made a 'blegh' expression while Yang stood up, "I'll do it." she took me by the hand and led me away, her cheeks stained the color pink.

Was she feeling hot? No, no her semblance made her more capable of withstanding temperatures than a 5'7 young woman had any right to.

We walked down the first-floor hallway, stopping at the second door on the left, "Here it is. Don't hurt any of dad's books, or he'll get SUPER mad and won't let you come back here again." she said with a sigh, "So... be careful, please?"

I chuckled, "Don't worry, Sunflower, 'careful' is my middle name."

"You said it was Excalibur..." she said slowly, at first not picking up on it, mostly due to being a bit out of it, as her status effect **Tired (Low)** told me.

"My full name is Jaune Excalibur Prometheus Hope Fleur-de-lis Gilgamesh Arc." I said with a smile that showed both a tinge of smugness and an honest truth.

"... Xiao Long were your parents going to go if the doctors didn't stop them?" she asked with an awestruck, but slightly laughing expression.

I chuckled at both her pun and the ridiculousness of the conversation, "I think the best prop to use here would be a rolled up piece of paper that, when unfurled, would be so long that it would hit the floor." I gave her a joking grin.

"Alright, alright, mister 'I have 5 middle names', I'm gonna get back to watching cartoons with Ruby, okay?" she turned to leave the room, "See you in a bit." she said with a friendly smile and a little wave before closing the door.

I smiled, "See you in a bit." I turned around, taking note of the ungodly amount of skill books here, and took one, opening it to read it the normal way, not the 'dissolve the book into soul knowledge' way.

I'm pretty sure that wouldn't just hurt, but it would outright kill the book.

* * *

I yawned softly, sitting in the large recliner in the middle of the private library, a few pages into my third book of the night. I'd abandoned my shirt since the room was pleasantly warm how it was, and was idly working on some of my skills while words flowed from the pages to my eyes.

I yawned again. I wasn't necessarily tired, but my soul was a bit exhausted from all the stretching and tearing it must have undergone today, what with the new spells, new Elemental, and new levels, but... it was okay.

I'd be okay, I was confident of that. I could recover very easily.

I checked my profile, lowering the book slightly.

 **-/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Novice Scholar  
** **Level: 24  
** **Class: Stud  
** **Nickname: Jantastic**

 **HP: 3600/3600  
** **AP: 6900/6900  
** **SP: 4000/4000**

 **Strength: 42 (+40%) = 61.6  
** **Dexterity: 36 (+40%) = 50.4  
** **Vitality: 48 (+40%) = 67.2  
** **Intelligence: 62 (+3) (+40%) = 91  
** **Wisdom: 53 (+3) (+40%) = 78.4  
** **Luck: 110  
** **Charisma: 59**

 **Stat Points: 15**

 **-/\\-**

I hummed... let's see... three points there, four there, two there, three there, two there, and one there... that's all of them...

But I didn't want to just even out my stats, I wanted to gain my physical stats through work, while using my points for my mental stats.

Which was more important? Intelligence or Wisdom?

Intelligence sharpened my mind, while Wisdom cleared it. Functionally, Intelligence was better.

However, Wisdom was clearly better than that! It gave me a higher APR, and a higher APR meant more AP per minute, and that meant more AP per second, and just a few seconds, as I'd seen with Rosie during the Ursa fight, could mean EVERYTHING.

A higher INT would give me more AP per regenerating percentage, while a higher WIS would give me more regenerating percentage for my AP.

I looked through my skills. Increasing INT had given me Mana Affinity, while increasing WIS had given me Nature Affinity.

Nature Affinity gave a 25% boost to my APR, while Mana Affinity only gave 10%. Additionally, Nature Affinity had given me considerably higher increases to the other numbers. However, my Intelligence would give me many more options to choose from... buuut~ Wisdom would let me see the best choice... really I should just be splitting it between the two, but I'm not going to ride the fence, especially when I had enough to deal with as it is.

I didn't regret my decision at all.

 **Contemplating the values, consequences, pros and cons, and options in your stat point distribution has shown good judgement and critical thinking skills, and thus increased your Intelligence and Wisdom by 1!**

Well, that made this a bit easier. I quickly applied my points.

 **-/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Novice Scholar  
** **Level: 24  
** **Class: Stud  
** **Nickname: Jantastic**

 **HP: 3600/3600  
** **AP: 6920/6920  
** **SP: 4000/4000**

 **Strength: 42 (+40%) = 61.6  
** **Dexterity: 36 (+40%) = 50.4  
** **Vitality: 48 (+40%) = 67.2  
** **Intelligence: 63 (+3) (+40%) = 92,4  
** **Wisdom: 60 (+3) (+40%) = 84  
** **Luck: 110  
** **Charisma: 59**

 **Stat Points: 9**

 **-/\\-**

I wasn't going to spend ALL of them! That was just _crazy talk_! These were points that would, for free, instantly raise my stats by a point, a point I could spend hours, days, weeks, or even MONTHS training to gain! I wasn't going to let them go to waste! I had to give myself SOME leeway.

If the situation called for it, I could quickly apply some new points where they were needed and get the advantage. I'd be better off this way.

Plus, I just needed enough to raise my APR by another Base 1%, so now my APR would be a considerable bit higher.

Like I said, I didn't regret my decision at all.

I could stab myself a few hundred times and get the Vitality needed to get the 51 point free skill, do a few hundred lifts for my Strength, and Dexterity...

Actually, Dexterity was perpetuating the absence of my Wizard Class, so fuck Dexterity.

I currently had an INT+WIS total of 123, while my DEX+LUK total was 146, so I needed 24 more points distributed between INT and WIS to make Wizard available again.

I idly noted that that would be three more levels' worth of points. Given that I could grind STR, DEX, and VIT by just doing physical training, I didn't have to waste any points boosting them up, while I had to... what?

I had to meditate and study things with my sight, my Sight, my mind, and my Mind.

"God if I was saying any of this out loud I would sound like a weirdo..." I sighed heavily.

"Said any of what?" a voice said from my right, and I twitched, my head whipping around to see who it was.

Yang, who had snuggled up to me with a blanket around her and carefully draped over me as well. I felt from the way she was pressed against me that she probably didn't have a lot of clothing on, and I had the decency to blush a bit, "Just some weird thoughts is all." I said with a soft sigh, smiling slightly. It was good to have a friend by my side.

She giggled softly, "Well alright then. So... what'cha reading?" she moved to get a little closer to the book, as if reading the page would help her discern the title.

Unfortunately for me, I happened to discern two soft things pressed into my side, ' _Goddamn are they soft, yet so perky too... wow~.'_ I shook my head a little, feeling my cheeks burning softly with a more intense blush, "Uh, it's called Thrashmarr and the Mountain's Fist." I said while shifting slightly away, and as Luck would have it, her 'assets' didn't get pressed any further against me.

She looked a bit closer at the page, her contacts obviously back in, "He punched the ground and the earth shook, great plumes of dust flying high into the sky and mixing with the clouds. The weight of the earth mixed among the water triggered the sky to release a deluge of dirtied droplets. It was among the rain that he fought his enemy, each punch holding the heft of a titan's charge... WOW that's some fancy words." she grinned softly, "That guy sounds like a badass."

"Hehe, he certainly sounds like he was... so um, if you don't mind me asking, why did you come in here anyways?" I gave her a curious glance before reading the next page.

My fellow blonde giggled softly, hugging me from the side, "Well you really seemed like you wanted to read these books, but you might get sleepy, so I figured you could use a little sunshine to help you stay awake." she gave me a gentle, sweet smile as she rested her chin on my shoulder.

I smiled, slowly putting an arm around her under the blanket, reading with the other hand, "Well I'm glad the sun decided to come out, I really am glad you did... even if I didn't expect the sun to rise in the middle of the night~." I teased lightly, giving a joking chuckle.

She giggled at me, relaxing slightly in my hold, "Well first I pumped some iron and cranked out some crunches, then I took a shower to get all squeaky clean. Then I put on these freshly cleaned clothes and got this freshly cleaned blanket, so right now, like, I'm so clean you could eat off my belly." she giggled playfully.

"Hehehe, well while it would certainly be well-cooked, but I won't be doing that, since I don't want to ruin your cleanliness." I smiled softly, relaxing a bit more myself.

"Teeheehee, well that's good, because I also think that'd be pretty unhealthy too. Plus you might nick me with the knife, if you're eating pancakes or something." she grinned playfully at me, sticking her tongue out, "Anyways, so after that I decided to see how you were doing and stuffs, so I took my clean-ass self in here, and now here we are, talking over a book." she shifted a bit, "Also, I managed to write up something resembling a plan for training." she pulled out a folded up piece of paper and handed it to me. I took it and read it.

 _-Yang and Jaune's Super Awesome Plan-_

 _1) Do more magic bolts_

 _2) Teach Yang how to throw a fireball_

 _3) STRENGTH TRAINING!_

 _4) Running, for boosted speed_

 _5) Sparring to gauge our abilities_

 _6) Take a break, have some fun around town_

 _7) Try to figure out more magic spells in the meantime._

 _8) Do things with Aura for a while._

 _9) Fix up weapons if they get damaged_

 _10) Rest up some more._

 _11) Attempt another sparring match_

 _12) Head home._

I hummed in curiosity, "You expect to do 12 things in 6 hours? And how long will these breaks take?"

"To be fair, the strength training-"

"You mean STRENGTH TRAINING!?" I corrected with a few chuckles.

"Yes... that should only take about thirty minutes, six and seven are combined mostly, and seven bleeds into eight, so that shouldn't be an issue. We'll do it a couple of times to figure out how much time needs to go where, and it'll be all good, dude." she smiled, and I quickly checked her profile for something

 **-/\\-**

 **Yang Xiao Long  
** **Title: Hotter than the Summer Sun  
** **Level: 36**

 **Hit Points: 910/910  
** **Aura Points: 1520/1520  
** **Stamina Points: 1110/1110**

 **Strength: 67 (+85%) = 123.95  
** **Dexterity: 39 (+30%) = 50.7  
** **Vitality: 52 (+65%) = 85.8  
** **Intelligence: 19 (+30%) = 24.7  
** **Wisdom: 23 (+30%) = 29.9  
** **Luck: 18  
** **Charisma: 69**

 **-/\\-**

I was right, her INT and WIS had both gone up a bit from her time spent planning. Interesting... "Well, I certainly look forward to spending my training time being assisted by the little dragon. I'm actually currently doing number eight right now, but really subtly." and that was true. I was currently balancing usage of Hardened Chest, Stampede, Power Jump (which I'd leveled enough that I could maintain it), Heavy Hauler, and Magic Hands, totaling 540 AP per minute, and I used the other 20 of my APR to slowly work on Crocea Mors the sword with my Metal Elemental.

It was slow work, but a thousand bricks in a thousand days can eventually build a brick house.

I smiled softly, "But it'll be more fun to do with someone to Yang out with." I chuckled at my little pun and savored the sweet sound of her adorable giggling.

 **+1 Closeness to Yang!**

"Heehee, yeah, you wouldn't believe Xiao Long I've been pumping up the Fun factor, _and_ the Pun factor." she shook with mirth as her giggling doubled in intensity. We both laughed together softly for a few minutes, just enjoying the relaxed warmth of friendship between us, "Bu-huhuhuhu-t, I do have to say that you should work on improving your Wizard skills whenever you can, since that's your main power. Just remember, even if you're a super tough muscly dude and have a cool sword, you're a magical guy." she blushed a healthy pink after saying that, grinning at me softly and playfully.

I smirked, "Oh am I now~?" I said jokingly, feeling particularly playful. I put the book into my inventory and moved my arms into position, "Well for my first magical act, I shall make the sun disappear~." I put the blanket over her head, laughing a little bit.

Yang giggled and gripped the blanket as well, "Well, surprise, because I'm a magical girl, and I cast Daylight~." she popped her head out from under the blanket, giving me an adorable grin of innocent joy and cheer.

 **+1 Closeness to Yang!**

I snickered, then made an expression of mock horror, "Oh nooo~, my magic has been defeated~!" I couldn't keep from cracking a grin, "I shall have to make myself disappear~." I put the blanket over myself, chuckling, "And now the sun can't see me, so I can do what I want~." I chuckled, and then gave Yang a soft hug, feeling something else plush in the midst of this embrace, something and not _those two somethings_.

Yang's laughter turned softer and more playful, and she got under the blanket, returning my hug, "Guess what? Now the sun can see you again~." she giggled a little more, then reached behind herself, "But what the wizard didn't realize was that the sun had sent a star fleet captain, and he was a mighty and vicious tiger-man~." she brought forth a soft, adorable little tiger plushy, a sea-captain's hat on its head. It looked a little familiar, actually, which was weird to me. Suddenly, she moved its little paw to 'claw' me in the face, "Rawr~, Captain Clawsy reporting for duty."

I let out a mock cry of shock, "Oh no not a cat! Oh wait, I know the one weakness of cats! I don't have a shirt for you to take." damn Sebastian and his thieving cat ways. I shoved that thought away and stuck my tongue out at both this little toy and the adorable girl holding it.

Yang stuck her tongue out back at me, "That's because I already took it~." she countered, and I briefly looked to find it had been kicked across the room, much too far to reach for, "And now you're defenseless~."

"Well damn, I have been forced to do my _ultimate attack!"_ I replied dramatically, hamming it up just a little to get a little more laughter in her response. Then I struck, moving her plushy to the side and hugging her close, but not TOO close.

She snuggled into me, relaxing in my embrace and hugging me back, "Dammit, my one weakness, comfy hugs~." her giggles grew a little quieter, her smile widening, and she booped my nose, then let out a soft, cute little yawn.

I smiled gently, brushing a lock of her hair behind her ear and cupping her cheek tenderly, "You sound pretty tired, sunflower, you should head on up to bed." my 'doting brother' attitude came back out, and I gave her a small kiss on the forehead, smiling at her.

She smiled sleepily at me, "Too tired to walk... carry me." she giggled, resting a bit more against me.

Well... alright then. Though her stamina was high enough that she shouldn't have had to worry about falling asleep while walking up to her room, I carefully got up with her in my arms.

* * *

I giggled, waiting for Jaune's response. He was... well to be frank, he was an incredibly great guy. I liked him a lot, I could see us being friends for a long time.

I'd only meant my statement as a joke, knowing he'd probably not care to carry me up to my room, especially since I could walk there just fine, but to my surprise, "W-whoa~!" he picked me up bridal style, holding my carefully and supporting my head as well as he could.

This shouldn't be this comfortable, even with this sudden feeling like I've been stabbed in the heart, ESPECIALLY with this feeling... what was this feeling?

I felt like... I don't know... like something poked at my heart and now it's burning... but it doesn't really hurt.

"Which room is yours?" he asked, and I held onto him with one arm, the other keeping my blanket and Captain Clawsy close, just like Jaune was keeping me close.

"Ssssecond door on the right." I said sleepily, feeling more comfortable in his arms as something seemed to melt within me.

I didn't really understand, but hopefully I'd be able to sort out my feelings.

* * *

 **+1 Closeness to Yang!**

 **Your relationship with Yang has upgraded from "Best Friends" to "Oddly Comfortable Friends (?)"**

What? Did my power not even know what that was?

And it certainly _was_ odd, _very_ odd.

My closeness with her was +90, so maybe it's just trying to make a connection and come up with something better than 'best friend', "Alright then." I smiled gently, carrying my dear friend upstairs and...

Wait, did I just call her 'dear' friend? I did.

Well, she was very dear to me. She's the best friend I've had in years and years no! And I could tell that I held her in high regard.

She had (at least internally) said that she was my best friend, and I agreed in kind that she was mine.

I walked into the room, noting the pleasant air it held. It had a nice scent, some books about art on a shelf, along with some movie cases. I saw some Avengers action figures, a notably higher percentage of them being Iron Man, along with some motorcycle magazines on her desk, next to a brown leather shoulder bag. My finer-than-normal eyes couldn't help but notice a couple of teddy bears and other stuffed animals tucked into the corners of her desk, headboard shelf, and the bookcase, which softened the feel of the otherwise tomboyish room.

I smiled. The room was perfectly Yang, it had enough toughness to make you think she was pretty hardcore, but enough of a soft, gentle feeling that you knew the owner of the room was a kind soul.

If I had to describe the image it painted of my best friend, I'd have to say that if she were the earth, then the surface would be beautiful, acts of nature flowing together in a gentle, carefree way that shone with feelings of love and fun. Under that, there was a hot mantle, coming out and protecting the surface, even if it marred the imagery. It would keep itself and its friends safe, no matter what, which I respected deeply. Finally, the core was bright and precious, hidden away underneath the brash mantle and kept safe, only to be shown to those closest to her.

I swore, if only to keep her from marring her surface, I'd keep her safe.

I set her down in the bed, my internal musings having only taken a few seconds. I smiled and pulled the covers up to her neck, giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead, "Would you like me to sing you to sleep?" I offered out of old reflex. Damn, I guess old habits DO die hard.

At some point in my training, I had to visit my sisters, I missed them all too much.

She nodded softly, a curious gleam in her slightly opened eyes.

I smiled gently, then sat on the edge of the bed, smiling and gently wrapping my arms around her, letting my body relax, and the old song came to mind easily enough.

 _You can lift your head up to the sky,_

 _Take a deeper breath and give it time,_

 _You can walk the path among the lines,_

 _With your scattered Frame of Mind_

 _..._

 _Or instead you could always stay,_

 _We can wait right here and play,_

 _Until somehow you can find,_

 _A slightly better Frame of Mind_

 _..._

 _And when daylight comes through,_

 _When the day is anew,_

 _Then it will be time,_

 _For a new Frame of Mind_

...

 _When all eyes are on you,_

 _You will know what to do,_

 _Since you would have found,_

 _Your new Frame of Mind_

...

 _When you lift your head up to the sky,_

 _Take a deeper breath and give it time,_

 _You can walk the path among the lines,_

...

 _But always know that you'll be safe,_

 _I'll be here throughout your days,_

 _Come find me and we will play._

 _..._

I smiled as Gamer's Sight told me she was asleep. I'd sung as gently as I could, the same song I had when my sisters were scared of the yelling that didn't always extend late into the night, but did often enough that it wasn't a surprise.

I sighed softly, shaking off the feelings as I gently stroked Yang's hair, then set her down carefully and stood up, leaving the room with a soft, somewhat solemn smile.

I checked on Ruby, finding that she'd already put herself to bed, and nodded to her, adjusting her blanket a little.

I walked downstairs and back into the library, only one thought on my mind.

 _'I shouldn't have.'_

I shouldn't have cared enough to do that.

I shouldn't have cared enough to sing Yang to sleep.

I shouldn't have even performed that damn ritual and end up burdening them like this.

But I did.

And I DID care enough to help them rest easier.

And why DID I care?

What was the reason for caring? I had nothing to gain but a few numbers and possible interpersonal options.

I shouldn't care about Yang's small bars, or Ruby's even smaller bars. I shouldn't care about how well they're sleeping tonight. I shouldn't care.

But I do.

I shouldn't find it odd how Yang's bars had gone up by a couple of hundred points at some point during the past ten minutes of play and song.

I shouldn't try to help them recover from whatever this is.

I shouldn't adjust my work based on helping them get better.

I shouldn't sacrifice physical training time for boosting Soulforge Restoration's level.

I shouldn't tell them about my power, try to use it to cure them of this affliction.

But I will.

I can and I will.

* * *

 _The air is flavored with the lovely scent of perfume, flowers, a slight hint of gasoline and sweat, and the smell of fresh food cooking in the next hall over._

 _I'd raised this place with my bare hands and a lot of soul power, but I'd done it, every ounce of sweat, every nail and screw, every bucket of paint and varnish, everything._

 _I did it all._

 _And I did it for her._

 ** _Yang Xiao Long  
Title: The Most Beautiful Sun of the Summer.  
Level: 86_**

 _We did it._

 _We were hunters, we were heroes, and now..._

 _We were married._

 _The reception hall was packed to the brim with people, my parents and all my sisters, Yang's family, a few cousins and aunts and uncles and other distant relatives. There were friends from Beacon there, though hard to see._

 _It was perfect._

 _She looked so beautiful, her dress pure white with a few gold and lilac accents that served only to enhance her raw flaming beauty._

 _She walked down the aisle, her father Taiyang walking with her. He handed her off to me with a respectful smile. I returned it and stood with her._

 _The priest said his words, and we shared our first kiss as husband and wife._

 _Like usual, she was the life of the party, dancing with me, her father, her sister, my father, my mother, I danced with my sisters and... well... there was just a lot of dancing going on, everyone loved it, they loved the food that had been cooked with the utmost care and love, and before we knew it, we were both slightly winded from hours of dancing and merriment._

 _We traveled to our new home, a mountain resort with privacy inside the rooms and cold air outside, which made the warmth and comfort of the inside all the better._

 _We drank heartily, taking care to not consume TOO much, but in Yang's case she does anyways, but a simple usage of Soulforge Restoration brings her back to acceptable sobriety._

 _Finally, as the night grew dark, we began to glow. We undressed each other slowly and sensually, making our way to the comfortable bed to spend the rest of the night together, making-_

* * *

I awoke suddenly, blushing like crazy and feeling a throbbing tightness in my pants. I looked around and realized that at some point, I'd fallen asleep in the night.

That... that was...

 **You slept in a bed and had a peaceful rest!** **HP, AP, and SP maxed out!**

 **You had a dream full of hope! This hope has filled you with determination and granted the status effect "Great Morning"!**

 **Status Effect: Great Morning  
Description: You had an excellent dream and are now much more ready to take on the day.  
Effect: ****-50% Stamina Discount to all actions for 1 hour. -25% Stamina Discount to all actions for 2 hours. +200% SPR for 4 hours. +50% Temporary Max Stamina for 30 minutes. +50% effective STR, DEX, and VIT for 2hr 30min.**

I smiled at that. It hadn't been a BAD dream, just... a little embarrassing.

At least I hadn't... 'wet my pants'... THAT would have been humiliating.

Checking the time on my scroll, I found it was almost 7 o'clock. I got out of the comfortable chair and left the library, heading to the living room.

Ruby was watching morning cartoons and eating a bowl of cereal, fully dressed and ready to go. I smiled, "Good morning, Rosie."

She gave a sound of curiosity, turning towards me, "Hm? Oh, good morning Jaune." she grinned at me, bits of brightly colored cereal stuck in her teeth. I chuckled at that sight.

"Enjoying some cereal there?" I asked politely, "Mind if I have some? I'd cook something, but I don't think I could do that AND there be time for you two to get to Signal and me to get to Cherrywood before the morning bells ring."

"Sure, go ahead friend." she said with a smile, and I went into the kitchen.

Let's see... Captain Crunch, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Wheaty Crunch.

A lot of crunchy cereal here... dammit.

They didn't have Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes!

I really liked those! Plus, the girl they'd put on the front of the box was so pretty.

And she was a redhead too, so... bonus points.

I poured a bowl of the not-awesome cereal and sat down next to Ruby, watching the cartoon with her.

I finished my bowl sooner than expected and got up, washing it out and returning to the living room to find that Yang wasn't even awake yet.

...

I entered the room to see my sleeping friend in the same state I'd left her in last night.

Peacefully asleep.

I didn't want to wake her up because she just looked so huggable and adorable and sweet, like a pretty little angel.

But I had to, she had to go to Signal today.

I shook her awake, "Yaaaang~, wakey wakey sleepy heeeaaad~." I drawled, smiling down at her.

Slowly, she began to stir, and I shook her a little more, "You gotta go to the big concert in town, they have a secret meeting this morning and you'll miss it if you don't get up." that was a trick I'd often used to get Jacaranda and Juicia out of bed.

Looks like I was three for three, because Yang was forcing herself awake. I smiled at her after she'd gotten out of bed, "Come on, get ready."

She nodded and... almost immediately took off her shirt.

I was stunned for a second before I covered my eyes, quickly turning around, "I'm still in here!" I said a bit louder, hoping to penetrate (bad choice of words) her haze of thought.

She blinked and went wide-eyed, "Eek!" she covered herself, "Jaune what are you doing?"

"Looking away that's what I'm doing!" I said with my forearm still covering my eyes, "I don't want to violate your privacy, okay?" I slowly made my way to the door.

I suddenly felt two arms wrap around me, a blanket-like embrace accompanied by a soft squishing sensation on my back.

 **+1 Closeness to Yang!**

"D'oooohhhh~, you're such a gentleman, and so Jantastically nice." she cooed, and I could tell she was smiling.

I blushed harder, trying to harness the power of Gamer's Mind against the assault of that _lovely softness._

Fortunately, she let go of me soon enough, "Alright, you go on and get outta here, I gotta get dressed." she giggled as I blindly made my way to the door.

I pushed the wooden portal open, stepping out and closing it behind me. I let my arm fall and a breath I didn't realize I was holding exploded from my mouth.

Goddammit Yang.

* * *

 **Cherrywood High School** is what Gamer's Sight told me the building was called. It was odd that I could use it on a building, but I suppose it made enough sense, given the other bullshit this power's allowed me to do.

Back for another boring day, however I knew what to do to spice things up.

It was simple math, really.

Run + Stampede + Elemental Aura set to Metal = A spectacle to behold.

I shimmered silver as I sped through the halls, stopping in front of my locker, which had been restored overnight. I quickly took out what I'd need for my first class and started off to the class.

I passed by Terrence and Johnny and flipped them off openly, getting a faint growl from Terrence and an angry scowl from Johnny.

I grinned cheekily at them both, then walked around the corner.

...

I stayed awake for History class, listening to the stories of Hunters, of course edited and trimmed down to leave out the gorier bits, but I knew better.

And I knew how to avoid detection, since I'd done it before.

I somehow managed to avoid getting seen polishing Crocea Mors during class. I went over it seven times, but didn't go for an eighth because there wasn't enough time in the video left.

It was surprising, and I'd gotten a few levels in Polishing for it, which in turn gave me some EXP towards my latest actual character level. Not a significant amount, but it'd add up eventually.

I smiled, having thoroughly ignored everything shown to me to get to this point.

It was worth it. I'd make sure it was worth it.

...

Nobody noticed due to my Stealth, but I was literally cleaning everything I could with every skill I had, just to be working on some EXP for these basic skills while maintaining my previous setup of Heavy Hauler, Magic Hands, Hardened Chest, Stampede, and Power Jump. I had made it to lunch with the glow of my aura being nearly unnoticeable.

Of course, given my desire for completionism, I'd be working on leveling up my boring Housework skills to 99 just like I had for Teasing, just to say I'd managed to do it.

The glow became deeper seated under my skin as I'd leveled the skills up, the flow becoming smoother and easier to maintain as the levels climbed. More importantly, the flows became more efficient, giving a stronger effect for the same amount of Aura.

Given an infinite amount of time, I could make my Aura strong enough to provide me with a 500% boost in Strength for only 10 AP per minute, but the amount of time needed to ascend to a theoretical level like that was ridiculous.

With my Housework skills... I'd already gathered ten pounds of raw, filthy, boring gray dust from this school, and I've barely gone through a quarter of it, hell I've barely even WORKED!

I closed my locker with a *clang*, seeing a familiar face standing behind where the door had covered.

 **Terrence Frexon  
** **Title: With Ivory-tinted Glasses  
** **Level: 6**

 **Hit Points: 300/300  
** **Aura Points: 0/0 (locked)  
** **Stamina Points: 400/400**

 **Strength: 22  
** **Dexterity: 14  
** **Vitality: 16  
** **Intelligence: 7  
** **Wisdom: 10  
** **Luck: 8  
** **Charisma: 4**

I wasn't surprised at his low Charisma, he was an asshole with no tact. I wasn't surprised that he was a dog faunus. I'd sensed it a bit from him, just as an aside to having a faunus for a sister. He had street smarts enough, and had endured some damage, apparently his right ear had a small piece bitten out of it during a fight. I laughed.

"The fuck are you laughing at?" he said menacingly, or at least attempting to be menacing. He squared up his stance while I remained relaxed. He was a fair few months older than me, three inches taller than me at six-foot-two, and almost ten pounds heavier than me.

However, he had no aura, and really, I could kill him in a few seconds if I wanted to, "You. You're a funny guy, like a clown, why are you clowning around Terrence?" I asked with a chuckle, subtly preparing to cast another defensive spell.

He growled, "Look Arc, I guess you think your hot shit because you can dodge a punch now, but you're not. You're a worm, and worms pay the big boys their lunch money, so hand it over."

"'Big boy'? You're only three inches taller than me. Given how fast I'm growing, I'll be towering over you before May." I chuckled, dodging his punch, "Ooh~, too slow~." I chided with a snarky grin, chuckling darkly.

He attempted to punch me again, and I dodged again, my hands behind my back and my expression smug. I grinned at him and he snarled, "Hold still!"

"Y'know, you and your gay friend seem to not understand that I don't _want_ to hold still. I'm _tired_ of your _shit_." I delivered a swift punch to his face, sliding past his hastily formed defense to deliver a tap to his cheek, "So stay away from me, and I'll show you a sixty instead of a six." I threatened, smirking when he grumbled and left. I put my hands in my pockets and went to lunch with a confident stride.

Things were finally looking up... too bad I'd be leaving this shithole soon.

...

I blinked when I saw someone sit down in front of me, "Hm?" I used Gamer's Sight.

 **Marbel Mayston  
** **Title: The Flowering Rook  
** **Level: 7**

She looked a little familiar... might as well be polite, she was 15, same age as Ruby, though a few months older, "Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon senpai." she greeted cheerfully, sipping at her milk before taking a bite of what the school claimed was a chicken sandwich.

I blinked. I think she some sort a foreign parentage, because that certainly wasn't a word used in Vale, "So... what brings you to my table?"

"Just wanted to spend time with someone who isn't a jerkface." she said with a small sigh, and I reached over and gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"Trust me, Marbel, it'll get better. Those jerkfaces could never stand up to a real challenge." I said with a small smirk.

"W-wow~... you remembered my name." she looked almost... starstruck?

"Remembered your name? Why wouldn't I remember your name?" how did I even know her name anyways? I just now realized how weird this setup is.

I glance around quickly, finding nobody who seems to be watching us with special interest, and listen to her, "Well I mean you're usually pretty nice to me and stuff, but we don't really talk, and you've never remembered my name correctly on the first try." she tapped her fingers together.

I chuckled, "Well don't worry, friend, I know it now, at least, and I'm nowhere NEAR as scatterbrained as I was last week. Here, in case you're missing something." I reached into my 'pocket' and pulled out a chocolate&nuts nutrition bar. They were pretty good tasting, and healthy enough that I wouldn't regret giving her two or three if she asked.

 **+8 Closeness to Marbel!**

Whoa whoa whoa! Hold up, what? I checked my Friends page.

 **Friends:**

 **Juniper Arc: +57, Beloved Son  
** **Jonathan Arc: +75, Beloved Son  
** **Robert Jenkins: +37, Personal Friend  
** **Annabelle Sytrus: +12, A Nice Young Man  
** **Yang Xiao Long: +91, Oddly Comfortable Friends (?)  
** **Ruby Rose: +68, Good Friend  
** **Marbel Mayston: +82 Idol and Fan**

I blinked.

Did Marbel SERIOUSLY think us THAT close of friends before? That... wasn't particularly healthy...

Granted, I had increased Yang from zero to ninety-one in just a few days, A year and a half to get to seventy-four with Marbel, despite my apparent ignorance of her previous attempts at friendship...

Man, was I REALLY that socially blind before? I must have been SUCH a fucking idiot... good thing I've improved now, right?

I was once so stupid, but now I will grow wise as The Gamer. I have used and will continue to use this power to better myself in every way I can.

 **By understanding your place in life as The Fool, and acknowledging your need to grow stronger in mind as The Magician, you have massively increased your metaphysical understanding of life and your purpose in the grand scheme of things!**

Oh damn, it looked like I'd started some kind of story thing?

Wow. I must be about to go on a big adventure of self discovery, and at the end I'll know who I'm supposed to be, and what I'm supposed to do, and-

Scrolling down on the window's block of words, I found my dreams shattered.

 **This increase in understanding has granted you 21 WIS!**

I... I'm speechless.

I used Power Attack to close the window with a fist.

GodDAMMIT game I'm not that much of an idiot that you have to keep fucking throwing bonuses at me for thinking about base concepts of my life and its purpose! I swear I've never felt so... so...

So condescended!

Marbel stared at me, and I stared back.

I realized my hand was still in the air, then I slowly moved it forward and gave her a small pat on the head, "Don't worry, okay?" I smiled softly at her, putting away my anger for a cute little girl like this.

She gasped, going sparkly-eyed, "You mean it? You'll help me?" shit, I should have been paying more attention to what she'd been saying!

"Of course, anything for a friend." I said softly, smiling more honestly.

"Yaaaaay~! Bullies beware, because Marbel has a new friend and he's gonna kick your butts~!" she pretended to announce, thankfully not ACTUALLY announcing it, or else I'd have a target painted on my back right now.

"Uh, Marbs, sorry but I'm not going to be able to do that after Wednesday. I'm dropping out to train for when I go to Beacon." I said with a small frown, "But~. But but buuuttt~, I WILL be able to make sure that nobody messes with you for a long, long time, okay?" I smiled reassuringly at her.

"How can you do that?" she asked, wide-eyed and in awe that I was doing such a thing.

"Haven't you seen any of the videos about Hunters this week? We can do anything." I smiled, ruffling her hair a little.

"No you can't." she said sadly, pouting at me, "Those videos are edited, my aunt was a Huntress and she told me all about the things they do. She wanted me to try to become a Huntress, but I didn't know how. I was looking at how you do things, and I've been practicing stuff with my big brother's knife collection, I can flip a butterfly knife around without cutting myself for at least thirty seconds."

I chuckled, nodding to her proud (if small) set of skill, "Nice. So how many Grimm have you killed?"

"Uh... n-none... I don't have a good weapon." she admitted with a small blush, "How many have you killed?"

I hadn't kept track, but I knew a rough estimate, "A couple'a hundred at least, like two or three hundred." I chuckled a bit, "Lost count, to be honest."

"Wow~, you're so cool, Jaune." she'd gone sparkly-eyed, grinning like... well... like a schoolgirl.

"I know I'm cool." I smiled at her, and even wider at the window that slid into my field of view.

 **Accessing the memories of the earth through a conjunction of Meditation, Gamer's Mind, Gamer's Sight, and "Qing Long's Azure Dragon Technique" has unlocked the skill "Azure Dragon's Chilly Breath"!**

"In fact, I'm ice cold." I chuckled and used the skill for a second, blowing a burst of nearly frosty breath at her.

She giggled in response to my little joke.

I just kept smiling.

I was a wizard, I would earn that class back.

I would be... Magical Boy Jaune Arc!

* * *

 **Aaaaaaaand here we are, at the end of the chapter!**

 **Ending with a little joke.**

 **Uh-oh, looks like Jaune's blindly swinging his blade his starting to reap some fruit. Let's hope some form of luck (or could we hope for Luck?) will prevent him from getting swept away by a deluge of peaches (if you have to ask why specifically peaches, you're either too young to know, or I'm not as clever as I think).**

 **He's built up quite an armory of skills (18.2 pages total, which included all skills mentioned (even those just in name), plus two more that haven't been mentioned by name or by proxy.**

 **Why did he unlock the martial arts skill through meditation? Well, it's a bit weird.**

 **Using "Soul of the World" connects him with the grand power of the elements of the world. There are imprints of soul energy on everything, caused by everything in history and staying there for practically forever. While he can't see the future, he can see the past. Using the Log skill's guiding hand to seek out the imprints of the skills, Meditation to get the view of those imprints, and he basically sees the skill as it occurred, witnessed by the earth itself.**

 **Gamer's Mind and Gamer's Sight just makes it easier, they aren't fully necessary. In theory Yang could meditate and learn the other skills of her martial arts style (which is based on a vastly different dragon).**

 **Alright, I think that's everything before the omake, so let's do this!**

* * *

 _Omake: Positive to Positive, Jaune to Ground._

* * *

I hummed softly, seeing another level for it pop up. That was good.

Even better was the notification that accompanied it.

 **Your level has increased by one!**

Awesome, and just in time, Beacon was coming into view.

I'd spent the entire trip focusing on meditating to increase my Max AP, and it was worth it.

I applied the five points with a smile, then took in my profile.

 **-/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Master Scholar  
** **Level: 200  
** **Class: Master Ninja  
** **Nickname: Jantastic**

 **HP: 196,100/196,100  
** **AP: 354,600/354,600  
** **SP: 287,000/287,000**

 **Strength: 300 (+300%) = 1200  
** **Dexterity: 250 (+300%) = 1000  
** **Vitality: 250 (+300%) = 1000  
** **Intelligence: 300 (+10) (+300%) = 1240  
** **Wisdom: 335 (+15) (+100%) = 1400  
** **Luck: 110  
** **Charisma: 250**

 **Stat Points: 0**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 6'6  
** **Weight: 450  
** **Build: Superhuman Olympian  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blonde / Starry Azure / Sexy Tan**

 **-/\\-**

I'd done everything I could, ground out every piece of EXP I could, thrown myself into avalanches and storms of hail. I'd set fire to myself and benched stacks of redwood trees, I'd increased the density of Crocea Mors and Candidus Murus until they both weighed a literal ton.

Of course, Crocea Mors was closer to a Buster Sword than anything else, a destructive eight feet of hyper-dense metal. It could telescope, too, as eight feet was its longest reach, with two feet being the shortest. Candidus Murus was a bit over four feet tall, covering over half of my body easily.

Now then... time to check on the others, see how I compare to the prime star candidates that had the privilege of going to the illustrious Beacon Academy.

I turned around, looking for the two best girls I knew.

 **Ruby Rose  
Title: The Swift Red Rider**  
 **Level: 44**

 **Yang Xiao Long  
Title: Hotter than the July Sun  
Level: 40**

... what? They were only four levels higher in about five months?

That made no sense! Was I...?

Looking around, I saw that I was easily the highest leveled person on the ship, with Ruby being second-highest.

I... I had ground out a ridiculously high amount of levels.

I sighed, nearly stomping, but I remembered the LAST time I'd accidentally stomped my foot on an airship in distaste.

That airship had to make the rest of the trip with a massive hole in the hull, and things were crowded.

At least I got out of having to fly the rest of the way on the stupid thing, instead riding on my Azure Dragon's Wings.

Still, I could have fun with this.

...

The airship landed and I continued to use the Invisibility spell I'd cast the second I saw Yang and Ruby on this ship.

How did I not do these things sooner?

Well, regardless, looks like I'm already fully strong enough to qualify as a Huntsman, probably in the legend-tier too. I was going to have a ridiculously easy time doing everything.

Great... I've had all the fun of Beacon before I even got to the damn place!

Oh well, I can at least fuck with people with my Trolling skill, hehehehehehe~.

...

 **Weiss Schnee**  
 **Title: The Icy Princess**  
 **Level: 36**

I chuckled, quickly giving the cart her luggage was on lowered state of gravity, so when Ruby fell onto it, the cases went flying, many of them unsecured.

I saw underwear pour over the ground like a waterfall of... lingerie?

Wow... kinky.

I chuckled and began picking it up and putting it back in the case, "Excuse me, ma'am, it seems you dropped your underwear... all of it." I spun a pair of black lace panties on my finger, "Might wanna learn how to lock your luggage cases next time.

"W-wha?!" she looked indignant and outraged, "P-P-P-PERVERT!" she screeched, slapping my cheek.

There was a cringe, and then a pause.

"Ooooowwwwww~." she whined as the force behind her slap had nearly broken her wrist.

I put her black lace panties on her head, "Next time lock your luggage and think about who you slap." I chuckled, then walked over to Ruby, "Hey Rosie, how've you been?"

She was blushing like crazy, and I reached up, plucking the pitifully small bra off my head, "Wow... these are so small you might as well not wear anything." I felt a slight pressure of air at my back, and then Weiss complaining about her sore foot and me being 'made of steel or some bullshit'.

"Some bullshit is more accurate." I chuckled.

Ruby laughed with me, "Hey Jaune, I see you've gotten a lot better with defense and stuffs. You're also super duper tall too!" she looked ALL the way up at me, which was a little hard to do since she was five-foot-four and I was six-foot-six.

"You could say that my defensive spells are extremely powerful now." that and the prestige of Ki Body was RIDICULOUSLY powerful.

She seemed to agree with that, "So are you ready for the school year?"

I sighed softly, "Yeah, I think I'm more than ready, actually." I walked with, sensing a lot of people were going towards the massive building in the distance. I turned to Ruby and smirked, "I'll race you to that big building over there." I knelt down.

"You're on!" she sped off, and then I poured on the speed, a dozen different skills stacking together as the ground behind me exploded into dust, the air catching fire with the sheer friction of my movement.

...

I stopped inside the building about a second or two later, sending a massive wave of air and fire at the stage with the suddenness of my stop. I grinned, "Aaahhh~, I love Beacon." I saw several students eyeing me up, and I shot back smug grins at the males and flirty winks at the females, making everyone turn red either from anger or embarrassment.

Ruby caught up with me a few seconds later, "Took you long enough." I teased, grinning.

She blushed and spluttered, "Wow you're a lot faster now." she said while panting lightly.

I ruffled her hair affectionately, then looked up on the stage. I saw a new face.

 **Glynda Goodwitch**  
 **Title: The Noble Witch of Beacon**  
 **Level: 189**

I was even higher leveled than the fucking deputy headmistress! Of course I'd quickly skimmed through her backstory to learn this fact, but hey, to each their own.

I hummed lightly, thinking to myself while also listening to Yang and Ruby's chatter. I saw another new face come up to the stage.

 **David Ozpin**  
 **Title: Who Mans all the Gears of the Clocks**  
 **Level: 250**

Damn... what was-

Oh... that's bullshit. He could manipulate time to his free will, stopping or starting or rewinding or slowing, it was all within his grasp.

No matter, I exceeded him in everything else.

I had a right to be confident and smug, I was literally far better than everyone else here.

...

The next morning couldn't come slowly enough. I looked through the locker room, eyeing the other people around me.

Another new face of note.

 **Pyrrha Nikos**  
 **Title: The Crimson Champion of Mistral**  
 **Level: 46**

Oh come ON, I figured someone with HER background would have a much higher level, but of course she had several mental issues that prevented her from accessing her full power.

I walked up to her, casually interrupting Weiss' monologue, "Hey there, ladies." Pyrrha gave me a quick hello, "I've heard some things about teams, so how'd you like to be on the best team in Beacon?" I asked with a grin, ignoring the indignant squawk Weiss released, "MY team, Team Jaune." I chuckled, brushing my knuckles on my shirt.

Weiss spoke up before Pyrrha could, "Excuse me, Jaune, right? Do you even know who you're talking to?"

"I'm talking to the both of you, that's who." I replied with a smirk.

"This is Pyrrha." the heiress explained slowly. I almost felt offended, but I was too smug to care.

"Hello again~." the taller girl smiled at me.

I grabbed Pyrrha and gently tugged her to stand in front of Weiss, "Yes, I'd say Weiss, you better get a four-foot vertical at least, or else I'd never be able to see you over Pyrrha's shoulders." I stood dangerously close to her, grinning.

Pyrrha took a step back and cleared her throat, "Yes, well, Weiss' small stature aside." I swore I saw the white-haired butt-monkey start foaming at the mouth, "I think it's a random process."

I smiled, "Random schmandom. I'm more than skilled enough to find you in the forest."

Weiss stepped between us, "I sincerely doubt that. I'll have you know that Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum."

I shrugged, "Not my circus, not my monkeys. I don't give a shit about Sanctum, I give a shit about Beacon."

Weiss scoffed, "She's won the Mistral Regional Tournament four times in a row, a new record!"

I chuckled, "I fought a Grimm that was literally a mountain last week. Also tournaments are stupid and their only upside is their entertainment value." I was surprised when my Closeness to Pyrrha shot up about 60 points and my relationship with her upgrade from Strangers to Respected Companion.

Weiss was red in the face, flailing her arms as she practically screeched her next words, "She's on the cover of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!"

"Huh." I hummed, "I really liked that picture they put on there." I took out my scroll, "Care for a nude shoot?" I grinned jokingly.

 **+20 Closeness to Pyrrha!**

 **Your relationship with Pyrrha has upgraded from "Respected Companion" to "Admired Deeply"**

... what the fuck was wrong with her?

Weiss blushed like crazy, "P-PERVERT!" she slapped me in the face and I swore I heard her wrist break.

"You know you should work on that. Right now you could probably kill a Beowolf with that. Of course I'm like, damn near impossible to kill at this point in my training, I'll gladly let you make an attempt." I chuckled, "But don't worry, I'll go easy on you when it's my turn." I flexed my arm, my biceps practically like watermelons.

I heard Pyrrha let out a shuddered moan.

 **+20 Closeness to Pyrrha!**

 **Your relationship with Pyrrha has upgraded from "Admired Deeply" to "Desperately in Love"**

Oh boy, that probably wasn't too good for her mental health.

I chuckled, "Anyways, we can do that nude shoot later, right now we have to do initiation."

Weiss was already gone, and Pyrrha followed me with slightly stumbling steps.

...

I hummed a tune while waiting.

I'd partnered up with Weiss just for the entertainment value, and as it turned out, Pyrrha had gotten with a guy named Ren, who I'd been saddened to find out was only level 38.

If my understanding of team names were to be correct, we'd probably get named Team JSPR or something, since the team names were typically formed to be or be related to a color.

"Jaune Arc, Weiss Schnee, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren." Ozpin announced, "You four claimed the white rook pieces and will, from this day forward, be known as, Team Jasper!" I wasn't surprised, I'd literally predicted it. Four headshot photos appeared on screen and arranged themselves in the order of Jaune, Schnee, Pyrrha, and Ren, "Led by... Jaune Arc!" I was REALLY surprised by that one.

"What? But he's a nuisance!" Weiss squawked, and I swear she was sounding more like an annoying bird than a human being.

"I'm a Wizard." I rebutted with a smirk, grabbing her arm and leading her off stage. She tried to kick me in the balls, but even those were able to take a heavy tank shell with only a lot double-digit number for damage, Weiss' foot was barely a nine millimeter bullet compared to that.

Pyrrha laughed softly as we walked from the stage.

"Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, and Nora Valkyrie." Ozpin announced the new names, "You four famed the white knight pieces and will, from this day forward, be known as... Team Reuben!" I saw the four headshots arrange themselves in order of Ruby, Blake, Yang, and Nora.

Wait...

Really Ozpin, really?

You named their team after a sandwich...

Fucking hell, this man.

I chuckled.

Well... let's see... tonight, destroy Pyrrha's ass in the sexual way, and tomorrow destroy her ass in the combat way.

I have to assert my dominance on all fronts, y'know?

...

I looked around the combat hall. My fight with Pyrrha had lasted just about a minute, with her on the ground, beaten and bruised, and me with, of course, barely a scratch.

I hummed, "Well... if that was the best fighter in the class, then that means that the only step up is..." I turned my gaze to Goodwitch, "You, professor." I smiled at her respectfully.

She cleared her throat, "Mister Arc, I'll have you know that I cannot allow that."

"What~? What's the matter? You can't HONESTLY let me go on with this inflated ego of mine, can you?" I teased, "I mean, right now I'm so smug I could probably drown a Foliath in it." I laughed playfully, "You've gotta beat me down, right? Make me know my place as a student?" I smirked at her, "Unless, of course, you're afraid of me winning."

That last line set her off. Her uptight ass was so firmly clenched onto the gilded saddle of her high horse that honestly I could have just said the last line and she'd have been pissed off enough to fight me. I got into position and smirked at her.

She stepped over to the other line, "Students. Please take Mister Arc's battle as a reminder, even-"

I chuckled and cut her off, "Even the best hunters can still lose." I shot forward the nanosecond the buzzer went off, my far more powerful aura consuming her wave of telekinetic force, and my fist met her face with enough power that the shockwave shattered stone and she was sent crashing into the hardlight barriers.

Even though she had a Strength of a little over 200, her weight was only a couple hundred pounds heavier than most people.

After that initial shock making her take me more seriously than she already would (and getting her head back into the fight and not on pure revenge) I casually dodged everything she threw at me, my own body throwing around enough force to shatter highways with every dodge, my hands in my pockets.

I slowly got closer, dodging and dodging and dodging some more. I chuckled, "Hey Miss Goodwitch. Hey Miss Goodwitch! Hey!" I called out to her, grinning widely, "Hey Glynda, Hey!" she ignored me with a firm expression, so I continued, raising the pitch of my voice, "Hey! Hey listen! Listen! Hey! Look! Hey look listen hey!"

Finally, it go to be too much for her, "WHAT?!" she practically roared, another wave of telekinesis denied.

I chuckled and grinned at her, "Your perfume smells lovely." I took pride in watching her splutter and I let her knock me back. However, the fight wasn't over and I just dodged my way back up to her, taunting her repeatedly.

"WHAT NOW?!" she demanded.

"Your makeup looks so well-done, how much did you pay for it?"

"I'm... not wearing makeup, aside lipgloss and eye shadow." she was more confused than anything, but a massive fist of telekinetic force met an immovable counter wall of willpower.

"Oh, damn, well you're certainly pretty enough to fool anyone." I gazed out into the crowd, letting bits of wind billow my hair as I took in their reactions with my eyes.

Ruby and Yang were both snickering, though Ruby was also blushing beyond belief.

Weiss looked indignant, no surprise there.

Blake was blushing furiously as well, reading some smut book I could sense even from this distance.

Nora and Ren were both wide-eyed at my audacity.

Pyrrha was pouting, and so I winked at her and flashed a grin at her, and she grinned back, understanding.

I turned back to Goodwitch, resuming the taunt train.

Glynda finally snapped, her face red with rage as all composure had dissolved, "WHAT IS IT THIS TIME?!"

"You said you wear lipgloss, right?" I asked with a teasing tone.

She nodded, and I let her blow me a few feet back before resisting. The battlefield was a mess of broken stone, "Me too! What flavor is yours?"

"Apple." she replied, unable to get any ground now as I casually walked towards her.

"What a coinky-dink, so is mine!" I smiled widely at her.

"You're not wearing any lipgloss." she pointed out, noticing my rather un-glossy mouth.

I struck, "Well then, let me fix that." I grabbed her face and pulled her in for a deep kiss, holding her there with far more strength than she had, letting out a playful growl as I felt her tongue try to enter the fray, her emotions and hormones raging out of control. I heard dozens of gasps, but didn't care.

Damn she was a good kisser. I felt her aura activate, shining purple around her.

I broke the surprise kiss with a slick, now quite glossy smile, "There we go, all glossed up." I heard the buzzer ring shortly before I said that, "And I win."

She shuddered, a small spout of attempted speech coming from her mouth before her eyes closed, and she passed out.

I kept her from falling, "Well... I guess since Goodwitch can't teach until she wakes up, we're dismissed, right?" I chuckled and everyone nodded, most of them still shocked, and there was a mass exodus of students from the building. I saw that Pyrrha, Weiss, and Ren had stayed back, "Well team, let's get this pretty lil' lady to the infirmary, don't wanna have her get hurt." I quickly cast several hundred Soulforge Restorations on her just to make sure she didn't actually get hurt, and did as promised.

Hehe, what a fun day.

Sure I'd ground out most of the fun of training alongside my friends...

But fuck it, if I could do THIS kind of awesome and hilarious shit, I'd have fun no matter what!

* * *

 **And there we go, another slightly rushed omake, but I am confident that it is really good.**

 **As always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, be sure to favorite, follow, and review, and make sure to tell your fanfic-liking friends to do the same!**

 **(/shameless_self-promotion)**

 **And have a nice day, all!**

 **I won't be, sadly, with all the things that have been happening in the past couple of days, but I hope you will!**

 **Remember, I love you all, in all the platnonic/hetero/homo ways**

 **Also I'm gonna rename the story to something more exciting. Feel free to leave a review with your thoughts on the new title and if it should stay**

 **-/\/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Novice Scholar  
** **Level: 24  
** **Class: Stud  
** **Nickname: Jantastic**

 **HP: 3600/3600  
** **AP: 7100/7100  
** **SP: 4000/4000**

 **Strength: 42 (+40%) = 58.8  
** **Dexterity: 36 (+40%) = 50.4  
** **Vitality: 48 (+40%) = 67.2  
** **Intelligence: 63 (+3) (+40%) = 92,4  
** **Wisdom: 81 (+3) (+40%) = 117.6  
** **Luck: 110  
** **Charisma: 59**

 **Stat Points: 9**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'11  
** **Weight: 183  
** **Build: Medium Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Bright Blonde / Bright Azure / Fair**

 **-/\/\/\/\/\\-**


	7. Through Kindness and Compassion

**Well, let me explain myself, dear beautiful readers.**

 **College has been, as the professionals would call it, "Kicking my ass so hard I'm surprised I can even walk"**

 **That being said, I'm going to try to get this written and sent out as soon as possible**

 **As usual, let's start with reviewer responses**

 **Dark Wanderer18:** As for Jaune's middle names... I forgot I even left that in there. It was mostly a joke from me but I will say that the truth of that little factoid will come out in this chapter. As for people believing him with little truth... well that's a combo of Charisma, Luck, and his own trustworthiness. Yang semi-believes his ridiculously lengthy name because he showed honesty on his (very expressive) face, and Marbel believes he did all that Grimm killing because she idolizes him and thinks he's really really cool (hence the relationship being "Idol and Fan"

 **Catacus:** Thank you for the nice words, ^w^

 **dark habit:** not to Jaune, it's not, d3

 **God Emperor of GAR-halla:** probably around the range of *words are cut off by a train going by outside*

 **Darkkseid:** okay jeez, gimme some time, Jaune has to have a legitimate excuse to go to Mistral, where Pyrrha currently is, and meet her. I have plans for that anyways, but it's not for another couple of chapters.

 **A Hopeful Guest:** Well I read guest reviews, good sir, and I thank you for taking the time to review my story and share your thoughts on it. I love you (platonically, of course) and hope to see you reviewing in the future

 **MysticSpider:** You say 'Ra' and all I think of is "The Winged Dragon of Ra" from Yu-gi-oh, which is glorious, but sadly that's not going to be for a while, because my rendition of Yang is more modest than most peoples'... right now she's a confident and brash tease-a-tron 4000, but behind the charade, she's a kissless virgin, and she wants to stay that way until the right guy comes along, her Prince Charming (or in her current case, Knight in Charming Armor) so to speak (yeah she acted like she was going to give Junior a kiss, but that was NEVER going to actually happen)... also like I said to Darkkseid, and the other people hoping for Arkos: Jaune would need to interact with Pyrrha to get close to her, and for that to happen, he would need to be in Mistral, where Pyrrha is currently located... as for Ozpin's level: of course not! The Omakes aren't canon to the story, and they don't even adhere to future information (because I can't reveal these things in these non-canon spin-off story snippets, it has to be in the actual story. Why? Reasons.)

 **Nowdied:** Jenkins IS a direction the plot is going in, as is another person's plot. Technically every person he meets has some length of a plotline through their interactions. Conveniently (because it's my fucking plot and it'd also be unfair otherwise) the other members of the RWBYJNPR group have the most significant plotlines.

 **The Almighty BOB:** Your review hurts to read. I'm sorry, I know you make some good points, but I can't take you seriously when you Capitalize Every Goddamn Word You Type. I Can't Take That Very Seriously, Sir, And To Be Frank, It's Very Fucking Hard to Read. Please Refrain From Doing That In The Future.

 **I am Hobo Joe:** who are you again? XD jk, as for an official song... I'll make an omake with one at the end of the chapter, so read on for that.

 **The Lonely Philosopher:** very true, friend, and Yang's inner Papyrus is juuust big enough to make her want Jaune. Don't ask how being Papyrus does that, because you should know that when you're Papyrus, ANYTHING is possible *G.I. Joe theme starts playing*

 **DarkPirateKing69:** but... I'm intending for this story to turn fairly serious down the line, like 'Breaking Bad' serious (please note I have no idea exactly how serious that degree of seriousness is, so I'm hoping it's not TOO bad... but know there will be conspiracies and deaths)

 **A particularly romantic Guest:** I don't know if that's a good idea. I don't think any of my lines are good at picking up the ladies/men. Still, you're free to try, it's your life and you can live it however you want.

 **4/15/16: Attended my grandfather's funeral, finally flushed the feelings from my body, I'll be okay. I promise.**

 **4/25/16: Getting back into the rhythm after more shit happening at college.**

 **4/29/16: Hopefully will be to write more in the future, I don't know to be honest. Things are happening quite fast in my little world.**

 **5/11/16: Feeling like things are going to come crashing down and fall apart on me. Holding onto faint hopes and a cup of grape juice.**

 **Now then... let's get to the chapter, shall we?**

 **I don't own anything, remember that.**

 **Chapter 7: Through Kindness and Compassion.**

* * *

The rest of the day at school had gone by relatively easy, though I did have some fun with my fellow students.

An arm wrestling match with the leader of the power-lifting team, a basketball match with the leader of the basketball team, a race against the best guy in the track team, and Marbel was watching it all.

She seemed to really like it when I gave her a pat on the head, so of course I kept doing it. I was thankful that her closeness didn't shoot up ridiculously high, and that our relationship became something more normal.

 **Marbel Mayston, +85, Best Friend Senpai**

Well... a BIT more normal.

Right now I had her recording my final act of the day. I would do my best impression of a comet. I had a couple of new skills to assist with that, ones I'd gotten while in the bathroom, one of the few places I could get peace (when I wasn't accidentally blowing my dick off with an accidental usage of Energy Bolt)

 **Channeling the power of the elements to strengthen your body has created the skill "Stone Skin"!**

 **Channeling the power of the elements to strengthen your body has created the skill "Metal Skin"!**

I'd used them liberally when I could, which wasn't very often, since I was still at school and they weren't very subtle, what with the grayish-brown or bronze-colored skin.

Now then... I'd also had some thinking done on how my skills would prestige.

As it stood with Teasing, the obvious route, given what I'd started going for, was Flirtation, but what about my other skills?

If I constantly used Soulforge Restoration on myself, would it develop into a more personal-use skill, or a skill to heal others if I used it more on others? What if I used Fireball for its explosive, or more for its fiery capabilities? Cannonball for armor penetration or heavy damage? Volt Orb to disable my enemies, or to deal more nonlethal damage to them? Could I even damage people non-lethally?

Surely I could. There WAS such a thing as unconsciousness... what would happen if I were to fall to 0 HP?

Now that I thought about it... the extent of the injury-prevention of Gamer's Body would make it hard for anyone to tell if I was injured. I'd have to explain that to Yang and Ruby sometime soon, since they both witnessed me obviously breaking bones, tearing muscles, and mutilating skin to get out from under the Ursa Gigantus.

I still had that one quest... alright... I had a plan for what I'd do after I got out of school.

For right now.

"My name is Jaune Prometheus Arc, and welcome to Jackass!" I shouted over the slight wind, trying to make sure I'd be caught by the camera Marbel was using.

I channeled all the power I had, having used the 'spells' I had to give the boosts both I and Marbel needed.

 **Using Soulforge Restoration with Dust Crystals has converted the elements into an acute, powerful form to enhance the body!**

 **You have been granted the status effect "Feather Fall"!**

 **You have granted Marbel Mayston the status effect "Feather Fall"!**

 **You have been granted the status effect "Boulder's Strength"!**

It was pretty interesting, how the skill did that. First the Dust was absorbed into the body via the Aura, then it was, as the notification read, converted into an acute, powerful form to enhance the body.

With what I had now, I could combine all of my skills with this increased STR and decreased weight to jump over the bleachers and into the football field, blazing like a comet and exploding like... like something epic.

I should read a dictionary sometime.

What would happen if I 'read' a dictionary? Could I even do that? Who knew?

All I knew was that I had to position myself in the air perfectly to get the maximum distance while Marbel recorded the display with my scroll.

I Ran and Stampeded off the building, charging up my legs with Power Jump and activating my Aura and my Elemental Aura, set to Fire, to appear like a comet.

The air whistled and popped with azure and red-orange flames as I streaked across the sky like a human comet, the afternoon sky burning up with my powers. I saw Marbel jump down the bleachers to follow me, and silently thanked the powers that be when she didn't stumble and fall. I landed and Stone Skin shattered off my own bare skin as I guided the flames away from the grass for the most part, instead appearing as a massive plume a couple dozen feet tall, I gave a thumbs up, "And that's how it's done!" I shouted while changing the sound of my voice using the powers granted to me by Singing.

It was kind of odd, but incredible how those other miscellaneous skills could assist me in ways I didn't think possible, which was why I was going to do my best to level up every skill I had before going out of my way to find new toys to play with.

I had to see where some of these things would take me, right?

Right!

I grinned and quickly extinguished the flames with Xiburichu, running over to Marbel, vaulting up onto the bottom of the bleachers, "Let's get out of here, okay? Someone's probably called the police and the fire department." I took my Scroll and stashed it in my inventory, quickly picking Marbel up and pouring out every speed boost I had, pushing myself to get back to the school and away from anywhere that was near the police.

Luck be a kind lady, my Stealth turned out to be sufficient enough to get us out of the school and away, police cars and a firetruck passing by quickly, sirens blaring.

I grinned at Marbel, "Hey Marbs, how about some ice cream to celebrate our flawless escape?"

She grinned back, "That was AWESOME! Ice cream sounds PERFECT!" she jumped up onto my back excitedly, then blushed and got off, "S-sorry, uh... my brother sometimes gives me piggyback rides, force of habit." she blushed and giggled sheepishly.

I chuckled, picking her up in such a way that she was hanging onto my back, "I don't mind, Marbs, we're good friends, and I used to do this for my sisters all the time." I grinned cheerfully back at her, hiding the surge of internal sadness behind both my self-control and Gamer's Mind.

I had to call today a success. I'd beaten out a new reputation as the strongest, fastest, most skilled man in the school, and I had had several girls by the end of the day thinking I was hot shit. Lots of guys tried to knock me down a peg, but I didn't let them, my superior DEX granting me an excellent advantage.

In fact, it had even increased a few points due to my current activities and how much physical improvement I'd made with the constant usage of these Ki Skills.

 **Dexterity: 40 (+45%) = 58**

It had also increased the EXP for Aura enough to get it from level 29 to 30, granting another +5% to my passive boosts, which was good.

Passives were awesome.

If I could passively gain ice cream in my inventory, I would definitely, because ice cream is awesome.

Plus, I was finding, quite without exception, all the girls I met liked ice cream.

And why not? Ice cream is awesome.

Now then... where was I? Oh right!

"Now then, to the ice cream~!" I chuckled, Running towards the best place I knew.

Stone Cold Creamery.

* * *

I waved Marbel off with a friendly smile, having answered many of her questions, giving her some pieces of insight to who I really was, which is probably the reason why my relationship had 'upgraded' to Best Friend Senpai.

I didn't really know what Senpai meant, all Gamer's Sight told me was that it was a Vacuan word meaning 'respected older person, usually of higher social standing', so... I'm pretty sure her knowing that I've a family of warriors and lots of money to my name must have made her think such a thing. I could see it.

I certainly _sounded_ like someone important.

Speaking of important things, I saw someone who I personally thought was pretty important.

 **Robert Jenkins**  
 **Title: Forgotten but not Lost**  
 **Level: 17**

I smiled, "Hey again, old-timer. Sorry for not helping out yesterday, I was looking for more Wizard Spells." I chuckled and helped him to his bench without even being asked, knowing he needed it, "And you're in luck. I'm not the type to let a debt sit. I'm here to help you out." I smiled and placed a hand on his head, "First thing's first, I'm going to unlock your Aura." he went wide-eyed, apparently that was a pretty serious thing, but I didn't even pause, "It's going to make the treatment a LOT easier." I focused hard.

I focused on the feeling I had felt when my own aura had been unlocked, of a veil being cast aside, of a spark lighting a fire, of lightning branching out from a storm cloud...

Suddenly, I felt it all again, but this time from the other perspective in those situations. I _was_ the hand that had grabbed the veil and lifted it. I _was_ the spark that lit the fire. I _was_ the lightning that transformed the rain.

I _was_ the key that unlocked this mighty door.

 **By augmenting your aura to touch light upon the dormant soul of another, you have gained the skill "Awaken Aura"!**

I smiled, and it seemed like my first usage had just been performed.

 **-/\\-**

 **[Robert Jenkins] Aura (Passive & Active) Level: 3, Exp: 26.41**

 **Passively increases STR by 50%  
Passively increases DEX by 30%  
Passively increases VIT by 40%  
Passively increases INT by 20%  
Passively increases WIS by 15%**

 **Additional 60% increase to STR when activated.  
** **Additional 10% increase to DEX when activated.  
** **Additional 45% increase to VIT when activated.**

 **HPR increased by 80% when activated.**

 **-/\\-**

 **Robert Jenkins  
** **Title: Forgotten but not Lost  
Level: 20**

 **HP: 300/300  
AP: 300/300  
SP: 150/150**

 **Strength: 36 (-75%+50%) = 27  
Dexterity: 25 (-80%+30%) = 12.5  
Vitality: 40 (-80%+40%) = 24  
Intelligence: 50 (-20%+20%) = 50  
Wisdom: 40 (+25+15%) = 56  
Luck: 60**  
 **Charisma: 43**

 **Age: 76  
** **Birthday: September 13th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'9.5  
** **Weight: 145  
** **Build: Withered Old Man  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Aged White / Warm Brown / Aged Caucasian.**

Already I could see the effects, however it happened to be that using Awaken Aura cost me 2000 AP, so I would wait a couple of minutes before moving onto phase two of my plan.

"Alright, I've awoken your aura. It's really helping counter the effects of old age for you. However, the gifts don't stop there, because I'm going to be applying the actual treatment here in a couple of minutes, friend. Why don't you tell me another story, hm?" I noted a considerable Closeness increase as he confessed his thanks, but the quest wasn't completed yet, so I just waved it off, "An Arc always keeps his word, and I'm an Arc, I made you a promise and I'm going to keep it."

 **By forming close connections with others and acting in charismatic ways, your Charisma has increased by 3!**

 **+10 Closeness to Robert Jenkins! (Total: +60)**

 **Your relationship with Robert Jenkins has upgraded from "Personal Friend" to "Dear Friend"!**

I smiled, listening to my dear friend's words. He was able to dramatize it with more energy and vigor, putting more emotion and effort into his voice when he told me of wading through nearly waist-deep trench water one terrible night when the rejection field generators had failed, letting the rain in. He started to tell me about how he nearly lost his left foot to gangrene when I saw my AP was full again.

I put a hand on his shoulder, "It's time, friend." I smiled and started to channel my Aura.

He nodded, and I prepared myself.

And then I proceeded to, over the course of the next... about... let's say three and a quarter minutes, I dumped two hundred Soulforge Restorations onto him, each one restoring a tiny particle of youth into him. I saw his skin lose some of its wrinkled sag, his muscles grew a bit more toned and I saw his hair thicken a tiny bit. I was literally, minute by minute, turning back time's effects on this man.

Unfortunately, it came to an end with only a handful of sand taken from the pile that was the powerful status effect.

 **Robert Jenkins  
** **Title: Forgotten but not Lost  
Level: 22**

 **HP: 330/330  
AP: 350/350  
SP: 250/250**

 **Strength: 36 (-70%+50%) = 28.8  
Dexterity: 25 (-80%+30%) = 12.5  
Vitality: 40 (-75%+40%) = 26  
Intelligence: 50 (-20%+20%) = 50  
Wisdom: 40 (+25+15%) = 56  
Luck: 60**  
 **Charisma: 47**

 **Height: 5'10  
** **Weight: 150**

What confused me the most was how he'd gained an inch of height and five pounds of weight, but thinking on it and using Gamer's Sight, I'd found the answer was pretty simple, actually.

His Aura was feeding his body new power, providing energy that, through the magical means of aura, became material. His muscles had grown a bit more toned, increasing their density a bit. His Charisma had also increased a bit due to his skin clearing up from some unsightly marks of age and some wrinkles.

Overall, he looked a lot better in general, "That's all I can do now, but you should be feeling a helluva lot better, Mister Jenkins."

"Please, as I keep saying, just call me Rob, we're friends, Jaune, it's alright." he seemed to be a bit absent from his mild protest, instead flexing and uncurling his hands and grinning as wide as he could at his newfound physical health, "You've damn near cured a bunch'a my stiff joints, but I still got the arthritis, sadly. Still... damn... this isn't even a tiny bit'a what Hunters feel, but... it still feels incredible." I took pride in his joy-filled face.

 **QUEST COMPLETE!**

 **Completed quest "Witch Doctor's got what you need!"**

 **You gained 1000 EXP!**

 **+5 Closeness to Robert Jenkins!**

 **You unlocked the class "Cleric"!**

 **-/\\-**

 **Classes:**

 **Cleric: +75% HPR, +25% APR, +100% effectiveness of all healing and support skills.**

 **-/\\-**

I grinned, happy to have a more supportive class available to use, especially since I planned on doing this until his **Status:** **Withering of Age** was no more.

 **QUEST RECEIVED!  
** **Quest: Young Soul, Old Body, let's compromise.**

 **Description: Strengthen and heal Robert Jenkins until his status effect "Withering of Age" is completely removed.**

 **Reward for success: +100,000 exp, Massively increased Closeness to Robert Jenkins, Robert's "Withering of Age" is removed, partially unlocks class "Cleric v2", unlocks next quest in the chain  
**

 **Penalty for failure (depending on severity of failure): Death of Robert Jenkins, Robert's "Withering of Age" worsens, partially unlocks class "Dark Warrior", get charged for Murder By Soul.**

 **Accept? Y/N**

I smiled and accepted, confident in my chances.

I looked at Rob and smiled wider, "Don't worry, friend, I'll keep fixing you until it's all better, okay?" I was also happy to see that Soulforge had leveled up a couple of times, and with it, the usage cost had gone down by one more AP, which meant slightly more usage.

Well needless to say, I had plenty of time before our conversation grew weary.

...

It had been about an hour until we both felt the same fatigue of conversation, an urge to return to our days apart from each other. I bid him farewell with the 1000th Soulforge I'd used in a row.

 **-/\\-**

 **Robert Jenkins  
** **Title: Forgotten but not Lost  
Level: 24**

 **HP: 350/350  
AP: 400/400  
SP: 400/400**

 **Strength: 36 (-60%+50%) = 32.4  
Dexterity: 25 (-70%+30%) = 15  
Vitality: 40 (-70%+40%) = 30  
Intelligence: 50 (-18%+20%) = 51  
Wisdom: 40 (+25+15%) = 56  
Luck: 60**  
 **Charisma: 50**

 **Age: 76  
** **Birthday: September 13th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'10.5  
** **Weight: 155  
** **Build: Lively Old Man  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Smooth White / Warm Brown / Weary Caucasian.**

 **-/\\-**

He was in a much, MUCH better shape than he was before, so much better he must have felt like a new man. I know I did.

I felt very free and happy.

 **By showing benevolence, good will, and generosity, you have sharpened Gamer's Mind and gained +3 INT!**

Odd, though, how these particular INT boosts keep popping up.

I didn't quite know why they seemed so... oddly important, but they were.

It was just the wording of them, 'By showing blah blah something with righteous or being a good person blah blah, you have sharpened and/or reinforced Gamer's Mind and gained such-and-such INT'

What was The Game trying to tell me? That true intelligence is in having a mind sharpened and reinforced against... what? Being a bad person?

Being a righteous person?

Is my semblance a religious nutcase?

 **By increasing your understanding of The Game, but being a dick about it, your dick size has increased by 0.5 inches!**

Oh that is just fucking WRONG.

 **So you want me to shrink your dick?**

Don't you fucking touch my dick!

 **I AM your dick! Just like I am your brain! I am your eyes! I am YOU! You should realize this by now! I am literally a figment of your imagination, given form and power by your soul! Everything wrong with me is your inner demons coming into play, everything bad about me is how bad of a person you are!**

I must be having a panic attack at this point...

 **You don't GET panic attacks! You don't have a panic disorder! Your only mental disorder is overwhelming and extreme sanity! That and a basically ironclad barrier holding your emotions in check.**

This... was too strange. I needed to lie down somewhere.

Hopefully the game would reboot, stop these messages.

I don't know why, but they just...

They disturbed me.

* * *

 _'Hey, my homwrks dun and I'm bored. Wanna hang out mebe?' -Yang_

 _'Sure! I'll meet you at the docks?' -Jaune_

 _'Ye. Also, we gota talk bout things' -Yang_

 _'Uh, okay' -Jaune_

 _'What do you wanna talk about?' -Jaune_

 _'Ill tel u wen I get tere, k?' -Yang_

 _'Okay then, see ya soon!' -Jaune_

 _'Oh yeah, could you please try to type in actual words, please?_ _I know it may not look too "cool" but reading how you text right now kinda hurts my eyes' -Jaune_

 _'No offense, it's just hard to read. That and I know you can type better if you tried.' -Jaune_

I was surprised when I saw the next notification.

 **+1 Closeness to Yang!**

 _'Heeheehee, I like a man who likes brains, :P' -Yang_

 _'Well I just know that your brain is much better than that broken texting speech. I know you must be pretty smart if you can appreciate art.' -Jaune_

 _'Oh I saw your art books by the way, and I think that's really cool. Art is really cool.' -Jaune_

 **+3 Closeness to Yang!**

Damn... that's impressive, especially considering the fact that that was a boost higher than +1 when her closeness with me is already over ninety!

 _'Heeheehee, ^w^, I like you more and more every day, dude! Cya soon! ^3^' -Yang_

I... didn't really understand that second emoticon, was it supposed to be a face?

It looks like the other one, then, but with the three... wait... that makes it look like... did she...

Did she just blow a kiss at me via text?

I was NOT blushing like crazy!

Goddammit Yang!

...

I arrived at the naval docks with plenty of time to spare, since with my current Max SP, SPR, and the cost of Run, I could Run for a little over twenty-one minutes straight. I was thankful for that, since not only did that mean I could move with incredible speed, probably faster than a car, now. I chuckled, an idea forming in my head.

With my boosted APR, I could manage to use both Stone Skin and Radiant Mane for a considerably long amount of time, and thankfully that little boost to INT helped me focus enough to change the color of the stone to something more convincingly close to my actual skin tone.

It was weird, how much harder some things were to focus on than others. My amulet granted a considerable boost to 'ease of casting', but my Ki skills also gained a considerable additional boost to the ease of channeling aura over my other skills.

Though, I supposed that would be something to consider, the advantages of specializing in one skill 'tree' over another. I had the roots of Ki Breathing and Ki Body, which I assumed were probably in reverse order to the actual skills I'd gained. It was... strange.

I certainly didn't gain skills like other people did, at least. As The Gamer, with these skills, I could put into practice what other people had to learn in theory first. I could instantly learn everything about how to perform a certain skill in theory, and how to put it into practice.

I'd gained Ki Body by using all of my basic Ki Skills at the same time, channeling aura through every part of my body at once, strengthening it as a whole and thus creating a passive skill. It reinforced my body and increased my energy. I could FEEL it, feel the flow of energy entering my body through my soul.

This was it... this was Ki.

Breath, material energy, life force.

If the effects of the skill were true for everyone, not just me as The Gamer, then masters of Ki usage were warriors with incredible physical prowess, using their souls to strengthen everything in their bodies and become far more physically capable than normal people should ever be.

I had to wonder, though, what things were like back then. I hadn't read too many history books, but I knew that there had been many wars, and presumably enough destruction in the distant past to make our recorded history too vague up until you reached a certain point, scattered to the wind by the cruelties of the world.

Not too much had survived before the Age of the Enlightenment, when Aura had become more common, and humanity had become stronger, more resilient against the creatures of Grimm. With the increase of the number of Aura Users, humanity as a whole had managed to carve out enough room in this world to grow, expand and learn.

I could feel it, they'd gathered fire and formed metal to their will, honing shapes made to kill. It was no surprise that we were a violent race, when violence itself, the will to kill, had been what had enabled us to survive in this harsh, cruel world.

I shuddered, my eyes opening as my perception the world suddenly flew back to the field of vision I could see with my two eyeballs. I sighed, rubbing my face with my hands, I'd slipped into meditation, gaining a couple of extra Max AP, if that was worth anything. I sighed, rubbing my eyes clear.

I wasn't very well in the head before this all happened, I knew that. I was just some punk kid willing to roll with whatever punches life threw his way, and who had WAY more willpower than he knew what to do with. I was a blank slate ready to be filled, a nobody with unlimited potential but zero direction.

In a way, that was still what I was now, only now I was more important, and with a lot more direction. I was much stronger than I was before, much faster, much tougher, I was smarter and wiser and even luckier. I was more charming too, if that was worth anything except a number on a page.

However I was still me, in the end. I was Jaune Arc, son of John Arc, grandson of Matthias Arc, great grandson of Nathaniel Arc, and great great grandson of Jacques Arc, who fought in the great war. My family had been warriors for over five generations, probably more than ten, or even tracing back to before the Age of Enlightenment. I didn't know much, but then again nobody really knew.

There were few who knew what happened before the Age of Enlightenment, and even fewer who understood the vague information provided by those ruins, or maybe nobody understood...

Dammit I was slipping back into it again! I had to stop. I don't know what was really happening. I looked around for any notifications that had slipped my notice. Weren't these things supposed to be EASY to notice? That's why they were 'notifications', after all!

I sighed, nothing had happened, or at least nothing that the system thought was wrong. I just had to control my newly deepened thoughtfulness, is all, nothing too bad. I was just distracted from my tasks.

I hummed and quickly began forming plots in my mind, looking around and considering things.

If I wanted to train my VIT, I could torture myself with the constant grinding of metal blades, saws grinding through my infinitely regenerating flesh. I could do whatever I wanted to myself and leave no signs of damage thanks to Gamer's Body.

I had to clear my head. Luckily I saw another head just stepping off the boat, and did a Power Jump of a lunge to meet her, stopping in order to gently hug her from behind, "Hey Sunflower." I greeted with a smile on my lips and joy in my voice, "How've you been? Today's been boring without getting to see you." I chuckled softly.

Suddenly, I saw a new window appear.

 **Bug detected and worked out!**

 **Changes made: Prestige Skill "Flirtation" corrected in name to "Temptation". Skill "Charming" was properly formed. Numbers for these skills have been properly calculated. Skill trees properly separated.**

Huh... odd. I almost felt like a hole in my knowledge was just filled, and I didn't know it was there until Charming filled it.

Analyzing both the description and the feeling of the knowledge in my head, I realized it was essentially a romantic version of Teasing.

I also realized that it was level 71.

I... honestly felt a little bad about that, that I was better at teasing others than charming them.

 **+1 Closeness to Yang!**

 **Charming's level increased by 10!**

I could sense her smiling, "Today's been pretty boring without you too, Jaune." she turned around and hugged me back.

I smiled and let her go, "Well I'm here now, Sunny, so bask in my awesomeness." I chuckled playfully and she giggled with me as I helped her get her motorcycle out of the boat. Once it was out and set on its wheels, I got on behind her and we drove off smiling, the helmet fitting to my head with the ease of Equipping.

I hugged her softly, chuckling, "You know, most of the time, at least in movies, the guy drives the motorcycle and the girl holds onto him."

She giggled and looked back at me with a smirk, "So you're saying you don't like being behind me?" she attempted to tease me, but I was prepared.

Oh boy was I prepared.

 **Teasing (Passive) Level: 99, EXP: MAX**

 **Teasing Effectiveness: +300%  
Teasing Resistance: 75%**

 **-/\\-**

 **Temptation (Passive) (prestiged from Teasing) Level: 11, EXP: 64.34%**

 **Temptation Effectiveness: +50%  
** **Temptation Resistance: +15%**

I chuckled playfully, "No, I like it, but I don't think you want me to like it TOO much~." it was awkward doing this through our helmets, but the message got through.

"So is the valiant knight going to try to slay the dragon with his enchanted sword, hm~?" she teased back, though her blush was evident, I could practically HEAR the rushing of blood in her cheeks.

"Oh my, I didn't know you were so adventurous, Sunflower, I certainly haven't sought out any mighty and majestic dragons to take down with my shiny, tough, incredibly strong and long sword~." I chuckled softly, humming a small tune to ease the atmosphere while trying to ignore another surge in levels from Temptation.

"Hee... heehee..." she giggled nervously, blushing up a storm. I smiled and gave her a squeeze of a hug.

 **+1 Closeness to Yang!**

"Don't be so tense, I'll let you in on a little secret." I leaned in a bit more, feeling my muscles press into her back, "My wizardry powers give me a strong resistance to your teasing. I swear if you'd done this to the me that hadn't gotten these powers yet, I'd be unable to even speak and probably pass out from overheating. As I am NOW though... well... it's pretty obvious I'm winning." I chuckled softly, smiling at her.

 **QUEST RECEIVED!**

 **Quest: The Mighty War**

 **Description: War, war has changed. This war has, and will continue to be about whose emotional artillery can cause the biggest blush. You must win the war eventually!**

 **Reward for completion: 100 EXP, "Yang's Crown", Yang will see you as S-type, +5 Fire Affinity**

 **Penalty for failure: 10 EXP, "Obelisk Stolen", Yang will see you as M-type, +2 Fire Affinity**

I didn't really understand what the context of this quest was supposed to ask me, but... I accepted anyways. Free fire affinity? Free EXP? _And_ I get a crown?

Count me in!

I hummed a bit, calling upon Xiburichu's powers to boost the speed of Bumblebee, adding more heat and thrust to the pistons in the engine, boosting them. Crocea Mors added his touch of metal manipulation, magically reinforcing the metal to an impossibly strong state that wouldn't exist but for the fact that I willed it to.

I became fairly certain that just meditating with Soul of the World and increasing my powers over Metal and Fire over the next months would qualify me enough to enter Beacon Academy just due to the sheer size of my AP bar and the intensity of my elemental power.

Grinning, I closed my eyes and relaxed, "So, where are we going again?" I couldn't recall, or rather didn't even recall it being mentioned in the first place.

"O-oh! Right, right, we're going to the forest outside the city." she said after clearing her throat, trying not to let her embarrassment seep into her voice.

I chuckled softly, "Alright, I have an idea too, a fun little thing we can do. A special sparring match." I smiled and shifted slightly, "Of course, I want to do that AFTER we have a little Grimm-killing competition, whoever kills the most wins and gets to set the rules for the match." I used my Charming skill to add to the appeal of the idea.

"I'd like to set the rules for a match for once." she said with a hum, "Alright, let's do it."

I smiled, "Alright, sounds good. Now I'm gonna trust you to be honest with your kill count, okay? I want this to be a fair competition." I knew she wasn't probably the type to inflate her numbers, but I wanted to make sure.

"Alright, dude, I'm not a liar, okay? I know there's a chance I could lose." she looked back at me with a small pout.

 **-1 Closeness to Yang!**

I nodded with an apologetic expression, "Alright, sorry for making assumptions, I just wanted a fair fight." I softly smiled at her, giving her a small squeeze of a hug.

She smiled again, but the Closeness point didn't return, sadly. Ouch, I'd apparently done a bit of damage with that mistake. Shit.

I did not want to do that at all, no sirree.

I opted to hold onto her while she drove towards the edge of the city, the silence growing uncomfortable.

I broke it with a statement I didn't expect, "So I never told you, but I'm five-eleven, how tall are you?"

She blushed a bit, "Just a little bit under five-seven." I hummed a bit, "So uh, why'd you just randomly say that?"

Clearing my throat, I quickly looked at what I thought was the culprit and sure enough, Stay True now had some more EXP. It had gone up to level six just from my conversation with Marbel, "Just an urge to break the silence."

She giggled a bit, "You seem more teased and nervous than you seem to want to let on." she smiled.

"Well how can I not be nervous when I don't want to anger the sun? I feel like NOT getting burned." I chuckled, "Plus the sun shines so bright and pretty when it's happy." I hugged her closer to my form while saying that, smiling warmly and happily when I felt her smile at me again.

 **+1 Closeness to Yang!**

There we go. THAT'S what I was looking for. I didn't want to lose any good points in my friends' books, after all.

I wanted to be a good friend

* * *

We came to a stop outside the city walls, where I'd safely stored Bumblebee inside my Inventory and took Yang over the wall with a Power Jump, watching her blush and unable to ignore the intense jiggling of her chest. I smiled broadly and brightly, "Well, let's get started, shall we?" I set her motorcycle down, "We'll rendezvous at the motorcycle in 10 minutes, kill as many Grimm as you can in that time frame. Whoever gets more gets to set the rules for the sparring match later." I shook her hand, smiling charmingly.

She grinned at me, "Well, prepare your body, Jauney, because I'm gonna be blazing like a comet getting those kills." she giggled dangerously.

I snapped my fingers, "Ah, that just reminded me." I pulled out my scroll, "I shot a video for you." I brought up the video and played it for her.

 **Yang's Respect for you increased massively!**

"Oh yeah, did I mention I'd be dropping out of civilian school on Wednesday? Because I am. I did that as an act of awesomeness, since I gotta keep up the awesomeness ratio in the Golden Shield team." I chuckled and put my scroll away, then paused when I saw Yang's face.

She looked at me with an intrigued expression, one fine eyebrow raised, "What did you just call us?"

"Golden Shield, since well, you're golden, and I have a shield." I clarified. Shouldn't it have been obvious?

"We need a better name." she said simply, and I sighed, leaning against the nearest tree.

"Alright, let's brainstorm. Usually when people make these specialized teams they take a piece of each others' names and put them together." I blew air upwards, my hands in my pockets, "Let's see... we could be... Sun Shine? You're Yang, and that means Sun. My middle name is Prometheus was the person who discovered the methods of unlocking auras easily, so it's Shine."

"Nah, maybe something like... Dragon Slayers? I'm a dragon and you're a knight."

"Oh~? So you want me to slay the dragon~?" I teased, then internally sighed at seeing Temptation rise at an embarrassingly high rate.

Yang was just too easy of a target, it seemed. If you could push past her offensive barrage, her defenses were nil, "Okay how about a different name? Solar Eclipse? Your shield has the moon on it, and when the moon covers the sun, it's an eclipse."

"So the sun wants to be covered by the moon?" I chuckled, "My my, some people might get the wrong idea."

With several more levels in Temptation, Yang responded with a bright red blush, "I don't see YOU trying to come up with any names."

"Well I mean with the path you've been taking with these names, I expect at some point you're just going to say 'Yang Arc.'" I chuckled.

And then I realized my mistake.

 **By raising "Charming" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Flirtation"!**

 **Flirtation's level increased by 30!**

 **Temptation's level increased by 10!**

 **+1 Closeness to Yang!**

Yang stared blankly, her ears leaking faint wisps of steam. Her entire face was bright red, so saturated with her blush that it seeped down her neck and across her chest and shoulders.

I felt bad, I'd pushed too far with that last one. I walked over and touched her forehead, sending dozens of Soulforges into her, not caring about anything besides making her feel better. I hummed, then used my aura with a Water Dust crystal and...

 **Combining a normal spell with the element Water has created the skill "Rain Burst"!**

Two hundred droplets of cool water splashed her face and neck. She flailed at first, like a surprised kitten, but relaxed when the cool feeling shocked her back to normal, "Calm down, Sunflower, we could call it Celeste, since you're the sun and I'm the moon, and Celeste means the sky, so it sounds like a partnership." I smiled calmly at her.

She smiled back, wiping the water off her face, "Alright, alright, that one sounds pretty good."

I smiled, "Good, now then... before we start this, I want to be honest with you. I've been telling a minor lie to both you and Ruby, and I've felt very bad about that... but I trust you." I raised a hand, preparing what I'd asked the question for in the first place, "And I'm going to tell you something important. You can't tell anyone at all, okay? Not Ruby, not your dad or your uncle, none of your friends, it's vitally important to keep secret, okay?"

"You're not going to show me your dick are you?" she asked with a giggle, trying to ease the atmosphere with a silly joke.

"No Yang, now I need you to promise me that you won't tell." my hand hovered in the air, "Swear to me that you'll keep my secret." I gave her a very serious look.

She cleared her throat and raised her arm, "I, Yang Xiao Long, solemnly swear to not tell your secret under any circumstances, for as long as I live." she definitely spoke in a solemn tone.

I smiled, "Good. Now then..." I sighed.

And hit the button.

* * *

 _(Third Person POV)_

Yang flinched back when she saw the window pop up in front of her eyes.

 **PARTY INVITE!**

 **You have been invited to Jaune Arc's party "Team Celeste"!  
**

 **You will be brought into The Game with this action.**

 **[Accept] [Decline]**

She stared at Jaune, "What kind of spell is this?"

Jaune sighed, "It's a trust spell. Do you trust me?"

She hummed, listening to her heart, ' _Do it! You can trust him with your safety. He's proved he's not going to hurt us. He's practically perfect!'_

She hit Accept.

All too suddenly, she felt a burning at her core, like her soul itself was shuddering. Suddenly, she saw a new window appear, outlined in the golden color of her aura.

Information boxes flew up to greet her eyes. She read each one carefully, and while her mind reeled, she felt her mind growing sharper and clearer, noting several notifications for her Intelligence and Wisdom increasing. She felt a bit indignant at that. She wasn't an idiot, and made her displeasure known with an angry pout. Jaune chuckled a bit, "I had to go through that too. This damn power feels like it's chastising me half the time, and the other half it's patronizing me."

She giggled, feeling a bit better at hearing his dilemma, "Wow... just... wow..." she stared at her profile.

Jaune stared too, because it was very impressive for a girl of her age.

 **-/\\-**

 **Yang Xiao Long  
** **Title: Hotter than the Summer Sun  
** **Level: 36  
** **Class: Martial Artist  
** **Nickname: Sunflower**

 **Hit Points: 1150/1150  
** **Aura Points: 1750/1750  
** **Stamina Points: 1350/1350**

 **Strength: 67 (+85%) = 123.95  
** **Dexterity: 39 (+30%) = 50.7  
** **Vitality: 52 (+65%) = 85.8  
** **Intelligence: 30 (+30%) = 39  
** **Wisdom: 30 (+30%) = 39  
** **Luck: 18  
** **Charisma: 69**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: December 12th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'7  
** **Weight: 145  
** **Build: Medium Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blonde / Lilac Purple / Light Tan  
** **Bra Size: 34E**

 **-/\\-**

He also had the decency to blush upon noticing the last line that had been added, very recently it must have been, because it wasn't there yesterday.

The knight cleared his throat, "Right, well, let's just ignore that for now." especially the part where she had pitiful bars compared to his.

 **HP: 3600/3600  
** **AP: 7202/7202  
** **SP: 4000/4000**

"How come you have so much more HP, AP, and SP than me?" she asked with a pout.

He sighed, ' _I wanted to avoid this'_ , he shrugged, "I don't know, all I know is my bars are bigger than yours." soft chuckles poured from his mouth, "It shouldn't affect anything, just be careful, okay? I don't want you to get hurt, you're important to me, even more now, because you're the first and only person I've told about this." he smiled softly at her, seeing her blush, "You're something special, you know that?"

 **Flirtation's level increased by 20!**

 **+1 Closeness to Yang!**

"A-alright then. But seriously, I'm pretty mine should be bigger." she pouted a bit.

"Nah, mine's still bigger." he shrugged once more, then turned towards the treeline, "Anyways, this should make this little competition easier, and plus, I can message you now." he smiled and demonstrated.

 _Jaune C: Like this, this is voice chat :C_

 _Jaune: Or like this, this is text chat._

 _Jaune W: This is a whisper, so if we had someone else in the party, this would keep the information private from them :W_

He then activated the camera that had become available, "And this is a face-cam." he waved at her through the image.

Yang activated her own camera and smiled, waving back, "This is incredible! I'm gonna have to play around with this later. For now, I guess we go fight Grimm?"

"Yeah." the gamer turned off his camera, "We can probably report our kills through the party chat." he was also able to see a small headshot portrait of himself and Yang in the corner of his HUD, leading him to breathe a sigh of relief. He could keep a good eye on her in case any trouble came around. Smiling, he drew his sword and shield, both gleaming in the light, "Alright, ten minutes to kill as many Grimm as possible, starting in three... two... one... GO!"

* * *

( _Jaune POV)_

I immediately tore off like a speeding bullet, all the movement speed buffs I had were immediately stacked, plus...

 **Using Soulforge Restoration with** **Dust Crystals has converted the elements into an acute, powerful form to enhance the body!**

 **You have been granted the status effect "Haste"!**

Just one Lightning Dust crystal tripled my speed for the next twenty seconds.

Racing through the trees, I had my Fire Elemental Aura activated, and sent out several loudly exploding Fireballs, humming as I heard the nearby Grimm make their respective sounds and become attracted towards me.

They entered the cleared and I heard even more bestial, guttural sounds from some of the larger beasts.

I wasn't left wanting enemies at least. And I was equipped for the job.

 ** _Majorsaetranas (equipped)  
_** ** _Description: An Ursa Gigantus pelt shaped into a furry leather coat. It is heavy, but very durable. The back has a complex pattern of white spots the forms an eyeless Ursa's face._**

 ** _Effects: +25 Armor, +5 STR, +5 VIT, induces status effect "Red Sugar", induces status effect "Crystal Veins", induces status effect "Bulk Power"_**

 ** _-/\\-_**

 ** _Ragrindus (equipped)  
_** ** _Description: A Boarbatusk hide shaped into a pair of leather bracers. They are infused with the speed and powers of the dark beast. It has two small conjoined plates on the front end, pointed towards the enemy._**

 ** _Effects: +2 Armor, +2 DEX, induces status effect "Thieving Pig"_**

 ** _-/\\-_**

 ** _Whitesteel Armor (incomplete)  
_** ** _Description: A pair of half-bracers, a pair of shoulderguards, and a breastplate all made from whitesteel. These plates are built more heavily than most armors._**

 ** _Defense: 250  
_** ** _Toughness: 15_**

 **-/\\-**

 **Red Sugar: Influences the wearer to desire to perform violent acts against others much in the way that a person with a sweet tooth desires to eat sugar. (Negated by Gamer's Mind)**

 **Crystal Veins: Increases blood pressure, stress, and can cause hardening of the veins and arteries based on blood sugar levels. (Negated by Gamer's Body)**

 **Bulk Power: Grants a boost to effective STR based on the wearer's Height and Weight. Current Boost: +21.5%**

 **Thieving Pig: Influences the wearer to steal things. (Negated by Gamer's Mind)**

I had to do something about this armor situation, I didn't have much to work with, and the way armor seemed to work in this game was based much more in reality than in game terms. I only had extra defense on parts of my body that were actually armored.

That was a bother.

I put away my sword and shield, wishing to work on another set of skills.

Boxing.

And luckily for me, I managed to also download several songs, which I began to play in random order as the Grimm gathered around me.

I couldn't help but feel joy at the first song that began playing.

 _Tonight I'm going to have myself a real good time_

 _I feel alive_

I got into position, opening my stance before preparing to deliver a smackdown. The grimm around me seemed hesitant, which was good. I needed time to perform this.

 _And the world, I'll turn it inside out, yeah_

 _I'm floating around in ecstasy_

Aura flowed through my veins and into my muscles, bones, skin, and nerves. I chuckled darkly as I prepared to unleash.

 _So don't stop me now_

 _Don't stop me_

I prepared to activate Ki Body, feeling energy flow through me. My fists were cocked, locked, and ready to unleash.

 _Cause I'm having a good time!_

 _Having a good time!_

The skill flared up immediately in a plume of life-force and fire. I shot forward like a cannonball, my fist Jabbing into and shattering a Beowolf's skull. I kicked off of it and performed a swift Uppercut to knock a Boarbatusk up into the air.

 _I'm a shooting star leaping through the sky_

 _Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity_

I began tearing into its skin with my aura-sharpened fingernails and swiftly ripping out its beating heart, crushing it in my fist. I dashed over to an Ursa and delivered a blindingly fast combo, Double Strike and Power Strike empowering the already fairly devastating Hooks, Jabs, and Uppercuts. I felt its black furry stomach become more tender, my blows beating its internal organs into mush.

 _I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva_

 _I'm going to go go go_

I blocked a paw swing from another Ursa with a Left High Guard, grabbing its bulky mass by the meaty wrist and tugging it to the side, my skills and powers giving me enough Strength to swing it around like a puppet, impaling its brother's beaten chest and nearly liquefied organs on its spikes.

 _There's no stopping me_

Dashing to my next foe, I jumped and Uppercut an Alpha Beowolf so hard its neck broke, kicking it with the force of Power Jump, sending its body slamming into the forest floor. I flew through the air, fire trailing behind me.

 _I'm burning through the sky yeah_

 _Two hundred degrees_

 _That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit_

I hit the ground running, meeting a Longhorn's side with a double Jab as I lunged towards it.

 _I'm traveling at the speed of light_

 _I want to make a supersonic man out of you_

 **Name: Lycandrot  
** **Title: The Onyx Snitch  
** **Level: 18**

I briefly chuckled on the inside as Gamer's Sight told me about the disgusting creature's habits of acting as a scout, running away when it sensed or saw humans and 'telling' other, more powerful Grimm about them, essentially drawing a horde to a possibly unsuspecting civilian or even Hunter. I grabbed the cowardly beast's face and did a simple Crushing Grip on it, breaking its skull.

It fell as Ki Body deactivated, having drained all of my aura. I panted, feeling full of energy all over my body, but my core felt empty. I stood up, drawing my sword and shield for real this time. I activated Signal when my Aura came back a minute later, after several more Beowolves, Boarbatusks, and even two Longhorns had fallen to my blade.

I swung Crocea Mors with immense force, letting out a battlecry as I caught a third Longhorn by surprise, bisecting it with a Power Strike.

 **Your "Mana Affinity"s level increased by 1!**

I checked the skill. It had been crawling upwards, and was now level 10, which had granted me a lovely boost.

 **Mana Affinity (Passive) Level: 10, Exp: 0.00%, (achieved by raising Intelligence above 50)  
** **Long ago, Man, who was born from dust, learned to draw upon the light of their souls to survive in an unforgiving world. This skill increases the user's sensitivity and control over that power, improving their affinity with Aura.**

 **25% Increase in APR.  
** **10% Increase in total AP.  
** **10% Increase to Magic Attack.  
** **10% Increase to Magic Defense.  
** **35% Increase to AP related skill effects.**

I felt the new increase boost my power.

 **Yang's "Unarmed Skill"s level increased by 1!**

Damn, she was fighting pretty hard then.

Especially since the damn skill was level 84 now!

I Ran and Stampeded when the Aura had come back to me. I needed to win.

I checked Yang's bars and found them sufficiently full enough that I didn't need to go check on her. I smiled and cut down another Ursa. I sensed the many creatures of darkness flocking towards my Signal.

I grinned.

* * *

 **Your level has increased by three!**

 **Performing great physical exercises has increased Jaune's STR by 3!**

 **Enduring great damage and physical stress has increased Jaune's VIT by 2!**

 **Exercising and toning his body has increased Jaune's CHA by 3!**

 **You gained the item "Canishigek Tre"!**

 **You gained the item "Whircak Spiarus"!**

 **You gained the item "Owla Navis"**

 **You gained the item "Skillbook: Metal Skin"!**

 **You gained the Grimm Mask "Diecharys"!**

 **You gained the Grimm Mask "Inquisicorra"!**

I had discarded most of the other items, mainly since they were just copies of older items. I used the skillbook with my Scholar title equipped, gaining an additional five levels for it.

I felt better, especially since I'd killed over two hundred Grimm. I noted the other notifications that came up, outlined in gold to signify they were from the party.

 **Enduring damage and physical stress has increased Yang's VIT by 1!**

 **Exercising and toning her body has increased Yang's CHA by 3!**

Rendezvousing at the motorcycle, I gazed at Yang's sweaty body, which seemed to glow a bit more than usual with its loveliness.

 **Yang has received the status effect "Tired Beauty (Low)"!**

 **Yang has received the status effect "Worked Beauty (Low)"!**

I blushed a bit, finding her far beyond normal beauty. I scanned her profile and found a rather interesting skill she had.

Eternally Gorgeous. The effects of it granted beauty-enhancing status effects 'under most-all conditions' and doubled the effectiveness of these status effects.

"My my, isn't this power supposed to be part of your mind? What are you trying to say, Jaune?" she winked at me and waggled her eyebrows.

I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose, "It claims to be me, but it has a damn mind of its own. I can't control it, I can only influence it. I swear to you, Yang, those statuses are all you, not me."

She pulled a cloth from the concealed storage box of Bumblebee, pulling out a small towel and wiping the sweat from her face, "Right, well, I killed about a hundred and twelve, what about you?" she took a drink of the water bottle I threw to her.

I took the bottle from her and took a drink as well, draining a quarter of the thing before wiping my mouth and handing it back, "I crunched out about two hundred and twenty-five... so over twice yours." I chuckled, "And I have loot, too. You probably noticed some money, possibly clothing or books that the Grimm dropped?"

She nodded, "I didn't stop to pick up the clothes and books, but I saw them."

"Well, let's hold off on any sparring to go pick up our loot and recover, okay?" I smiled and took her hand, "Let's start in the area you cleared out, then we'll get to some of the stuff I think I might have missed." I was lying about that. I had burned the things I hadn't desired to take, not wanting anyone to stumble upon them and get hurt by wearing them.

But any time spent with a friend was time well spent.

We walked together, the birds nearby singing a beautiful song. A pleasant breeze flowed by, billowing Yang's hair in a way that shouldn't have been graceful, but was. Maybe it was her Charisma, or the way the sunlight caught the glistening sweet dotting her face, neck, and chest. I wasn't quite sure what exactly it was. I couldn't help but look up and down her form, noting her curvy figure, the way her outfit accented her shapely, toned legs and smooth stomach, which I'd had the chance to feel while hugging her on the drive over, and knew that it was rather tight, but still had a pleasant softness to it. Speaking of soft, I _also_ couldn't help but notice the way her sweat dripped into her bountiful cleavage. I smiled at her smile, which practically glowed with life and light, like her namesake. I swore she started to look at me right as I turned towards the first piece of look, "Ah, there." I jogged over and picked it up.

 **You gained the item "Orsanas"!**

It was the basic Ursa version of Orsitranas and Majorsaetranas, thinner and less protective, but it only induced the status effect 'Red Sugar', where as Orsitranas added 'Crystal Veins' on top of that, and Majorsaetranas added 'Bulk Power' on top of THAT.

I sighed softly, picking up a **Canishigek Un** , which was from a normal, unprotected Beowolf, "I could see you wearing this, Yang." I noted with a smile, "Want to try it on?"

She shrugged, looking a bit nervous, "Sure, why not?" was the answer.

I smiled, opened my inventory, and quickly unequipped her brown leather jacket and equipped Canish Un, "How does it feel?"

She blushed bright red, then let out a low hum, "I-i-it c-c-could use a bit of washing, but... it's r-r-really n-n-nice..." she sounded nervous. I offered a reassuring smile to her.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt you, it just gives a minor boost to your natural bloodlust." I explained, switching Un with her normal jacket, "It's pretty good, too. However I think Canish Du might be a bit much for you, the boost is over twice as much and it adds a bit of unnatural bloodlust to your brain. I'm afraid it might cause permanent after-effects, and I want you to be safe, Sunny." I gave her a kind smile.

 **+1 Closeness to Yang!**

Huh, well I guess I was saying the right things. I channeled the knowledge and information of Charming as I brushed her hair out of her face, "Maybe you should tie your hair back, too, it seems like it keeps getting in your face, you need to see." I tucked the golden tresses behind her ears, "Now come on, let's go."

She followed as I led her by the hand. I was firm, but gentle in my direction, since I'd noticed she sometimes had a tendency of stopping her stride to stare at me sometimes, and I didn't want to let her fall behind. I hummed softly, then activated Tale Teller's Story mode to help the conversation flow.

It was after gathering several tens of thousands more lien that she spoke up again, "So this is real money? It's not counterfeit?" I hummed at the list I was provided.

 _"It's real, you can take it to the bank."_

 _"You can buy drinks with it and only worry about underage drinking laws."_

 _"Just don't bribe any police with it and you'll be fine."_

 _"I haven't tested it out yet."_

 _"..."_

 ** _Note: You can say something besides the provided statements. These responses are based on most effect._**

I chuckled playfully as I gave her a thousand of it, "You can buy drinks with it, and all you have to worry about is underage drinking laws." I joked, taking well over ten thousand more lien for myself, "Of course just don't spend it all in one place, especially where you're known, or people might question how you have all this money... also, don't let the money go to your head, okay?" I had, in just about ten minutes, pushed my funds close to a hundred thousand lien, which would cover the costs of materials and anything else I would probably need.

"Don't worry, Gameboy, you can trust me with money." she gave me a playful, but respectful smirk, like a weird mixture of pride in me and having told a joke.

 **You have received the nickname "Gameboy"!**

I hummed and noted the larger boosts Gameboy had over Jantastic, if only aligned for Yang and not both her and Ruby, then equipped it, because I just felt it made sense. I was with Yang, I should equip a nickname that shows a better bond held between us.

I mean, we DID have a bond, we were very close friends, who were apparently oddly comfortable with each other.

I certainly felt comfortable with her, I'd told her about my semblance and, thankfully, she took it well.

"Alright, but remember, don't spend it all in one place, because you always see the coolest shit when you can't afford it." I chuckled, noting the sky slowly starting to darken, "Let's get onto that loot I left behind, shall we?" I flashed her a grin before leading her to the area I'd cleaned out.

"R-right." I could feel her stopping her stride, and gently tugged her to continue.

"Come on, I don't wanna leave you behind, Sunflower, okay? Sunflowers are meant to have all their fun during the day and then rest at night." I hardly knew what I was trying to say with that sentence, but it did coax Yang to at least walk a little faster, but not fast enough.

I resorted to drastic measures, "W-whoa~!" she exclaimed in surprise as I picked her up in my arms.

"Ya too slow, sweethea't." I said in an attempted accent, quoting some movie, "By the time ya get the'e, it'll be tomaraw!" I chuckled playfully.

She blushed furiously, probably from the embarrassment at being carried like a child, but she held onto me, "I'm not slow, you're just fast." she protested, holding onto my shoulders.

"But how are you sure it's not that I'm going normal speed and you're going slow? Because you most definitely have an odd habit of stopping mid-stride and staring at me." I booped her nose, then resumed carrying her like a princess.

"I-i do not do that! A-and if I do, then it's because... you're... very stunning, like electricity, ya Boltman."

 **You have received the nickname "Boltman"!**

"Stunning? How am I stunning?" I asked with a smirk, channeling my Charisma through Teasing, "I don't know about electricity, Yang, but I have a Metal and a Fire elemental, and they both grew off of the giant tree that is my soul." I chuckled softly, "I don't have any electricity in my giant tree, so how I am stunning like electricity?"

"Because you say embarrassing shit and act like you don't know what you're implying!" she suddenly cried out in indignity.

"... I do?" that was...

Well, I mean, I guess it was hard to judge myself with Gamer's Mind putting a leash on all my emotions, and Teasing and Charming both providing a seventy-five percent resistance to their respective efforts.

"OF COURSE YOU DO! You were just now talking about your big tree!"

"My soul. When I summoned my elementals, my soul appeared to me as a tree. I don't know why a tree specifically, but it did." I still didn't understand that, but I had a guess that it was supposed to imply a connection to nature.

"O-oh..."

"What did you _think_ I was talking about? My penis? That's rich! Almost as rich as me~." I drew out the word while dropping lien from my inventory, through my hand, and letting it flutter down over her like a rain of money.

She quickly grabbed the offending notes and crumpled them together in a big ball, "Put this back in your inventory." she said with a pout, and I did as asked.

Even after doing as asked, she was still pouting, which didn't sit right with me, "Stop that." I demanded gently, pausing in my own gait as I looked down at her.

"Stop what? I'm hardly d-doing anything, just being carried l-l-like a... like a..." she seemed to be unable to put a name to my hold.

"A princess? That's how I picked you up, at least." I clarified helpfully, smiling softly at her, "Now anyways, still, I want you to stop that."

She looked up at me confusedly, "Stop being held?" that damn pout was still on her lips.

"No..." I started, sighing softly and looking at the options provided.

 _"Stop pouting, it isn't right."_

 _"Stop looking so pretty, it makes me feel bad."_

 _"Stop being so awesome, you're making me look lame."_

 _(Kiss her)_

 _"..."_

I blushed at the fourth option, then cleared my throat, "Stop a lot of things, okay?" I said with a mock irritation in my tone, "Stop being so awesome, alright? You're making me look lame in comparison." I gave her a small frown that held no heat of irritation, "Stop looking so pretty, I wanna be pretty too but you're hogging all of it." I chuckled playfully, then gave her a gentle smile, "Most importantly, stop pouting, okay? No pouting, it isn't right for a girl like you to pout, okay? Smile. Every girl, in my opinion, looks much better when she's smiling, so stop pouting and start smiling, alright, little dragon?"

 **You sense a resonance from Yang's soul, unable to be understood at this time.**

 **Flirtation's level increased by 30!**

I honestly started worry for her and Ruby's mental health when talking to them caused these huge spikes in the levels of those interaction skills.

Was it the way they were raised? Yang had told me that her dad scared off any boys attempted to get close to her or Ruby to this very day. From what I'd been able to glean about their upbringing, they were either so idealistic that I was their (quite literal) knight in shining armor, or they were just so innocent and inexperienced with boys that I, the only one that had managed to stay close, had easily torn down their cardboard mental defenses against my male charm.

Given how apparently my mind was reinforced against sins with the sharpness added to it by INT, and they both had a decent bit of INT, I knew it had to be the former, as the latter just made no sense to me... well, with Yang it didn't, since she very well knew how to tease and charm.

 **Charisma: 62**

I wasn't THAT charming, no matter what that damn number said.

Sighing softly, I looked deep into my heart.

Surprisingly, in my mental reflection, I didn't find a dark void where love had shriveled up and died, but rather a warm pool of azure water that gleamed in the light of the sun, resting atop a mountain.

A mountain?

Odd, why was my mental reflection so literal? Must have been my increased INT and WIS...

I cleared my throat, "Okay... I'm going to be honest, I already cleared my area, I kinda just wanted to keep hanging out with you, because you're a good conversationalist and I kinda feel like my mind is trying to fracture with all of the INT, WIS, and other mental bullshit going on in my head."

 **You sense a resonance from Yang's soul, unable to be understood at this time.**

"Oh... well... I like spending time with you too, Jaune, you're the nicest guy I've ever met." she smiled softly.

I smiled back, "And you're the nicest girl I've ever met... well besides my sisters... and my friend Marbel... and Ruby is also extremely nice and likable, so uh..." I rubbed the back of my head, as if trying to massage out the words. Luckily, they came forward, "The nicest girl I've ever met who's also my age." I corrected, "Anyways, I think it'd be best if we headed back to our respective homes now. Can you give me a ride? I'll wax your motorcycle for you." I offered with a small chuckle, only partially joking.

She giggled softly, blushing pink, "You don't have to do that, Jaune."

I shrugged, "I don't HAVE to, but I want to." a smirk played across my lips as I mounted the yellow and black machine, "Mind if I drive this time, actually? I want to improve my Drive skill. I promise I'll take good care of it."

I gave her my most honest look, and it seemed to be enough, because she got on behind me and held onto my chest, "Don't crash my beauty." she warned softly, and I chuckled.

"This thing isn't your beauty, you are." I smiled and cranked Bumblebee up, taking off at a steady, moderate pace, since I didn't want to make any mistakes with my closest friend riding with me, especially since it was her ride anyways.

We took off from the forest, leaving the smell of pine and oak behind, soon replacing it with pavement and car exhaust.

* * *

 _(Third Person POV)_

Yang's mind raced as she mulled over Jaune's latest statement, a simple proclamation that he was going slowly because he didn't want to have any accidents with her on board. The sweet and caring side of this boy- no, this man who she adored and would gladly call her best friend, was worming his way into a special place in her heart, and he didn't even seem to notice! He didn't notice when she hugged him a little tighter, intentionally squishing her bountiful bust further into his taut, muscular back.

He was tall, bright, strong, kind, funny enough, liked her puns, was careful with her, and willing to treat her like a princess despite her strength. She adored the chance to relax and not worry about someone ogling her or being nervous.

She didn't mind admiring eyes, but there was a balance that only Jaune had achieved thus far, of affection and admiration, of kindness and confidence, of gentleness and strength, and of courtesy and toughness. He certainly was proving to be a challenge in terms of getting teased most of the time, but she managed enough to feel confident that...

To feel confident that...

That...

That what?

She didn't feel confident at all! She felt shy. She felt uncomfortably warm. She felt her insides turn all squishy. She felt a rush of sensations that reminded her of her great femininity as she subtly felt at Jaune's masculine form, knowing even if it wasn't as physically strong as hers, he still had great strength regardless.

He was absolutely amazing, in her eyes. A literal knight in shining armor, who would be the royal guard to her princess, who would keep her safe with his life.

And she would do the same.

She just needed one last thing to seal the deal.

Just one... last... little... tiny... thing...

"We're here." he said with a bright smile, getting off, "Thanks for letting me drive." he opened the gate to the fence around his front yard, "I'd invite you inside but my dad is home, and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to deal with him. He's... eccentric." he chuckled a bit, "To put it lightly... anyways, I'll see you tomorrow? I feel like doing dinner together, if I can manage it. I'll, uh... meet you after Signal classes let out?"

She blushed furiously, trying to mask her disappointment, "Sure, see you then. It's late, I-i-i should get home." she mentally screamed at herself to go for it, to jump into his arms and press their lips together in a deep and passionate kiss.

Her more logical half told her to wait. To hold on just a little longer and confirm a couple other things, namely that he would be alright with kissing her. She couldn't ask him, so she had to figure it out through body language, namely his relaxation.

From where she was sitting, he was not very relaxed.

Jaune waved her goodbye, smiling and unaware of her internal struggle between urges and logic. She actually briefly considered wishing she was dumber, so at least she wouldn't consider holding back and thus would just go for it. Go for the thrill and try to secure before someone dive-bombed in and stole him from her.

She would wait, but she couldn't let that happen.

The knight watched her drive off, briefly adding a bit to her speed by using his Fire Elemental, then he walked inside, bracing himself for whatever teasing words his father would use against him.

* * *

 _(Jaune's POV)_

I walked inside, bracing myself for whatever my father would say, feeling that he probably had sensed I'd traveled home with the accompaniment of a woman.

Nothing came, "Dad?"

"Yes, son?" he said from the kitchen, sticking his head out from the side of the doorway, "Something the matter? You look tense." his look became tinged with concern.

"No, no, nothing's the matter, I was just coming back from some training in the forest." I wasn't lying, at least, "What is that? Smells good."

"Fried chicken, cornbread, mashed potatoes and gravy, and fried okra." he grinned and I heard my stomach growling.

Damn that sounded good right now.

I excused myself to my room, walking up the stairs and sat in my computer chair, sighing and rubbing my hands over my face.

Honestly, I couldn't deny one thing about my powers.

They were starting to change who I was. I could hardly remember anything about the past eight years except mom and dad fighting and me moving to Vale City. Everything else was just a blur. Was Gamer's Mind disconnecting me from my life? What was my life anymore? Who, or rather WHAT, was I before becoming The Gamer? Was I just The Player? The NPC? The Background Object? What?

Who was I before, in the eyes of who I am now?

...

 _What_ was I before? _That_ was easy.

I was weak, and slow, and frail. I was idiotic, foolish, lacking fate or charm. How was I supposed to get into Beacon when I hadn't made any progress in years?

Well that was easy enough, now that my stupid emotions weren't clouding my judgement and my mind was clearer than ever before. I would train without end. I would do everything I could to make sure I was worthy of Beacon's reputation.

But that was my goal... what about _me?_

Me as in Jaune Arc. Not a Beacon Hunter, not a part-time waiter at The Angel's Garden, not...

Wait, part-time waiter?

 **Coming to knowledge about your former self has increased your INT by 1!**

 **Craft's level increased by 6! Cooking skills increased massively!**

Oh shit! Oh god what?

 **QUEST RECEIVED!**

 **Quest: I am I, Jaune Arc**

 **Description: You have become aware of the phasing out of the memories from your normal life. Reclaim them and re-learn who you are!**

 **Objective: Rediscover all 7 forgotten memory chunks**

 **Reward for success: +5000 EXP, +10 INT, remember fully who you are, ?, ?**

 **Penalty for failure: (partial failure) +500 EXP for every saved memory, +1 INT for every saved memory, remember some of who you are. (complete failure) -10 INT, forget who you were as Jaune Arc**

 **Time Limit: ?**

I hit the accept button before even reading the word. Determined again, I stood up and hummed, wondering about these lost memories.

I remembered my sisters plenty enough, all seven of them. I remembered how I used to dance with them... wait, yeah, I danced a lot when I was younger!

 **RECOVERED MEMORY CHUNK! (2/7)**

 **Dancing's level increased by 20!**

I felt my soul shudder, the skill increasing and my perception of my body increasing in sensitivity.

I did a quick dance, the smoothness of the movements greatly increased. I felt even better.

Let's see... I'd recovered the fact that I had a part-time job at The Angel's Garden, and that I used to dance a lot with my family.

What else?

* * *

I was sweating, I felt it pouring down my back. I was breathing heavily, in through the nose, out through the mouth.

 **Ki Breathing's level increased by 1!**

 **-/\\-**

 **Ki Breathing (Active) Level: 16, EXP: 34.65%, Cost: 10 AP**

 **Increases APR by 85 AP/min. (10)  
** **Great external shock will break Ki Breathing and induce Aura Confusion**

 **-/\\-**

I'd carried hundreds of pounds of steel out here, forming it into a punching bag and wailing on it with my all the skills I could manage being maintained. I was only a hundred yards into the forest, punching away until something would break through. Eventually I'd stop, but not right now.

Not when I had so much to do.

Lucky Spark had increased to level 5 during the thousands of punches I'd performed with Boxing on the 'bag', increasing it's chance to give EXP to 0.14%, a which was almost a whole half better than before, but not quite.

I let out a low grunt as the 'plan' I'd come up with halfway through this endeavor charged again.

 **Crocea Mors  
** **Title: Metal Soul, Yellow Death  
** **Level: 4**

 **Race: Summoned Elemental w/ 4 Charges**

The metal knight charged at me, sword and shield in hand as I fought back with only defenses and fists.

A dismembered arm faded to white mist on the ground while the one that immediately replaced it crashed into the knight's helmet with enough force to dent the surface three inches inwards. Given that the steel had been reinforced to thrice the strength of normal steel (to give me a chance to actually deal some damage) it wasn't anything to laugh at, even in the world of super strong Hunters.

Speaking of super strong... I felt my torn muscles repair instantly as another notification rose up.

That made a lot.

 **By enduring great damage, your VIT has increased by 2! (52)**

 **Raising VIT above 50 has earned you the skill "Iron Body"!**

 **-/\\-**

 **Iron Body (Passive) Level: 2, Exp: 63.42%, (achieved by raising Vitality above 50)  
** **An ability given to those rare few born with surpassing vitality. The user possesses a body with great resistance to harm and unending strength to endure.**

 **51% Increase to Stamina recovery rate. (50)  
** **20% Decrease in Damage from physical attacks. (20)  
** **10% Increase to total HP amount. (10)  
** **10% Increase to total Stamina amount. (10)  
** **30% Increase to VIT related skill effects. (30)**

 **-/\\-**

 **By exercising your muscles to extreme amounts, your STR has increased by 6! (51)**

 **Raising STR above 50 has earned you the skill "Incredible Strength"!**

 **-/\\-**

 **Incredible Strength (Passive) Level: 2, Exp: 36.42% (achieved for raising Strength above 50)  
** **An ability given to those blessed with tremendous power. The user possesses great physical strength, casually reaching beyond the limits of most men.**

 **51% Increase to Physical Attack Damage. (50)  
** **50% Increase to STR related skill effects. (50)**

 **-/\\-**

I pounded my fists against my chest, the skin letting off dust with its Stone Skin reinforcement, "Come on! Stop trying to hit me and hit me!" I blocked the sword with an arm and Metal Skin, focusing everything I had into making sure every hit would hit hard, hit fast, hit true, and hit fatally.

If Crocea Mors' level was properly calculated (the four was just from how many Elemental Summon Charges I'd put onto him) then it would easily be in the high sixties or seventies, no doubt, due to how tough he was to fight.

Or maybe that was just because I was fighting barehanded.

Surprisingly, the High Guard and Low Guard also increased my reflexes to perform them, like muscle memory getting implanted into my soul. Or maybe it was that I'd done it many thousands of times, when for a normal person it took only about one thousand repetitions of an action to commit it to muscle memory.

Jenkins had told me once he had been laying down suppressing fire and had gotten to his third magazine before he realized he was switching mags without even thinking about it. That just goes to show the power of the mind over the body.

I didn't know. It was my last day at school and I intended to make it go my way.

Marbel was my friend, after all, and I always helped my friends.

Especially if... they were... my friends before...

Shit... I just remembered ANOTHER thing!

 **RECOVERED MEMORY CHUNK! (3/7)**

 **+5 Closeness to Marbel Mayston!**

 **Your relationship with Marbel Mayston has upgraded from "Best Friend Senpai" to "Good Old Best Friend"**

 **You have gained the nickname "Arthurius"**

 **You have gained 50 Max AP from the light of friendship!**

 **Pursuing in spite of opposition and exhaustion, and being industriously persistent has sharpened your mind and increased your INT by 6!**

 **Gamer's Mind has been massively reinforced against the calls of Sloth.**

I felt the changes take place, remembering games we played together. Some D&D, pretending to be the rulers of a kingdom while on a camping trip (my father knew her aunt, apparently) and I'd stayed up half the night setting up what amounted to basically some sticks stuck in the ground to act as 'walls' for our little kingdom.

It was only one time, however, I didn't remember anything else about her from that set of memories. That would explain why, almost five years later, she didn't remember.

I could fix that pretty easily.

I began to pull out my scroll, but quickly stashed it away a millisecond before hot shrapnel tore at my Metal Skin.

 **Metal Skin's level increased by 1!**

 **Metal Skin has gained a new bonus for reaching level 25!**

 **Level 25 Bonus (Heated Treatment): Simultaneous attacks and Combo attacks all deal 10% less damage.**

Luckily, however, it only threatened to shred my arm off instead of hitting my entire body all at once. If the the pellet spread had hit me like _that_ , I'd surely be dead.

I instantly brought Crocea the elemental back into my being, letting the solid metal knight, not even a drone as more of a golem of metal, change back into the form of what was essentially a solid steel barrel. I quickly brought my sword and shield up to bear, thrusting the shield behind me to protect from a second attack.

Slowly and smoothly, I turned to see who had fired at me with so powerful of a shotgun.

I saw gray hair and an information block...

You know, I had a feeling that these sorts of sights would end up being bad for my health. Without a single doubt, two-for-two for these cases, my heart sank somewhere in the vicinity of my ankles.

 **Sense Danger's level increased by 1!**

 **Detect Bloodthirst's level increased by 1!**

 **You have detected a dangerous, bloodthirsty presence 20 feet away! Origin: Person**

 **You have detected an extremely powerful life form 20 feet away!**

I stared as my suspicious blue eyes met his calm, almost amused reds.

I didn't dare move for fear of what would happen, but the entire time I just couldn't stop thinking.

Why?

Why this?

Why here?

Why now?

Why in this way?

Reflection time was over the second he spoke.

"Jaune, I presume?" he asked, and I nodded slowly, "We have a _looooooot~_ to talk about, kiddo." he smirked, then reached into his pocket while I tensed, then relaxed slightly as he pulled out a flask and opened it.

I could smell the alcohol from here, both on his breath and in his flask.

 **Qrow Branwen**

 **Title: ?**

 **Level: ?**

* * *

 **BOOM! Cliffhanger! Woot! Everyone likes a good cliffhanger, right?**

 **Right?**

 **No?**

 **Oh...**

 ***sits in the shame corner***

 **Wait a second!**

 ***comes out***

 **It's delicious drama!**

 **Let's see how our Magical Boy handles his first lethal diplomatic encounter! (spoiler: he survives, but that's a given seeing as how I plan for this story to go on for longer than 8 chapters)**

 **So now we wait. I study for finals and you all enjoy this chapter and be sure to favorite and follow the story and me, and be sure to leave a juicy review for me to read. I enjoy all the reviews I get immensely. It makes me feel warm inside.**

 **So... let's get to that omake, and then to the sign-off and the stat block!**

* * *

 _Omake: Till Death do us part, so be mine or I'll kill you._

* * *

 _(Start of week 2 of Beacon, Jaune's POV)_

I sorely wished I hadn't said anything.

No I'm not exaggerating, I was sore, and I wished that I hadn't said anything to anyone here.

I checked my profile.

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Master of Harems  
** **Level: 110  
** **Class: Tank v5  
** **Nickname: Jantastic**

 **HP: 100/65,600  
** **AP: 27,532/122,700  
** **SP: 42,700/83,500**

 **Strength: 100 (+70%) = 65.25  
** **Dexterity: 40 (+70%) = 60  
** **Vitality: 200 (+70%) = 340  
** **Intelligence: 170 (+50%) = 255  
** **Wisdom: 180 (+50%) = 270  
** **Luck: 110  
** **Charisma: 160**

 **Stat Points: 0**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 6'4  
** **Weight: 260  
** **Build: Heavy Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blonde / Brilliant Azure / Beautiful Fair  
** **Penis Size: [Soft] 7" , [Hard] 13"**

I just wanted to not break any hearts, but now it seemed like the phrase 'rip your heart out and step on it' was becoming literal.

These girls were fucking CRAZY!

"Oh JaaaAaaaaune~." I heard the feared redhead chime, and I expanded my senses around the corner.

Shit, shit on shit, that's it... that's the apocalypse.

 **-/\\-**

 **Pyrrha Nikos  
** **Title: Lovingly Sick in the Head  
** **Level: 99**

 **-/\\-**

 **Yang Xiao Long  
** **Title: A Deadly Flame fueled by Love  
** **Level: 111**

 **-/\\-**

 **Ruby Rose  
** **Title: A Reaper of Death and Hearts  
** **Level: 104**

 **-/\\-**

 **Weiss Schnee  
** **Title: Chillingly Cold and Affectionate  
** **Level: 91**

 **-/\\-**

 **Blake Belladonna  
** **Title: A Deadly Act in the Night  
** **Level: 96**

 **-/\\-**

 **Nora Valkyrie  
Title: A Storm of Love and Hate  
Level: 106**

 **-/\\-**

Somehow, some way, I'd both completely seduced and royally pissed off all of them.

I Ran away with extreme speed and desperation, my Aura bolstering my Movement Speed along with my skills and equipment.

Sure I looked like a psychopath dressed in Kitsuninja clothing and sprinting through the halls, but I was alive at least!

And why has my erection not gone down yet?

For fuck's sake!

No, no no no no no NOT for fuck's sake! For the opposite of fuck's sake!

I looked back and sighed in relief to see they hadn't followed me. I suddenly hit the floor with a body under me.

I looked down.

 **Glynda Goodwitch  
** **Title: The Sexy Deputy of Beacon  
** **Level: 157**

Shit...

"I'm so sorry Miss Goodwitch!" I apologized profusely while standing up and helping her up with me. I removed the helmet on my head and looked her in the eyes.

"Mr. Arc! Why are you running so desperately? What are you running from?"

"The girls on my team and the entirety of Team RWBY! They want my dick and they'll kill to get it!" I didn't hold anything back as there wasn't really much time, I could detect them starting to get closer.

Glynda looked at me unimpressed, laughing amusedly, "Mr. Arc, such a claim is too audacious to believe."

I facepalmed and explained the entire story, watching Glynda's face as I told her all about the situation.

I suggested a threesome to Pyrrha, it was a joke but she broke my ribs. My pained sounds attracted the others and they learned about it and the six started fighting each other, but before long they agreed that because of my Wizard powers (damn Ruby, when did she become a pervert?) there would be plenty of me to go around but they got pissed off that I'd run away and they all wanted me for themselves, but also for the whole group to enjoy.

I was NOT having any of that and they'd already killed Cardin and maimed the rest of his team for getting in their way.

Glynda reviewed some camera footage and stared at the lifeless corpse on the ground.

"So you see my dilemma?" I asked desperately.

"I do, Mr. Arc, and I must say, to put them all in such an unstoppable frenzy... I am extremely curious myself... would you care to show me what they're fighting over?" she asked with a seductive smirk.

I turned and ran, "NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE!" I poured on the aura to pour out the speed.

With my senses, I saw her change.

 **Glynda Goodwitch**  
 **Title: The Mistress of Love and Pain**  
 **Level: 160**

Oh shit, I was NOT into BDSM and didn't plan to be.

On the bright side, I had prestiged Run and Ki Body during this entire endeavor, getting much more powerful skills that quickly boosted my speed to the point that I was running up the side of the emerald tower.

I broke into Ozpin's office and stopped to catch my breath.

Blue eyes met stoic brown as the headmaster took a sip from his coffee mug, "Dramatic entrance, Mr. Arc." he said with a slight chuckle.

Okay, okay hopefully this would turn out good.

Ozpin shouldn't be affected by my women-charming skills due to the simple fact that he was not a woman.

"Pleeeeease don't turn out to actually be a really convincing crossdresser..." I muttered, standing up fully.

The man raised an eyebrow, "What was that?" he took another sip of his coffee.

"N-nothing. Look, there's a HUGE situation and it's now affecting the staff too, and I'm sad to say I'm the one who caused it." I began explaining the entire situation, from the offhanded remark, to the jealousy, the fights, the fact that my arm had been torn off and regrown thanks to my semblance (though I didn't explain how that worked) and even when Goodwitch seemed to be unexpectedly wooed by my accidental charms.

All throughout the explanation, Ozpin simply stared at me over his coffee mug. His eyes scanned my entire form several times over.

I gasped for breath, a sense of panic overriding a portion of Gamer's Mind as I awaited his response, "And that's everything up until the part where we started talking. You HAVE to help me, Ozpin, it's... it's..." I shuddered to think of it.

Ozpin didn't react.

I let it loose, "IT'S THE YANDERENING!" I shouted, panting and recovering with the activation of my aura.

About a minute later I was fine enough to breath normally, and looked up from my position doubled over in the middle of the room.

The old huntsman stared at me, then gave a small hum, "You claim to be... thirteen inches long?"

I facepalmed, "Yes but this isn't the time for a dick measuring contest this is the time that you put your Huntsman knowledge and intuition to use and help me fix this PLEEEEASE!" I begged him, my eyes full of pleading.

He stood up, "Actually, if this is a peaceful moment, I think it is the perfect time for a dick measuring contest." I stared in shock as one hand moved down to his pants.

"NOPE! Nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope NOOOOOPE~!" I mashed the button for the elevator, and thankfully it arrived soon enough.

I blinked as the doors opened and the seven women who's wrathful lust I had inspired stood there. We all stood frozen for several seconds, then I calmly reached inside the elevator and pressed all the buttons on the way down.

The doors closed, but then were blown open with an unholy symphony of "JAUNE!" as they all shouted and grabbed me, a ridiculous amount of knives at the ready, courtesy of Blake and Ruby.

I gulped, then cast a thousand Soulforge Restorations on myself in rapid succession, the blinding glow of magic making them all flinch. I flexed and stood up.

I charged towards the window opposite the one I broke through, "THERE BETTER BE A FUCKING HAYSTACK DOWN THEEEEERRRREEEE~!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I plunged towards the ground below.

The air burned my eyes before my aura flared up, my vision sharpening as I looked down there.

There was no fucking haystack down there.

Damn you Assassin's Creed, _damn you I say!_

Luckily, I had my Air Elemental ready, and my fall slowed to a halt, ending mere inches above the ground.

I breathed a sigh of relief and allowed myself a smile, then looked up.

I gasped in horror as I saw the seven women, plus Ozpin now, all falling towards me.

I sighed and looked at the ground.

Let's see... six otherwise innocent, if amorous young huntresses-in-training, one of which was a prodigy.

Plus a respected and revered Huntress who had leagues of influence.

Plus the headmaster of Beacon Academy.

Yeah, I'd be hunted down by every goddamn Hunter on the planet if I just killed them with some super-condensed air and plasma.

Plus I'm pretty sure Yang would lose the 'lust' part of the 'wrathful lust' and go about a googolplex higher on the 'wrathful' if I killed Ruby.

I couldn't evade them forever, they were all wildly chasing me and though I had high SP, it'd eventually run out, and I'm pretty sure Glynda and Ozpin had higher SP than I did, even with their age.

I sighed again, for maybe the thirtieth time that day, and let the air suspend them.

"If you put away the knives and get Ozpin to leave me alone, ladies... then I'll give each of you the night of your lives." I bargained, setting them all on the ground.

Seven pairs of furious feminine eyes glared at Ozpin as he looked straight at me.

I looked straight back at him, "And no knives, girls, that turns me off." I added, and they all immediately threw their knives away so quickly and so vehemently that I'm sure there were several shockwaves from breaking the sound barrier.

Ozpin sighed and took a sip of his coffee, which hadn't spilled a drop from the fall, "Rude." he turned and walked back into his tower.

The second he was out of sight, the seven pairs of eyes turned to me, their ire replaced by pure lust and affection, and I sighed, "Right... now then... who wants dinner, who wants a bath, and who just wants me?"

They didn't respond, but I could see puddles forming under each of them.

This... was going to be exhausting.

* * *

 _(Elsewhere, Third Person POV)_

Amber eyes stared at the screen, there were many images she flicked through with her slender fingers, each of them depicting the same seven women.

The same seven women who were in various states of incapacitation.

Ruby Rose, nerve damage in legs from overstimulation.

Weiss Schnee, absolute muscle exhaustion, compounded by her thermal circulatory deficiency and some traces of nerve damage.

Blake Belladonna, pregnant with... sextuplets? So the stories she'd heard about cat faunus were true.

Yang Xiao Long, pregnant with twins and currently finding her chest growing as heavy as concrete.

Nora Valkyrie, internal organ damage from overexertion during insertion of a large member.

Pyrrha Nikos, pregnant with triplets despite using some of the best birth control/menstrual mitigation medicine in the world.

Glynda Goodwitch, completely fine but experiencing symptoms of ADD and... an acid trip? The examinations showed she seemed to be in a blissful state halfway between dreaming and being high, mentioning 'no stupid fucking teenagers' and 'perfect fucking'.

She sighed, trying to ignore the longing growing in her nether regions, and made a call, "Roman." she stated simply.

 _"Aaaahhh! Cinder! Hello. No I haven't picked Vale clean of dust yet, yes I'm working on it, and no, the White Fang's numbers haven't picked up."_ came the voice of the criminal on the other end.

Cinder groaned, "I'm not calling about that... we need to push plans forward as soon as possible. I'm sure you've received the files I sent you."

 _"That little red runt, the old hag, the champion, and four other little skanks from Beacon got disabled or pregnant all at the same time, in the same vicinity of one another. I know that, I'm relishing in the fact that now I can get things done with less opposition."_

"You will find opposition in their oppressor." she stated simply, "A boy called... Jaune Arc... hmmmm~." she had to admit, he was extremely handsome.

 _"Him? I'm pretty sure he's just a punk who life decided to be nice and made him a Big Dick Rick, but from what I saw of him he's no better than any other crappy little kid trying to be a hero."_

"I knew you didn't read the reports I sent. He also battled the two Huntsmen Taiyang Xiao Long and Qrow Branwen to a standstill. You know Qrow Branwen, the one who ruined our plans with Autumn?"

 _"Oh... well then, what's the plan, boss?"_

"Simple... I will seduce him and kill him in the act."

 _"Oh well that makes sen-WAIT WHAT? Are you sure? He made that old hag a braindead fool!"_

"I am much better than that old hag, I will not be so easily broken." she removed her scroll from the side of her head, "Goodbye, Roman, when we meet again, we will be without opposition except from the arrogant fool playing king." she smiled and closed her scroll, ending the call.

She had work to do, clothes to buy, lingerie to choose.

He would be hers even if it killed him.

 _Especially_ if it killed him.

A dark, yet gleeful and almost schoolgirl-like giggle escaped from her lips.

* * *

 **Well there you have it, the Yanderening. It's scarousing as all hell.**

 **I'm so sorry to all my loyal and fantastic readers who had to wait so long for this to come out, but life was throwing curve ball after tennis ball after bowling ball at me and I had to roll with it before being able to write anything.**

 **I hope this makes up for it all!**

 **Thanks for reading, and hopefully the next chapter will be out before June, hehe.**

 **See you next time~! ^w^**

 **-/\/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Novice Scholar  
** **Level: 27  
** **Class: Tank  
** **Nickname: Jantastic**

 **HP: 4100/4100  
** **AP: 8500/8500  
** **SP: 5300/5300**

 **Strength: 51 (+50%) = 65.25  
** **Dexterity: 40 (+50%) = 60  
** **Vitality: 52 (+50%) = 78  
** **Intelligence: 73 (+3) (+50%) = 114  
** **Wisdom: 81 (+3) (+50%) = 126  
** **Luck: 110  
** **Charisma: 62**

 **Stat Points: 24**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'11.5  
** **Weight: 187  
** **Build: Medium Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Bright Blonde / Bright Azure / Fair  
**

 **-/\/\/\/\/\\-**


	8. Birds, Bees, and Bugs

**5/14/2016: Jumping right back into writing a new chapter!**

 **5/29/2016: No more testing, no more college work for now... yet I still took over 2 weeks to do much anything. I need to get better at this shit.**

 **6/4/2016: Retroactively changed Juniper's specs to fit more for explanations given in this chapter.**

 **6/14/2016: day 30, still haven't finished, feel bad for not writing faster or more often but this shit is hard. I can tell why I rarely see these types of fanfics with a lot of progress when they have a strong focus on The Game... damn.  
** **A second note for today is that I'm in summer classes for college, so that's a thing. Luckily it's only 1 class, in the morning, so I'm good on that aspect, and ironically it's a writing class, so I'm sure my skills will be put to good use.**

 **6/25/2016: Goddammit I feel terrible, I've been busy with college but I should be managing my time a lot better and making time to type more of this ungodly long, much-awaited chapter.**

 **8/8/2016: It seems like every single time I go to fucking type more of this chapter, my computer decides that it's time for updates, and it shuts down while I'm asleep and I happened to forget to save. I've been going through some tough times but everything is a lot better now.**

 **As always, let's start the reviewer responses**

 **Drow79:** Close, but actually Qrow wants to make Jaune give up on dating Yang.

 **Nunuboy135:** Yep, and let's all thank god that it was Qrow. Taiyang would just come up and rip him to pieces, Qrow will at least let him talk his way out of it, even if only to see Jaune squirm.

 **Shinju Ryuuga:** And _that's_ why it's an omake, not a full story

 **MysticSpider:** not really punctured, more that it... stirred things around a lot. And no necromancy, she literally meant she wanted to kill him.

 **Smithrooks:** Well, thank you and all the people who commented on their theories of why Qrow wanted to meet with Jaune. I will spoil it slightly for you: It's all of them! Mwahahahahhaaa! I stole the ideas, :P, ***runs off with a huge sack labeled "Ideas" on my back***

 **ChaosRonin:** Yeah I have my own personal huge blocks of headcanon for each of the RWBYJNPR group. Compared to mine, a lot of depictions of Yang in many fanfics I've seen are like "Hive of murder-blood-death-murder hornets hooked up to a stick of dynamite with a fuse size measured in planck lengths". Yes her semblance seems to run off of pain and makes her angrier, but pain comes in many forms, peoples. Many people take the "You wouldn't like me when I'm Yangry" thing and run with it. I have different views. Yes she can be brash and agitating, but she's a kind soul. Her heart isn't a hellfire blaze full of anger to take out on the world, it's a warming campfire providing light and warmth to those she loves (which now includes Jaune, though not yet in a romantic sense)

 **DeathstrokeNorris:** In volume 3 there was canon talk about and display of legitimate magic, such as the Four Maidens thing. In this, however, as simple of an explanation as I can give is "Wizard is a common Huntsman term for people whose semblances and auras themselves are their most effective weapon." In this sense, Weiss could qualify for being called "wizard", as could Ren (though Auric Martial Artist is the term that would be most often applied)

 **MicroDime:** it depends on what skills he's trying to teach, really. Something genetic or innate for the soul (things that he'd only be able to get because The Game could assimilate them from the great beyond of Game Power, AKA taking things from the annals of history like a kid in a candy shop), he could not teach, but something like Gaster Blaster, he could teach it to the others, or Summon Elemental, or Ki Body as you mentioned. The answer to your question is yes, but I'm also answering the proximal question of "okay so what else?"

 **Victor L:** The explanation is that doing that playthrough was a big dare from a friend (Marbel), and he was going to reset everything immediately after beating Sans in order to avoid tainting his save files.

 **kyugan:** this is QROW we're talking about, dude! Drunkle Qrow! He was actually intending to kill Jaune in one shot, but changed his mind last second in favor of having a 'talk'. People can change their minds on a whim, and Qrow figured it'd be more fun to watch him squirm under the questioning.

 **megatronus89:** kind of? Due to how Jaune is going to be interacting with the girls, it'll start to blossom into a harem fic as more girls see his goodness and start to fall for him, but I write these as I go, with little pre-formed planning. There's little telling who will start to fall for him, but he will at least interact with all of the core RWBYJNPR group before Beacon starts, for various reasons. There is some info provided in this chapter that explains some things pretty well, as well as emotional strife that I will explain in a bit.

 **kewllewk:** I've gotten a lot of criticism for giving Jaune shitty skills, but there is a reason he chose to up his Luck, despite the shitty skills it gives at 100... _HE DID NOT KNOW THE 100 BENCHMARK SKILLS WERE SHITTY_ , I can assure you that he had no clue that upping Luck to 101 would lead to him gaining terrible skills with very mixed and unfair (on him) numbers. Is he really that stupid for following down a path he didn't know would lead to shitty skills, when all other examples have lead to good skills? He wasn't stupid for choosing to up his Luck, he was just following a pattern that happened to have an exception for the stat he chose to boost.

 **Wednesday's Jest:** For your review on chapter 3: Yes transitions are a bit... iffy for me, they're necessary but when writing a first-person fic (which I've never done before this one) it's a little hard to put them there without basically just telling what happened instead of showing it, but maybe telling what happened would be more concise and easy to follow in this case. As for Jaune's reaction, it must be understood that while Jaune has his emotions on a leash due to Gamer's Mind, this also means he can go back to neutral or jump from one emotion to another without getting caught up in his sadness or anger. He can choose to do so, but it usually won't happen outside of his control. As for his reaction of punching his mom in the face, I do need to divulge this information. Jaune is much less of a 'normal' person now. He can calmly and logically reason why he should punch his mother, who he was in wholehearted belief to be the source of his grief due to being the instigator that led to his parents' unofficial divorce, in the face. Plus he's still a hormonal teenager, even WITH inhuman power such as what he has, he's still prone to making snap judgements based on his emotions and experiences. He sees someone he hates, he gets an urge, and in this case he decided to act on it. Also I really should get a beta to help me out.

For your review on chapter 4: Yeah I've gotten so much hate on chapter 4 that it's honestly started to lose a lot of its bite. I will add this: Jaune has a lot of respect for his dad and doesn't want to disappoint him more than he already has. He doesn't want to lose his dad's trust, so he put a bunch of points into Luck for not only the reason that he wanted to avoid trouble, but also because at that point, he was still seeing things in the perspective of getting into the game and reasoned, "Yes, it was 75 points I just spent, but I'm still only level 20-something, I can get lots more points easily. Plus boosting Luck can affect more than just this one thing, since it'll stay boosted." Also as I said in response to kewllewk, he didn't know it would lead to shitty skills. I personally both wanted to defy and lampshade the common trope in Gamer fics where the protagonist doesn't ever even touch Luck. I wanted to defy it by having a reason and an amount of respect for the stat, and lampshade it in that the skills gained were pretty unfair to Jaune anyways. He made a rash decision, and the Game pulled things in that it thought were helpful to him to some degree. Imagine the Stat Skill Gathering System is fairly good at its job, but it sometimes derps out too. He got skills for luckiness, truth, and dreams (mostly nightmares) that will help sort out his Fate.

Luck is like Fate, the more you have of it, the more important you are, but also the more you'll have to do in life, and the more shine AND shit you'll deal with. However, what Jaune knows currently is "Luck is a dick.", because he was hasty and didn't think things through when distributing his points.

 **Alright, since a lot of people seem to have not gotten over Luck, I will address it in this chapter and have Jaune give the decision some afterthoughts. Also, I'm going to retroactively, just as I changed Juniper's stats, go back and alter that scene in chapter 4 to be a bit more... thoughtful.**

 **... (btw an ellipsis as a transition, for me, is a small transition, usually only a few minutes or just spanning the length of some traveling, while a line-break is a larger transition, usually spanning hours or some important amount of time)**

 **...**

* * *

 **Now then, let's get onto the long, and long-awaited chapter 8.**

 **Disclaimer: Sadly, I still don't own anything that isn't my own words and ideas**

 **Alright, now onto the chapter, but first... I hope you've all seen the first three episodes of RWBY Chibi, I love it to death, ^WWW^ but poor Chibi!Jaune. Don't worry, Gamer!Jaune is going to make up for things.**

 **Edit 1: I've gone through and changed a few things to alleviate new readers of getting turned off by this chapter. Mainly what people have been complaining about, which is Jaune's sudden transition to wanting a harem and Qrow's OOC reaction of just accepting it. There are reasons for their specific reactions, and I can sum it up here: Jaune is too angry to think straight and Qrow is being sarcastic.**

 **Now onto badass Gamer things.**

 **Chapter 8: Birds, Bees, and Bugs**

* * *

 **Physical Resistance's level increased by 5!**

 **Stone Skin broken!**

 **Metal Skin broken!**

 **WARNING! You are in CRITICAL DANGER!**

 **HP: 1/4100**

I groaned as I felt splinters dig into my back, thrust from the tree behind me as it broke from my impact. I felt numb, yet at the same time every sensation on my body, every flaming speck of pain covering every nerve under my skin, was blindingly intense.

"You know usually when I impale someone through the chest and blast them away with a shotgun, they get impaled and blasted. I don't know what kind of healing semblance you have, kid, but it must be a good one." the drunken man smirked and held his massive sword in a casual grasp, "Now then, talk." he said casually, as if he didn't just attempt to murder me in a dangerously unstoppable and effective way.

"I don't feel much like talking when my internal organs have been tenderized by incandescent shrapnel." I groaned as I stood up, "But for someone as important as you, I'll make an exception. Qrow, I assume? The crazy, fun, drunk uncle?" I still had HP, and the pain had already faded into a horrible memory. I would live for at least a few more seconds.

"The one and only." he replied with a smirk, holding his stance despite the sheer bulk of his weapon, "So... Jaune Arc? I went to Beacon with your dad, he was confident and more than a little arrogant, and that's not what I want for my niece. Not what her father wants either. You're lucky it's not him here or he'd have killed you already, ripped you to pieces." he took another swig of his honey whiskey, then let out a loud belch, "So tell me... how was that burp?" changing the subject on me, eh? It's not going to work, old man.

"A solid~... six outta ten." I replied in a slightly lighter tone, which was washed away by a heavy sigh, "Now trust me when I say that dismemberment is only a slight inconvenience to me." I stood up again, my HP ticking up by the second, "And about my dad? He mellowed out after having a few kids. Now after eight, he's just a big goofball, really." I reactivated Stone Skin and Metal Skin to give myself a bit of a chance, "If you think I'm just a horn-dog wanting action with a hot babe, then you are tragically mistaken. I would never treat Yang like that... hell, I don't even like her romantically! We're just friends and that's it... but don't tell my dad that, okay? Like I said, he's a bit of a joker..." I lowered my voice and mumbled under my breath, "Plus he's not the best to learn from, given the not-divorce-but-it-damn-well-looks-like-one." I was backhanded in the face after that last remark. Qrow had instantly gotten inside my guard and struck quick as lightning, it felt. I immediately reacted with a swift punch to the center of his chest, but where as he probably felt like he was slapping a sheet of cardboard, I felt like I was trying to punch a tractor-trailer, "What's your fucking problem?" I demanded as my cracked bones fixed themselves instantly and the pain faded in less than a couple of seconds.

"Right now it's you." he replied darkly, "Boys like you who don't know when to keep their mouth shut and their eyes and ears open." he pushed me back against the tree by pressing his blade against my throat, "Boys who are arrogant fuckwits with more money than sense. Boys who think they can lie to people who find out truths for a living. Boys who flirt and tempt innocent girls like Yang to be with them. Well guess what, asshole, it's not going to work!" he smacked me against the back of a tree, but once again, my last HP somehow didn't drop.

I was too angry to care about that, too angry to care about the simple fact that I should have dropped dead by now. I wasn't dead so what was the matter in worrying about it? I wasn't going to die because I would do anything, lie, cheat, and steal, to get out of this alive, "What the fuck are you talking about? I wasn't lying at all! Yang and I are just friends!" I could understand him being pissed at me for pulling something if I'd _actually done something_ , but I'd done NOTHING! I was just as innocent as she was!

"Does a friend, quote." he pulled out his scroll and brought up a picture, clearing his throat before speaking "He makes me feel all warm and squishy inside, like jiggly jello. I want to tell him but I'm scared. What if he doesn't like me like that?" he read the page and I couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the hilarity of those words coming out of his mouth, but he silenced me with his sword against my neck, "Does that sound like a friend?"

"No it doesn't. Look I know where you're going with this and trust me, I have issues but they are not with loyalty." I struggled to push his sword away from my neck, but his arm and grip were too strong, even resisting Crocea's influence on the blade. I took a moment to breathe, then a realization struck me.

The bastard had found, read, and took a picture of Yang's diary.

"Like father like son, Jaune, like father like son. How do I know that you won't leave her when things get tough, huh?"

"Beca-"

"How do I know that you won't divorce her and leave her with 7 kids to care for?"

"I'm not g-"

"How do I know that you won't play her heart and just satisfy yourself, then leave her out to dry?"

"Will you let me sp-"

He pushed his blade harder against my neck, leaning his face in closer to mine, "How do I know that you'll treat her right, that you'll protect her, and fight for her? You're surprisingly strong for someone who wasn't let into Signal for not meeting physical qualifications, but you're a weak man, boy. A weak man is not what Yang needs, she needs a man with heart and soul." he spat in my face, "Or is it that you're trying to get closer to our sweet, innocent little Ruby?" he accused, "Trying to sniff the forbidden flower? If that's it then just make this easy on yourself, and save her the heartache, and confess now so I can liberate your shoulders of your fat head."

I stared at Qrow, and felt things break down.

 **You feel convictions filling your human heart!**

 **You feel shuddering inside your very soul!**

 **The thought of leaving-!# %(ERROR!**

 **ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR** **ERROR** **ERROR** **ERROR** **ERROR** **ERROR** **ERROR** **ERROR** **ERROR** **ERROR!**

 **Ga (* m #)!er'#*( #s M#% ^in!^*#%d ove# %rt#%axe^ #d!**

 **#!#(!#!_%* !#$$^ &#**

I saw an ERROR message shiver like a leaf in the wind, filling with chaotic and glitched text as the normally blue window shifted and faded to a nearly white color, the symbols splattered across it now shining a bright red.

 **You have received the status effect "Wrath of the Moon"**

 **The thought of leaving Yang and Ruby alone...**

I placed my hand on Qrow's blade, watching the lines slowly appear as a burning sensation filled my eyes.

 **... to suffer from oppressive authority figures...**

My eyes glowed bright as my aura activated, additional STR, DEX, and VIT filling me as my APR lowered a bit

 **... trapped without the light of friendship to keep them away from the dark...**

Qrow raised an eyebrow, "What? Are you gonna spit and scream at me like the bratty, shitty kid you are?" he asked cockily.

 **... these travesties... these tragedies... the desire to make them end...**

I stayed silent as I gathered my aura together. And then...

 **... it fills you with...**

... I struck

 **... DETERMINATION**

I thrust my body forward, letting it fall as my neck was sliced clean through. It was barely a second before my head reformed atop my neck and my body was under my own control again. I rapidly thrust my whole form forwards, my right fist leading the charge.

Qrow went flying as several tons of force smashed into his ribcage. My fist hovered in the air, covered in aura and shaking with my rage.

I let out a roar of anger, "If you think I won't fight for them, then you're DEAD WRONG!" I practically screamed as my face went red with the heat of my rage.

The old drunk anchored himself in the ground with his sword, the wind billowing his tattered cape as he slowed to a halt. I didn't give him time to rest, I was immediately on him and swinging my sword.

Every slash was countered, every blow negated, though I eventually managed to make a small hit on the side of his head, blocked by his aura.

I needed more!

I NEEDED MORE!

I growled inhumanly as our two blades met and felt my arm bones snap from the force. The strength of this mockery of a god crashed down on me, pushing me back as I just barely managed to resist enough to not get cut in half. My arms began to buckle as Qrow gained more ground, but I had a trick up my sleeve.

I held out the best I could manage with one hand, scooping crystals out of my inventory and holding six of them to my chest, combining Mana Barrage with Soulforge to boost myself up. Surges of power flooded my body as I activated Soulforge and blasted myself with all the buffs

 **Using Soulforge Restoration with Dust Crystals has converted the elements into an acute, powerful form to enhance the body!**

 **You have been granted the status effect "Firepower"**

 **You have been granted the status effect "Regeneration"**

 **You have been granted the status effect "Boulder's Strength"**

 **You have been granted the status effect "Feather Fall"**

 **You have been granted the status effect "Haste"**

 **You have been granted the status effect "Unbroken Iron"**

 **Receiving all six basic elemental status effects has granted the status effect "Glimpse of Harmony"**

 **Glimpse of Harmony: Extends duration of all elemental status effects by 100%**

 **Current Effects: +200% Damage, regenerating 50 HP and 50 SP per second, +200% Strength, -75% inertia and damage from environment, +200% Movement and Attack speed, +200 Defense**

 **HP: 1036/4100**

Now having a ghost of a chance, I managed to push Qrow back a bit, "I won't let them get hurt!By me, by you, by ANYONE!" I shouted in defiance.

"You're WEAK!" he spat, his tone more malicious as he literally spit on my face, as if trying to break me.

Good luck, you old bastard, you can't break what's already broken!

My muscles briefly burned and screamed in protest as I forced myself not to give in to the force he was pressing against me. I wiped the thick glob of saliva off my face with a hand, "I'll get stronger. I'll become stronger than a mountain and I'll protect her, I'll protect her and I'll protect Ruby too, old man!" I slapped him with his own spit as my aura shone around me in bright azure.

"What makes you think you can protect them, huh?" he kicked me in the chest to break the stalemate between us and I felt my shattered ribs impale my lungs and internal organs before everything fixed itself. I took in a gasp for breath and growled, "You can't even protect yourself!"

I stared at him deeply, then opened my profile, "I _can_ protect myself, and I will." my left eye burned with righteous fury and a special agony I couldn't place on a single source, except for perhaps my very soul. My own soul was burning at my eyes. I raised a hand, "Even if I have to fight dirty to win against a stronger opponent, I'll do it for them. They're my friends, and I am a knight, goddammit!" I slammed my fist against the plus button to apply my points, "I protect those who can't protect themselves! Those who need to be protected! You think I shouldn't be their friend so you attempt to kill me? That's low, lower than I thought a Huntsman like YOU could go." I growled and hit **Apply** to cement my points into place.

 **INT: 97 (+3) (+50%) = 150**

 **AP: 10,500/10,500**

 **By raising your INT and WIS to great levels, you have unlocked the class "Wizard v2"**

 **Wizard v2 (higher INT+WIS than DEX+LUK): +100% APR, +50% magic damage, -60% physical damage, +8 to all elemental affinities**

"So, if it'll get you to trust me to not hurt them... then... well..." I raised a hand as the skill activated.

Qrow's eyes widened as it appeared.

 **-/\\-**

 **Gaster Blaster (Active) Level: 1, EXP: 0.00%, Cost: 10000 MP**

 **Base Damage: 5000%  
Range: 20 meters  
Radius of Beam: Up to 1 ft  
Number of Gaster Blasters: 1**

 **-/\\-**

I grinned in satisfaction. It had been worth the wait.

It was expensive, but the look on the old drunk's face was priceless!

The skull appeared out of thin air in a puff of pale azure smoke. Its eyes lit up just as suddenly, glowing with a haunting, ghastly effect. I chuckled and forced my will upon my construct, which resembled in some ways a wolf, others a goat, and even a dragon with what looked like sockets for horns on the back. It gathered energy with a phantasmal breath inwards, air turning to plasma within its internal space as it closed its bony mouth. It coalesced and focused the energy into the shape needed, it then opened its gaping maw like a two-hundred-watt lightbulb suddenly turning on.

I grinned wider as, dramatically, it held it for a few seconds, "Get dunked on."

Qrow threw up a guard as the Gaster Blaster's mouth let loose a two-foot-wide azure beam of energy. I watched as the magical energy licked at his shirt, his Aura causing it to distort around his guard. The energy pulsated as it was split in half by his massive glowing blade, the color of his defensive light being a vicious bright red. I watched as time seemed to slow down, noticing his massive bar of AP go down only slightly, despite the 5000% damage being thrown at him. I internally cursed as the realization struck; if this, my most powerful attack, only tore down a tiny chunk of his defenses, then I must have been fucked from the beginning.

All too soon, the energy blast faded away, leaving a trail of a few scorched leaves that had fallen into the blast, and some bits of windswept ashes fluttering around. I grit my teeth, "So maybe you'll know how serious I am then, if I'm willing to make a killshot." I had to at least play it like I had the upper hand.

I glared at him with a fiery anger, fueled by my determination and conviction. He just smiled back, "I do know how serious you are. That's why I didn't immediately kill you." he flipped his sword in the air and it compressed down to a compact size and he stored it on his back.

 **Qrow's Respect for you increased dramatically!**

I panted, recognizing, to a massive blow to my pride, that he had been holding back and not even taking the fight seriously. I groaned as I noticed a some updates for STR and VIT, raising the two of them to 57 and 60 respectively, "How much... did you see... then?" that blast, even though it was so small, really took a toll on me.

"Enough to know you have access to... magical powers." he said stoically, but something gleamed in his eye, "I think you can help me, if it's true. What do you know about magic?"

"It's... magic? I don't know, I just use my Aura, I just focus on fueling shit using it and it just... works. I'm able to use Ki, and the Elements, and gain new powers with extreme ease... though it doesn't give me much in the ways of the control needed to perform the skills I gain, nor much in the terms of the power needed either." I just threw the information out there, not really caring just so long as it pleased him and I got to leave with my head, even though I knew it would regrow. I guess my plan to lie, cheat, and steal didn't go very well.

"I see... information without power?" he summarized quite succinctly, "It's your semblance?"

"Information without power? Exactly. Is it my semblance? Yeah, pretty much. The last spell I just used was one I've known since I unlocked my aura, but couldn't use it because it costs me too much aura to conjure up." I sighed and put away my sword and shield, "Now then, can I leave with my head still attached? I have school in a few hours."

Qrow chuckled, reaching into his pocket and removing a silver flask, taking a long drink from it and giving a sigh of satisfaction, "You're a good kid, kid." he complimented with a point of his finger, "Don't move too fast, and make sure to use protection." he laughed out loud when _I swear I did not blush in the slightest_ and put my shirt and hoodie back on, "Other than that, continue to be a paragon of virtue and conviction and you'll be fine."

Virtue AND conviction? As far as I was aware, those two things were practically opposites. Virtues are the ability to resist the urges of the world, convictions are the ability to accept and strive for them.

I think...

Why doesn't my INT and WIS reassess the knowledge I had before?

"I'm not a paragon of virtue and conviction, Qrow. I feel the two are a bit exclusive of one another... I'm not virtuous, at least. I'm willing to do whatever it takes, no matter what, to protect my friends and family, even if it means attempting to kill a modern legend of a Huntsman such as yourself." I stood up fully, feeling almost nauseating waves of restoring energy cascade through my form, healing damage and sending a fluttering rhythm of sensations along my nerves, ending with a calm comfort.

The light wind picked up slightly, billowing Qrow's tattered cape, "Well then, I guess you're smarter than I thought." he chuckled, "I'll see you later, kid. You're the best choice Yang could make, given all other choices available. Keep your head low, though, don't want the big, _scary_ dragon to rip it off." his low chuckles devolved into full, uproarious laughter.

I felt myself laughing too, a laugh of cracking sanity, the kind done I sometimes saw in movies when that particular character had just plain lost the last shreds of their sanity and/or restraint. It was usually followed by them delivering a smack-down of some sort, usually a bit of the verbal kind, followed immediately by a lot of physical kind. Of course, I was too tired and too low-leveled to do either against Qrow, so I just laughed with him at my misfortune, "See you later, you old bastard, and stop reading Yang's diary, you should respect her want for privacy." I pointed out, aiming a finger at him.

He waved back, "Yeah yeah, don't YOU read it either." he warned, then light erupted around his form and he vanished in a wave of orange energy.

I blinked. The fucker could teleport? Shit, he probably had a HUGE level because of that ability, on top of whatever his stats were, and a load of other shit too!

I sighed heavily, feeling a small amount of exhaustion set in. I laid down in the cool grass, letting Xiburichu's influence channel the heat in my body upwards, making a miniature show of gentle flames above me as I cooled off simply by transposing the heat, sighing heavily.

I summoned Crocea Mors from the barrel and watched as he took a form almost mirrored to my own, identical in all ways except for our colors, his being various slightly-hued shades of silvery steel, my own being natural for a human being.

I laid there for a long while, meditating, then I opened my eyes, "Crocea, what do I do about Qrow and Taiyang wanting to keep me from being with Yang? I can't fight them, I'd die."

The simple mind of my elemental produced a simple response, "We endure, master." came his voice, sharp like the rasping of steel on steel, but deep like a hammer's blow to a large piece of metalwork, "We endure until we cannot."

"And what if we cannot endure, Crocea?" I asked the obvious.

"Then... Xiburichu will hopefully know..."

A popping hiss of flames formed in the air as I summoned Xiburichu, a bare and naked man of indistinct features, hair of orange fire, skin of yellow fire, eyes of red fire, all impossibly smooth, as if the fire had been suspended and made to never blaze nor flicker, "We exact our will until we find a way to the top." he spoke, a voice like a gentle crackle of a fireplace flame.

"Exact our will until we find a way, eh? Well... you said your might and willpower were eternal." I smiled, "I hope that remains true." I dismissed them both, Xiburichu simple extinguishing midair while Crocea melted and reformed into a solid cylinder again, which I stored in my inventory. I pushed myself up to my feet and slipped a yellow shirt and a black hoodie into the equipment slots, the whole thing yet again acting like one big 'box' for me to put things in where I desired.

 **For breaking the rules and excessively exceeding your power level, you have broken The Game and it requires rebooting.**

 **During this time, Gamer's Body will not be active.**

 **Time until rebooted: 6 hours, 30 minutes.**

* * *

Sighing one last time, just to take in a deep breath of the fresh forest air, I started up a Run, reading some new information. I found that my increase to sixty VIT increased Iron Body to level 10, granting me another 10% boost to HP and SP. The boosted SP wouldn't find too much use as of yet, since now Run, which drained SP with every second it was active, could be used indefinitely now; My minutely SPR was now above Run's minutely cost. It was a big step up that I was glad to have use of, and I would be using it a LOT.

With that in mind, I spent the next four hours running along a path I knew would take me to Cherrywood right when it was time to go to class. I listened to the wind whistling past as I clocked myself going over 90 miles an hour with ease, my increased reflexes guiding me as I took in everything around, reaching out with my aura.

 **By expanding your mind with the power of Aura, you have created the skill "Photolocation"**

 **By sharpening your reflexes with the power of Aura, you have expanded the powers of "Ki Body" and all Ki-related skills, as well as the depth of your Dexterity! Your Dexterity increased by 4 as a result!**

Photolocation, it seemed, expanded my memory and perception to increase my mapping skills and ability to recall locations by name, address, coordinates, and even their purposes, such as restaurants, clothing shops, and more. This... this was a very, VERY good skill to have.

The increase in DEX... I could FEEL it, having exerted my Aura into my muscles and nerves to make myself react faster, so I didn't crash into a wall because I wasn't able to focus fast enough. It had been my exact intention.

I continued running, mapping out Vale City in my head while keeping every sense stimulated. I kept my eyes on a constant dance between my path, my scroll's clock, my Aura bar, and my music playlist, which earned me a skill called **Snapping Glance**. I was keeping my ears focusing on the song in my scroll, the singing I was doing along to the music, the songs of the birds, and the sounds of my own footsteps as I focused on Stealth (the fact that I'd managed to squeeze out another level running through populated streets was a testament both to its effectiveness and the cost of leveling it up more). My entire brain was being stimulated, thankfully not overloading due to the strength of Gamer's Mind, which had only been boosted by the recent increase to INT. That single advantage not only allowed me to do all of _that_ , but also keep enough of my attention devoted to the rush of my extremely fast Run to not crash into anything, ignore a sign, or get run over. Any of those would be awful for me, especially considering Gamer's Body wouldn't be active until lunchtime at school today.

It was a hard endeavor, but multitasking would have to become a strong point for me, because I had only... five months? Five months to get to Beacon.

I felt something tickling at the back of my head, something to do with Beacon, and Signal.

No... no it wasn't Signal... it was before.

Before everything happened...

* * *

 _Juniper Arc, my mother, so beautiful with her hair cascading down her back in a beautiful rainbow, the same rainbow that had dispersed through the prism of her womb to form her seven children, each a different color. She was beautiful, the first woman he knew to think of as beautiful._

 _Then there was another woman, blonde hair and green eyes, she was beautiful too, but in colder, more structured way than my mother's soft, warm charms. Still, she had a soft spot for children, apparently, as she babysat all of us kids whenever our parents were out._

 _My parents... it was after my eighth birthday... I had said I wanted to be a Huntsman when I grew up, shortly after came the yelling._

 _The screaming._

 _The crashing of things being knocked off the walls when the arguments ascended past words._

 _It was frightening, for sure, especially to me, a young boy with no idea why his parents were so upset with each other._

 _She... that woman... she was an island of sanity and tranquility in a tempestuous sea of slowly boiling chaos._

 _I vaguely remembered something mentioned by my more innocent mind, that I'd marry her when I got older and make her happy so she could smile all the time._

 _That always made her laugh, but she said that if I grew up big and strong, she'd consider it._

 _Damn... that was the smoothest I'd been with a woman up until this past week, and I was eight (and a half!) at the time._

 _Then there were the others around, an older girl who was always so cool, so laid back and casual with me. Her eyes were so intriguing, a deep crimson that turned an enchantingly vivid shade of maroon when her aura was active._

 _She... she had kissed me, once, as a birthday present, since she was close in that Kira's biological brother was a close friend of hers, and had few enough fucks to give that she did it. It had left me a blushing mess, but it was... nice, in a way, the kiss was simple and plain, she said that I didn't have to worry and if I didn't feel like it, it didn't count as a 'real' first kiss, just a birthday present. I... honestly was okay with saying that. There wasn't any emotion behind it, she just wanted to give me an experience._

 _Also something about singing, a_ LOT _of singing, for a lot of people... I'd been taught by a good few sources..._

 _The memories flooded back at that point. Singing to TV shows, singing with my sisters when they were old enough, singing with my parents when they had the time, singing and dancing to entertain guests, a school talent show, a few festival performances, even afterwards, after the not-official-divorce happened, I still sang, in bars I was let into while my dad worked with some other Hunters inside, I even sang for a couple of friends I used to have, especially for Marbel._

 _I loved to sing._

 _I loved to sing, and sing I would._

* * *

 **RECOVERED MEMORY CHUNK! (4/7)**

 **+70 Closeness to Glynda Goodwitch! (Total: +70)**

 **+55 Closeness to Lytare Charon! (Total: +55)**

 **+600 Closeness to Faction: City of Coldwater (Total: +600/1000)**

 **Singing's level increased by 60!**

 **Dancing's level increased by 22!**

 **QUEST RECEIVED!**

 **Quest: A Boy of His Word  
** **Description: Long ago, you promised Glynda Goodwitch you would marry her to make her happy. In turn, she made you promise that before you could marry her, you had to grow up to be big and strong. Now with the powers of The Gamer, you have the ability to do that!**

 **Objective: Grow to a height of 6'2 or taller and have more than 100 effective STR before you next see Glynda Goodwitch.**

 **Reward for completion: The satisfaction of a job well done, +5 INT, Gamer's Mind reinforced against the siren calls of Sloth, +20 Closeness to Glynda Goodwitch, possible betrothal to Glynda Goodwitch.**

 **Penalty for failure: The humiliation of a long-winded endeavor ending in failure, -3 INT, -10 Closeness to Glynda Goodwitch, Glynda's pity, embarrassment from peers.**

 **Time Limit: About 5 months.**

 **Accept? Y/N**

I... remembered that... she's the deputy Headmistress at Beacon. I couldn't ACTUALLY ask her about that.

However... that was a very nice STR and height to have, and while she probably wouldn't want to marry me because I was just a hopeful kid, I could still do the quest and reap the benefits of completing its objectives and getting its rewards. I hit accept with a soft press of my finger

I put more emotion into my sung words, a couple of tears leaking from my eyes as they suddenly started burning before the pain subsided thanks to Gamer's Body. I wiped them clear with the backs of my hands before powering forward, pushing myself to run faster. I Power Jumped to the rooftops, leaping across the city as I found myself entering the triple digits with my MPH speed, an azure streak passing overhead.

Of course, some people who didn't understand the mentality of Vale and the world at large would be confused on how I managed to do all of this without getting into trouble with the law, or at the very least attracting a lot of attention. Simply put, Hunters had a massive surplus of freedom to do what they wanted with movement. I could see, overhead, one or two such Hunters flying through the air by their own means, one with a pair of mechanical wings, the other by flying on a small personalized air-travel machine.

It wasn't uncommon at all for Hunters to be barreling through the streets like human-sized comets, in fact a large amount of Vale City's roads had whole sections that rarely saw pedestrians due to the defenders of the world running down the sidewalks. Simply put, people were so used to this that they didn't care, didn't even mind it at all, actually. Realistically, who could stop the graduates of Beacon? Even those who had passed on a poor level had to be at least as strong as my mother, who never did missions or assignments.

That was another thing, too, the lives of Hunters were not constant battles for fame and glory, rather it was simply performing the jobs that needed doing and returning home. Most missions were of minimal risk, with more dangerous things like 'fight a goddamn dragon' or 'save a city from a Grimm incursion' were reserved for the higher-skilled Hunters. My dad did missions to pay the bills and get spending money so we could live comfortably. Already, though, I'd gathered almost a hundred-thousand lien just by killing Grimm in the forest, and with the way my semblance seemed to function, I could earn more off of the process of performing any Hunter assignments than I could by actually being paid for them, just due to looting the lien left by the Grimm.

Yet another thing to address. I needed to get my own place to stay. If I was going to do what Qrow suggested and be Yang's boyfriend, then surely I needed to not be 'lame' and just live with my dad, even though I knew he'd be fine with me staying until the godforsaken day he died.

Maybe I could convince my dad to leave me alone in case anything like... THAT came up.

Wait...

Wait wait wait NO!

No no no no NO!

Stop it! Dammit, why does she have to be so gorgeous? So beautiful and radiant and just... PERFECT?

Why does she have to make me love her, goddammit?!

...

...

...

...

...

... what?

... that... that didn't just...

... no...

...

... no it can't be...

Gamer's Mind, why have you betrayed me? Why have you allowed this?

Why?

Dammit, I'm not good enough for her, not yet, not until I'm strong enough to defend her!

 **You have gained-ERROR!**

 **ERROR ERROR!**

 **You have gained the status effect "Noble Urges (High)"**

 ** _Status: Noble Urges (High)_**

 ** _Effect: induces ethical desires in the afflicted to act more nobly._**

Ethics?

Really, game? You're going into ETHICS now?

You can take your ethical status effect and shove it up your ass!

* * *

 _Yang C: Hey Jauney~, good morning~ :C_

I smiled softly at the pleasant message, then saw Yang's face and most of her upper body greet me as I stopped running, blushing a bit as I saw the shoulder band of her orange nightshirt had slipped off her shoulder, showing a bit more of her cleavage than it would normally.

I turned my camera on and waved back, _Jaune C: Hey~, good morning to you too, good to see the little sun has finally risen. :C_

 _Yang C: Shush, I'm lazy~ :C_

 _Jaune C: Laz-iao Long? :C_

 _Yang C: not THAT lazy :C_ she pouted a tiny bit, and I saw **-1 Closeness to Yang** pop up.

I instantly swore to fix that, _Jaune_ _C: No of course you're not, a lazy girl wouldn't be as awesome as you are. :C_

 _Yang C: Sh-shut up~! :C_ I could see the heavy blush forming on her cheeks and I smiled, feeling successful.

 _Jaune C: But why~? I'm only telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, I swear! :C_

She giggled a little, _Yang C: Yeah yeah yeah, save it for the courthouse. :C_

I chuckled softly, _Jaune C: What? Are you going to take me to court then? On what charges? :C_

She smirked a bit while rubbing one eye, _Yang C: For being a gigantic goofball, it's illegal to be as goofy as you :C_

 _Jaune C: Oh nooooo~, then I have to take YOU to court, too! You're containing illegal amounts of adorableness for your age, so I'm going to have to ask you to put on these maturity cuffs. :C_ I pulled a pair of handcuffs from my inventory, smirking playfully.

 **Temptation's level increased by 20!**

 **+1 Closeness to Yang!**

Oh goddammit, really? _Yang C: Uuuuuhhhhh... can I just smile instead? :C_ the epic blush covering every inch of skin from her hairline down to her elbows would be obvious even to someone who was blind.

 _Jaune C: Er, yeah... sorry, I got a little too into the whole "legal issues" thing. I have a lot of random shit in my inventory, too, like I have a pocket knife even though I've got a sword. :C_

Yang visibly calmed down after the apology, and seemed thankful for my changing the subject. I saw her get up as I resumed my run, not wanting to lose too much time, even if the voice chat was actually about as quick as telepathy, _Yang C: Right, well maybe it'll come in handy? Knives are pretty cool sometimes, Ruby has a knife, and she's a really cool little sister. I need to get ready for Signal :C_

 _Jaune C: Yeah, that'd be good, especially considering classes start in half an hour. :C_ of course I had more than enough time to get to Cherrywood, but Yang had just woken up with half an hour to go! Shit... I should have woken her up sooner so she'd have time to get more ready!

 _Yang C: Shit! Yeah, whoops, shouldn't have spent last night movie streaming :C_

 _Jaune C: Hehe, you should'a spent it dreaming :C_

Yang giggled as she removed her shirt, which made me _totally not blush at all, shut your fucking mouth I'm not blushing my face is bleeding!_ I was too stunned to point it out as I was given a lovely view of her sexy back. _Yang C: Hehe, good one :C_

I snapped out of it and looked away from the camera view, _Jaune C: Okay please turn off your camera, I can still see you! :C_

 _Yang C: Oh, fuck! Sorry, still not used to all this. I'll get the hang of it eventually :C_

 _Jaune C: Right, yeah, don't worry about it. It's not like I saw anything I shouldn't have :C_

 _Yang C: Good, Boltman, because then I'd have to beat your face in :C_ she turned her head and stuck her tongue out at me, then turned off the camera with a thought, as I did the same.

We continued with some easy, relaxed chatting until she arrived at Signal after getting a quick shower and dressing herself, while I just ran, sadly not getting another level out of it.

It was close to level seventy, though I could tell that even though I'd taken about a full day's time in total, from Running at every opportunity I had, having it active even for tiny distances, the next twenty-nine levels were probably going to take at least twice that, maybe even more. If I was technically conditioning my body to run at great speeds for long periods of time, I'd logically want to run for at least an hour every day, for at least three months straight. That, I felt, would be more than enough time to adapt and condition my body to the act. Since Gamer's Body still wasn't working, I wasn't sure how ideally it was doing that, but I'd spend the next three days doing nothing but Running if I had to, with only breaks for food and water when I needed them. I didn't care, I'd played idle games in the past, ones that went far enough that I'd spend hours waiting for another upgrade. There was a surprising amount of things I could do while Running, since it only took the focus necessary to perform the action to actually... well... _perform the action._

While running with my legs, I could use my arms to cast Mana Barrages of Energy Bolts, Energy Arrows, Energy Shots, and more. I could level up my skills by using them on the forest, then heal the forest with tons of usages of Soulforge.

Huh... I should see if I can teach Yang how to do Soulforge, it would take a load off my mind, knowing she could cure most of the little things that might affect her, like a flu or sore muscles. Then again, I think she'd be adorable with a sniffly little flu voice... on second thought, it wouldn't be worth it, so teaching her Soulforge was the only option, then!

Alright, now let's deal with this shitty civilian school.

* * *

 _(Later, at lunch time)_

I closed my locker with a sigh, already knowing one of the two idiots was going to be there.

The words above his head identified him as Terrence, the faunus who hated humans because his dad was in the White Fang working in a warehouse or something. Some insignificant asshole in an insignificant location doing an insignificant job for the White Fang, and feeding his insignificant worm of an asshole of a son the same propaganda the White Fang are feeding to him.

"So, you going to hand it over or-" he was shut up when I thrust a stack of bills into his mouth.

"Take this and get a fucking life, kid." I spat with dismissive contempt up at him, "Or I'll do to your spine what I'm going to do to this bar of steel." I removed said bar from my inventory and, despite it being hardened and tempered, I bent it from a straight bar into a tight v-shape with my bare hands, then stored it away in my inventory, "Aura, power, strength, you're no fucking threat to me, Terrence." I pushed him back forcefully and walked off, leaving the confused and flustered bully on his back on the floor, then looked back at him briefly, "And no, it's not because you're a faunus, it's because you're a weak-minded person."

I let my aura glow around me as I focused it into a more solid form, scraping together and gathering the dust covering the parts of the hallways nobody ever thought about, watching my levels in Sweeping and Dusting quickly rise.

 **Utilizing an ability normally locked until a higher skill level has increased your mastery of "Dusting" by 20!**

Smiling, I jogged to the lunchroom, feeling power flowing through me as I took the huge clumps of dust into my inventory, storing them there until later, when I could probably use them as targets or something.

I... didn't really know, to be honest, I've just been feeling kinda high on life for the past few hours, despite the environment trying to drain my moods and spirits.

I wouldn't allow it, however, I'd endure just like Crocea Mors said to.

And if that didn't work? I'd exact my will until I found a way to the top.

...

Letting go of my power trip, I sat down across from Marbel with nothing in front of me, as I'd skipped the line, "Hey Princess." I chuckled softly and playfully, a friendly smile on my face.

Marbel looked up at me, blushing a bit, "H-hey I'm no-OH, uh, h-hey Jaune." she greeted with a shy, but happy smile.

I looked at her pitiful lunch, a salad that looked about as fresh as a mulch pile, something they dared to call lasagna, and half-refrigerated milk.

I frowned, "Hey, so, since I'm going to be dropping out of school and all, I want to do some things... _right_ today, I already did what I could to put Terrence in his place, and his friend Johnny pretty much feeds off his hate so if he chickens out of his bullying game, Johnny'll stop too." I smiled and took her hand, "Now then, if I go fast, we can get us a REAL lunch before lunchtime is over... let's see... going that much faster..." I mumbled numbers to myself while leading Marbel away by the hand, looking thoughtful as I ran the calculations.

If I added the Ninja class to my Movement Speed bonuses from Run, Stampede, Ki Body, and Dancing, that was a 610% boost, and with the way Movement Speed calculated off my DEX... that was...

Wow...

I grinned as I picked Marbel up once we were outside, "Okay, Marbel, this is gonna be a little scary, but trust me on this, okay?" I reassured her with kind words and a bit of Charming to pick up the slack.

She blushed and nodded, "A-alright, Jaune, I trust you."

"Good, because you and me, Marbs, we're going to do awesome stuff together, just like we tried to do with our kingdom." I smiled happily, "What was it called again?"

She hummed, "Oh god I hardly remember that... um... I think... AHA!" she snapped her fingers, "It was called Celeste! We named it that because it sounded super cool and stuffs." she smiled cheerfully.

I chuckled, "Well, that's perfect, especially considering something I want to show you after school." I brought up my power, and practically BOLTED, literal bolts going through me as I used Haste through Soulforge to boost my speed even more.

My aura flared bright as Ninja helped me jump and leap across buildings with no interruptions, steps moving impossibly fast as I kept up the speed, the air heating up around me and Marbel as I activated it and stretched it over her to keep her safe as my speed was pushed higher and higher.

I found myself gaining two more points in DEX, and a new title called **A Quarter-mile at a Time** , which was earned by exceeding a land speed of 240MPH, which I laughed at and heard Yang laughing too.

 _Yang C: Teeheehee! Dude I just watched half of those movies last night! :C_

 _Jaune C: Hehehehe, nice, but Fast and Furious isn't as important as Need for Read, if you fall behind in school then your dad will get mad and if your dad gets mad then he might ground you, and if THAT happens, then I won't get to see my favorite Sunflower. :C_

 _Yang C: Aaawwwww, alright, alright, it's actually easier to pay attention in class, surprisingly. :C_

 _Jaune C: Ah, see? Increased INT and WIS, it made you smarter and more focused. Who knows, maybe now you'll be able to not be distracted with staring at me. :C_

 _Yang C: Sh-sh-shut up! :C_

I chuckled as I could sense her blush, while also slowing down to a stop outside the restaurant of choice, The Angel Garden.

I set Marbel on her feet, glad to see she wasn't sore or hurt from moving a speed in which we basically went four miles in one minute, reaching this place in less than three minutes.

We had nearly an hour for lunch, and with this little trip and the time wasted before it to get that slop not even pigs would eat, we still had about fifty minutes to get seated and eat.

"Um... Art? Do you WANT me to get in trouble?" she said flatly as she stared at the building.

I blinked, "No, I want you to eat well. Why? How is going here going to get you in trouble?"

She sighed, "I guess you really ARE a big dummy after all. Remember anything about this place?"

I hummed in thought, trying to connect the dots, "I work part-time as a waiter, so I can..." I paused as my accelerated mental processes clicked with my understanding.

* * *

 _A young Jaune groaned as he picked himself up, tired from playing all day during the camping trip. He stood up, using one of the great walls of the 'Prince-a-pity of Celeste' he called it, unable to pronounce the word 'principality' very well as an eleven-year-old, or even understand it, really._

 _The brown-haired girl that stood in front of him chided him as he stood up, "Why don't you make your sthord thmaller? It'sth way too big for you to hold in one hand!" she remarked, pointing at the carved and varnished (his dad's insistence) item that would be a normal wooden longsword for a grown man, but for the young boy it had the function and size of a zweihander, which combined with his too-bulky wooden shield to make him turn from a dexterous dancer of a boy into a tangle of gangly growing limbs stuck to an unbalanced central spine. Still, though he had carved both of them out of a log with a pocket knife his dad let him use (even though he cut his fingers five times trying to do it) so out of artisan's pride, he'd never not say it was worth the work!_

 _"I'll get stronger, Great Princess Marbel the Beautiful. The Great King Knight Arthurius the Strong has to get stronger!" he announced with all the seriousness a child could muster, "It'll get easier for me." he added with a smile._

 _"It better, I don' want Goof King Arthuriusth to be hurt!" the girl said with a slight lisp caused by her missing front teeth, "Now come on! My mommy got ush thome food from her and daddy'th resthtaurant! Y'know? Angel Garden?"_

 _"Not hard to get food from there when they own the damn place." he said as he spat out some dirt that had gotten in his mouth, irritated that his spinning blade attack didn't work like it did for Link in the video games._

 _"Sthwear! You sthaid a sthwear!" the young Marbel gasped loudly while pointing at him accusingly._

 _"N-n-not so loud, Marbs! I don't want my dad knowing I said that! It just slipped out I swear." with childish innocence he covered his mouth, as if to scoop the slipped swear back into him, "Please don't tell."_

 _"Hmmmm... alright, Arthuristh, but if my mommy asthks, then I'm not gonna lie to her." her slightly whistling tone promised._

 _Jaune smiled, trusting his friend to keep his secret._

* * *

 **MEMORY CHUNKS SYNCHRONIZED!**

 **Added objective to quest "I am I, Jaune Arc"**

 **Objective: synchronize your memory chunks to figure out the flow of your life and the connections you formed.**

 **+50 Closeness to Scarlet Mayston!**

 **+50 Closeness to Coalson Mayston!**

 **You remembered the skill "Zweihander Skill" and recall a mastery of 4%!**

I sighed, then chuckled softly, dismissing the window with a thought, "I know the owners have a snitchy, shitheaded daughter." I said without an ounce of hate or even strong emotion in my voice, as if I was commenting on the weather.

Marbel pouted, "If you're talking about the time my mom accidentally got me to rat you out, then keep in mind that we were eleven and nine at the time, okay?" she said with an apologetic tone, to which I smiled and ruffled her hair.

"Well anyways, come on, really I'm doing them a favor by making sure their daughter doesn't eat pig slop." I took her inside, grinning brightly at the Maître d', "Table for two, sir." I smiled at the man I recognized, getting a level and title for his name.

Garth Milken, as the info above his head reminded me, sighed, "Hello again, Arc, not doing your job I see." he smirked jokingly as he led us to a table.

I laughed, "Just taking the princess of the palace out to lunch." I joked, seeing Marbel blush embarrassedly, "You'd have a heart attack at the filth they serve in Cherrywood's cafeteria. I'll take a deduction on my next paycheck to make sure Scarlet and Coalson don't find out about this."

"Well I was going to do it for free, since you practically run half the place yourself, but okay, I'll deduct it." he chuckled jokingly and sat us down at a table with a window view.

Falling into doting brother mode, before I knew it, I was following the motions my arms knew and had picked a flower from the planter box sitting between us and the glass and put it into Marbel's short, cute locks of brown hair. Funny, really, how Marbel, named after a type of white stone, was themed in brown, pink, and green. I smiled at her, "There you go." I pat her on the head and looked through the menu, trying to recall the name of the dish I favored most.

Marbel cleared her throat, "What was that about? You know, you just kinda ignored me for the first couple years of highschool, then suddenly you remember me? You got a mental problem, Art?"

I sighed, finding the thing I wanted, the Fresh Grown Steak, and set down the menu, "It's something like that, to be honest." I answered with every ounce of honesty.

"Does it have to do with your aura maybe? I noticed you unlocked it recently, even though you've been training for so long."

I felt a pinch in my brain, "Yes, actually it turns out my semblance makes me like a video game character." I said plainly, then covered my mouth.

 **Stay True's level increased by 1!**

Goddammit.

"Er... what?" she stared at me, confused.

"Keep it down and never, EVER tell anyone about this, okay?" I leaned in close and whispered to her, "Seriously, not even if you're asked, nobody besides us two and anyone else who knows is allowed to hear about it, understand?" my eyes burned with seriousness as azure gazed deeply into forest green.

The younger girl nodded and put a hand over her heart, "I swear. Now then, video game character?"

"It's... complicated, Marbs. It's like an RPG, I have stats, levels, EXP, skills, inventory, loot I get from killing Grimm, and there are even titles, classes, and quests. It's all better said if I just give you this." I raised a hand, _Jaune C: Yang, don't freak out, but I'm going to invite someone else into The Game. She's a childhood friend, so please be polite. :C_

 _Yang C: A-alright... just as long as she isn't some... I don't... a bitch, or something, I don't want anyone bad getting ahold of these SUPER FUCKING AWESOME things! Or taking advantage of you, Jaune. You're my friend and I care about you :C_

 _Jaune C: I care about you too, and trust me, she's honest and very nice :C_

 _Yang C: Okay... I hope you aren't wrong about this. :C_

 _Jaune C: Trust me, okay? I have 97 INT and 81 WIS, I think I'm good at judging peoples characters and feelings. :C_

Yang's next message was only a small sound of distress, followed instantly by a sound of agreement, _Yang C: Alright, alright, fine. I'm just concerned, is all. :C_

* * *

 _(Third Person POV)_

Marbel watched Jaune raise a hand into the air, as if he was going to press some invisible button on the wall.

Suddenly, she watched felt a pulsation, the air distorting, and flinched when a blue window outlined in gold appeared in front of her eyes.

 **PARTY INVITE!**

 **You have been invited to Jaune Arc's party "Team Celeste"!**

 **You will be brought into The Game with this action.**

 **[Accept] [Decline]**

"You know... I accepted the ignoring thing because I knew you were always really weird, but this? This blows every other weird thing else you've ever done out of the water." she pressed Accept nonchalantly.

Far too suddenly for her, or possibly ANYONE in her position, to react, she felt a shuddering in her core, feeling like a hole was being drilled into her soul and filled with liquid fire. Just as quickly as the feeling came, it vanished, leaving a gentle, soothing warmth in the center of her chest near her heart. Not a moment later, while her mind was still reeling to process all of these sensations, she saw a flurry of windows pop up in front of her, each in blue.

 **Marbel Mayston has joined The Game in the party "Team Celeste"!**

The blonde knight wrote down the order for the two, knowing how everything was to be written as he recalled Marbel's favorite dish on the menu from his memories of the camping trips, multiple that had occurred, all on Eagle Mountain to the west of the city. He already was formulating plans based on the place, recalling a cave near the campsite, and the host of many wild fruit-bearing plants that grew there in the fertile soil, even an orange tree of all things!

Orange trees needed warm climates to survive!

Casting away the offending thoughts, the knight smiled at his childhood friend as she read the tutorial, seeing her mental stats raise by several points due to The Game... increasing her knowledge and understanding of the world, I suppose. It had been very informative, if quite dickish to me.

Casually, Jaune looked over Marbel's profile.

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Marbel Mayston  
** **Title: The Flowering Rook  
** **Level: 7**

 **HP: 200/200  
** **AP: 150/150  
** **SP: 130/130**

 **Strength: 7  
** **Dexterity: 16  
** **Vitality: 10  
** **Intelligence: 21  
** **Wisdom: 20  
** **Luck: 33  
** **Charisma: 19**

 **Age: 15  
** **Birthday: May 16th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'4  
** **Weight: 100  
** **Build: Growing Young Girl  
** **Bra Size: 18AA**

 **-/\\-**

It was impressive for a girl of her standing, but pitiful compared to either of the older members the party. Still, with time and training, she'd grow stronger, "It's okay for what it is, at least you got some free points out of it. Trust me, if I keep working like I am now, and focusing my skills, I can help you train up so hard you could beat someone from Beacon's second year." he chuckled softly, a warm smile on his face.

"Damn... so... when do we start?" excited, cheerful green eyes met calm, confident azures.

Calm, confident azures gained an edge of hype and mischief.

* * *

 _(Jaune's POV)_

I stepped out of my last class, humming in thought as I prepared my final act of the day.

 _Jaune C: Marbs, you ready to go? :C_

 _Marbel C: I'm more than ready! :C_

I met the little brunette near the front doors of the school. I gave her an honest smile, _Jaune C: Alright, this is gonna be scary, but it's gonna be cool :C_

 _Marbel C: I trust you, Jaune, don't worry :C_ she held out her arms.

I turned around and squatted so she could climb up onto my back. Grinning, I walked outside with a corona of magical flames blazing brightly me, azure at the very center and orange and red everywhere else. Calmly walking, I looked blankly at dozens of people who were gasping in shock of my appearance. A stiff wind blew past, but the fire around me never once danced towards any of these civilians, so weak I could easily kill any of them, even the jocks, with just one punch. I smirked and jumped atop the statue in front of the school, "Hello~!" I called out to everyone, raising the volume of my voice with Singing's passive boosts.

Everyone turned and looked at me.

I grinned, "I would just like to say that as a future Huntsman of the kingdom of Vale, that I wish you all well. Never forget that it will be the efforts of me, and many other brave warriors, that you will be safe and secure." I looked at them all, "I bid you adieu, from this day forward, I will not be seeing you as your classmate, but rather as your guardian." I stepping off the outstretched hand of the statue, Featherfall active to allow me to slowly fall down to the ground, my flames dying down.

Whispers were already spreading through the crowds of teens as I carried my old friend towards the front gates of the school, then performed a Power Jump towards a nearby building's roof, performing a front flip for style, and landing gracefully, thankful for the extended duration of the status effects granted by Soulforge.

Taking off with silvered streaks of aura, I Ran us about a mile away before stopping in an alleyway, landing and gently letting Marbel off of my back.

"That was overly dramatic, Art." she said with a grin, "But it was awesome."

 _Yang C: I agree completely! Melodramatic, but in a super cool way! :C_

"Glad to know the microphone on the camera option also works." I smiled at the camera I had activated, waving to Yang, "Now then, I'm free from high school, so I'm going to do some cool shit. Marbel, remember to keep training, here." turning off the camera, I pulled some metal from my inventory and focused both Crocea Mors and Xiburichu, practically combining their powers and, in just a few minutes of pieces of tools floating, I formed a sizable dagger for her, a shiny pink hue coloring the metal. The blade was, as Dagger Skill told me Daggers were, about half an inch shorter than her forearm minus her hand. I had sanded a piece of wood to shape for the handle, wrapped it with leather that was bonded to a strip of metal, and finished it all off with a small engraving, "I present to you, Sakura, your first weapon." I held it by the tip of the blade and offered it to her.

Marbel watched in awe at my manipulation of metal. She took the dagger and looked at her clothes, a pair of faded shorts that barely went down to mid-thigh, black undershorts that reached her knees, a black long-sleeved undershirt, and a pink t-shirt that looked a little big for her, a cartoonish kitten on the front, the 'Soft kitty warm kitty' quote all around it, "Uh... I don't have a sheathe for it."

I hummed, looking at the sky for a few brief moments, then I noticed her shiver a bit, as it was a particularly cold day today. I unzipped my hoodie and put it around her, "Here. You're cold, wear my hoodie to keep warm, and just keep the dagger in the pocket. I dulled the blade so you don't hurt yourself training with it, and it won't slice through the fabric." I smiled softly at her, patting her head.

 **+2 Closeness to Marbel! (Total: +92)**

 **Your relationship with Marbel has upgraded from "Good Old Best Friend" to "More than Best Friends"!**

I stared at the message, then cleared my throat, "Right, now then, I'll take you home, then I'm going to go literally run around for a few days." _Jaune W: Hey Yang? Maybe we can do dinner some other time? I'll make something super awesome for us, but I need to literally run around for a few days, train up my skills and such. I wanna get the grinding stuff outta the way before I deal with the important things like my friendships and things. Is that okay? :W_

It took Yang a good while to respond, but when she did... _Yang W: O-oh... alright then. I understand your priorities, Jaune. Do what you gotta do to get stronger... but don't forget that I love oranges and hamburgers :W_

 _Jaune W: I won't forget at all, Sunflower :W_

And I wouldn't. Not for a second.

I hated having to do this, but if I focused all my time on building relationships and none on training, sure I'd be a charming motherfucker, but I'd be weak.

I didn't want to be weak, not now or ever.

For my honor, for my family, for my friends.

For Yang.

* * *

 _(About two and a half days later)_

 _(Jaune's POV)_

 **Extreme exercise has increased your VIT by 2!**

 **Pushing yourself to move with increased speed, agility, reflex, and finesse has increased your DEX by 5!**

 **By raising DEX above 50, you have achieved new heights!**

 **Raising DEX above 50 has earned you the skill "Amazing Grace"**

 **By raising "Run" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Sprint"**

 **-/\\-**

 **Run (Active) Level: 99, Exp: MAX Cost: Free**

 **298% increase to movement speed.  
** **Costs 5 SP per second to maintain.**

 **-/\\-**

 **Sprint (Active) Level: 2, Exp: 12.44% (evolved from Run)  
** **Pushing oneself past merely running, sprinting pushes you to the limits of your movement speed. Using more stamina, you are able to speed yourself up even more! Stacks with other speed boosting skills (besides Run)**

 **302% increase to Movement Speed  
** **Costs 50 Stamina per second**

 **-/\\-**

 **Amazing Grace (Passive) Level: 3, Exp: 35.41% (achieved for raising Dexterity above 50)  
** **An ability given to those with tremendous mastery of their own bodies. The user possesses refined control and coordination, displaying elegance in everything they do.**

 **52% Increase to Movement Speed. (50)  
** **50% Increase to Motor Control. (50)  
** **50% Increase to Speed Control. (50)  
** **34% Increase to Attack Speed. (30)  
** **10% Increase to Evasion. (10)  
** **32% Increase to DEX related skill effects. (30)**

 **-/\\-**

 **Learning to wield scythes in battle has earned you the skill "Scythe Skill"!**

 **By shaping your Aura into a special form, you have learned the skill "Mana Rope"!**

 **By battering your way through obstacles, you have gained the skill "Bullrush"!**

 **Summon Elemental's level increased by 6!**

 **Manipulating the elements and implanting nature's patterns unto your Aura has created the skills "Firepower", "Regeneration", "Boulder's Strength", "Featherfall", "Unbroken Iron", and "Haste".**

 **By forming a bond with plants, you have earned the skill "Green Thumb"**

 **By forming a bond with animals, you have earned the skill "Beast Tamer"**

 **By forming a bond with plants, animals, and the elements of nature, you have earned the skill "Nature's Bond"**

 **Bugs fixed!**

 **By raising all of your stats to new heights, you have proven yourself to be well on the way to becoming a legendary hero! You have unlocked the title "Intermediate Hero"!**

 **You have advanced your story! System Updated!**

Of all the messages I'd gotten in the past few days, the last one was both the most reassuring and the most horrifying. Was my semblance plotting out my life's path, or did it know what was going to happen to me? I dreaded the latter. Knowing my life's work would be forced to take a certain path was something I just couldn't agree with. I had pride, dammit! I wouldn't let myself get pushed around like that!

Still though, I'd said I was going to do it, and I did it! I'd stopped briefly whenever my hunger meter was getting low and filled my stomach with wild berries and small game, healing the former with Soulforge, which not only started regrowing the berries, but also led to the creation of Green Thumb. I'd healed a wounded wolf a few times and gained Beast Tamer when it apparently had grown to trust me after both a healing and a feeding, which earned me Beast Tamer. I'd used some Dust crystals with Soulforge, wishing to multitask where I could, and while on the move I'd briefly turned into a veritable comet of brightly burning energy.

The six elemental effect buff, when converted to skills, were incredibly nerfed, but had a much longer duration, thirty minutes as opposed to a base twenty seconds. In addition, I was able to cast eight of them per minute, and had done so with one for each, plus another casting of Regeneration, which gave me a flat boost to HPR and SPR, and Unbroken Iron, which increased by defense by a considerable amount, enough that my occasional creating obstacles and bashing through them with my bare body did very little damage.

Of course, I chose to take the last message, the one involving my advancing of 'the story', with a grain of salt. I was glad to see that Intermediate Hero came with a lovely 25% boost to EXP gains, opposed to Novice Hero's 10% boost. It came in the last several hours, and equipping it allowed me to shave off enough time from gaining the last levels of Run that, with the current time, it wouldn't be unreasonable to have dinner soon. I could whip up some stuff in less than an hour, and take Yang somewhere nice to make up for delaying our outing.

Smiling, I leaped over the wall surrounding the city and took off towards The Angel Garden. The place may have netted me a decent nest egg from all the tips I got and didn't ever spend much of, but they owed me far more, since I'd practically had to perform the responsibilities of half the positions.

So, in short I had it on good authority to make some requests without any trouble.

...

"Thank you again, Scarlet, I've had nothing but joy working for this fine establishment." I waved back to the woman as I exited, "I'll see you both again sometime, okay? Thank you for understanding my change in priorities." I smiled and turned, running off with the bag of food containers in my hand.

Quickly, I stuffed it into my inventory to prevent the steam from messing with, then took off at full speed, pushing myself up to the level of Sprint, feeling that last little notch of speed cause a drastic increase in the rate at which my SP was drained. I ran the calculations in my head and found I was able to Sprint for nearly three consecutive minutes before running out of SP. With that in mind, I sped onward through the darkening streets.

With reckless abandon, I Power Jumped into the backyard of my home and didn't bother mitigating any of the damage I took, slamming into the ground like a missile, knocking up a huge cloud of dust. I walked into the house with a grin, "Hey dad I'm hooome~!" I called out with a grin, dusting myself off with Dusting.

My dad looked up from his beer, a couple of droplets clinging to his mustache, "Ah, son, you haven't been home for two whole days! Where've you been?"

I shrugged, "Here and there, out in the woods running for miles and miles on end, working on my endurance and speed." I smiled a bit, "Glad you aren't freaking out over it."

The older man shrugged, "Just so long as you're alright, son, you can do whatever you want. You're a hunter now, and hunters have to have a lot of personal responsibility. So... is that all you've done since you were withdrawn from school?" he gave me a contemplating look, obviously expecting more good news in terms of my new training schedule.

"I... feel like we should talk." I admitted. Ever since I had taken the first step and told Yang, I felt like things would be easier. Sharing the burden of knowing this... this entire other looking glass to see the world through... well... "I'm going to make some food, but I'm heading out for dinner, eating with a friend. She's... well she's a special friend." I chose my words carefully as I donned an apron and began working.

My father clapped his hands slowly, "Finally, my boy's found a girlfriend." he chuckled mirthfully, "What's she like?"

I blushed heavily, "She's not my girlfriend! If only I was so lucky, but I'm not." but I DID have a very high Luck stat... so maybe I COULD be lucky! Hope is still strong, "She's really awesome. She's super strong, a real hothead, more flirty than I think even SHE can handle, but also really sweet when you get to know her. Super friendly and nice, she's got a heart of gold, and she loves to draw too. She likes Marvel movies, especially Iron Man, probably because of the awesome suit and the lasers." I could see my father nodding to every piece of information I gave, "And she's the most beautiful girl I've ever had the blessing of seeing in person."

"Ha! You sound just like me, m'boy." my father took another sip of his beer, "When I met your mother I was sure I'd found where heaven and earth had met."

"Hehe... yeah." my mind conjured an image of Yang in an angel's robe, a pair of shiny yellow wings spreading from her back. I nearly dropped the spoon I held, "Er... a~nyways~..." I coughed into my hand, "And she has a good heart for her family."

I heard laughter and glared at my father, "Sorry, sorry, it's just... the more you describe this girl, the more I'm reminded of an old friend of mine from Beacon." he looked at the wall, a reminiscing gleam in his eyes, "Kinda short fella, compared to me and some of the other guys, but damn he was packing more strength than a bull. During initiation I heard he stopped a Longhorn Matadae from hitting his partner."

I paused in my cooking, looking at the blonde man through the open doorway, "What was his name?"

"Heh, Taiyang Xiao Long. We used to drink together, talk about our problems with the ladies... namely his problem with too many ladies and my problem with a stark lack of them... god I was such a mess back then. Remember, son, women look for confidence, alright? So always do your best, and believe in yourself. Be strong of heart like a true Arc." he clenched his fist over his chest with a determined smile aimed at me.

I smiled back, "Well dad, you've made this a lot easier then." I thought back to Qrow's words. Apparently what my father's problem used to be was that he had too much confidence, to the point of arrogance, however I knew, even without knowing what transpired over the intervening time, that he'd fixed himself of that problem... well, at least enough to attract my mother. Qrow's whole approach to that situation, thinking back on it, seemed to be a psychological attack, trying to psyche me out of being with Yang by instilling more fear in me than I could handle. Unfortunately for him, my dad was right, I was strong of heart like a true Arc, I wouldn't back down from a drunken bird, nor would I back down from a big dragon.

My dad grinned, "Hoorah! My son is actually taking my advice!" he gave a cheer.

I shook my head, "Not your advice, though it's appreciated. I've heard it a lot, it's not about what you know, but rather _who_ you know, and you, dear father, know a lot of people." I smiled excitedly, "Including one of the most important people cherished by my special friend, Yang Xiao Long."

Royal blue eyes blinked several times, "Wow... that bastard tells me not to be narcissistic, then he practically names his kid 'junior'... heh, asshole." he stood up, "So... you've gone and gotten close to the daughter of-"

"One of the daughters of, there's her sister, Ruby Rose."

My father shook his head, "Dammit... so that WAS true..."

"You... didn't know?" I was curious now, "I thought you and him were best buds?"

"Not BEST buds, but we were very close. He invited me to the baby shower for his first daughter, and then the second one, with... well..." he sighed, "It's... complicated." he held out his fingers as if very gently tapping the keys of a piano, "Xiao Long story short." I could see the puns probably ran in the family, "You... probably blame yourself for what happened with your mother and me. Though you played a part, it was a small part in the grand scheme of things. Our mutual distrust didn't just come overnight, there were a lot of bricks placed down before your decision to be a Huntsman poured down the mortar that cemented everything in place. She didn't like the Huntsman style... being older and from a different culture and family set that into her psyche. She's from Atlas, and was kind of... well okay there's far more story to this than we have time to talk about, but I'm just going to go straight as an arrow and say that she didn't like the Huntsman lifestyle, too much danger, and so she tried to keep me separate from my old Beacon friends. Taiyang probably hasn't heard from me in over ten years. At this point, I'm almost afraid of what he'd say if I called him up. I don't know the full story but things have happened to him since Beacon, more than just having two daughters." he sighed and rubbed his hand over his face, then went to the fridge and took out a bottle of whiskey, "You should go be with Yang, have more courage than I, son. I know if she's anything like her father, she enjoys a good drink."

I pulled a bottle of Strawberry Sunrise from my inventory, "I got a bottle of stuff right here, had it made at The Angel Garden."

My father raised an eyebrow, "How did I not notice that there before?" he hummed curiously, "Eh, still, good on ya, son."

I blinked, then remembered the extra information provided from the tutorial. Things I did with The Game would be generally glossed over in the eyes of people who hadn't been awakened to the masquerade. It was protection in some ways. I took in a deep breath.

I let out a low sigh.

And I opened my mouth, "Dad, we kind of derailed my intended course for this conversation entirely. Luckily we've looped back around, so let me say this." I brought Energy Shot up to bear and fired it at him, "I unlocked my aura, I don't recall if I've told you this."

"I could sense it, son, and I must say it's been growing pretty rapidly, good ol' Arc Souls." he grinned, taking a chug of the whiskey and letting out a ragged sigh as it probably burned its way down his throat, "So have you found your semblance out?"

"I have... in fact it's pretty weird, because it activated before my Aura was awakened, like... magic." I rolled the word around in my mouth, contemplating correcting myself, before deciding it was the best example, "It's called 'The Gamer', and it lets me live my life like a video game... an Adventure RPG, to be specific."

"Huh... I... get it? It's like Final Fantasy V... hey did they every make any more of those? I never kept up with the series after Beacon."

I burst out into laughter, "They've been working on the fifteenth one for nearly the past ten years. Development hell has been cruel to them... aaanyways~... so... yeah." I proceeded to give him a rundown of the system, almost everything short of inviting him to the game.

...

Surprisingly, unlike most parents who seem to be maddeningly slow on the uptake, the professional Huntsman (namely my dad) was far smarter than most normal people, as I assumed, and seemed to understand everything quite easily, "So... my level is probably really high due to how strong, fast, tough, smart, wise, lucky, and charming I am... in addition to my skills, my HP, AP, SP, and my mindset... however YOU level independently of your skills and stats, so you were able to exercise non-stop for two days, because of Gamer's Body glossing over details like exhaustion, healthy eating, and muscle damage, and not level up your, uh, character level?" he raised a questioning eyebrow and I nodded in confirmation "Right. Leveling up your skills gives you a bit of EXP but not much, and you can gain EXP, money, and items by killing Grimm? My explanation is kind of all over the place but all that is correct, right?"

I nodded, "You indeed lost track of your train of thought for a bit, but you were correct in everything you said." thankfully, we were almost done here.

"Well... I'm pretty sure it'd be pretty easy to see from the inside, so... maybe let your old man er, 'play around' some time?" his request was oddly polite... well, not oddly in that it was strange that he was polite, given the magnitude of his request: to be allowed past a veil that, once you were behind it, completely altered your perception of the world. The oddity of his politeness was purely superficial, because personally for me, it was slightly unnerving both how my father was being so polite (he greets police officers with "What's up, motherfuckers?" for example) and how he was directing it at me, his son, who he honestly had the right to treat however he wanted.

"Maybe tomorrow, but not tonight, dad, tonight I'm going to dinner with Yang." I packed up the freshly made food, still hot and smelling very, VERY good, and I put it into my inventory, "I'll see you later, alright?"

"Hehe, see you later. Go get'r, tiger." he gave me a pat on the back, grinning as I left the house.

I blushed, "I'm not gonna 'go get'r', dad. I'm meeting her... elsewhere." where, I didn't exactly know, but I knew I had about half an hour to get there, "Sh-shut up!" I nearly shouted in response to his silence.

Without waiting for a response, I Sprinted out the door, heading towards the naval docks where Yang would soon be arriving via boat.

With time to spare, given my extreme pace, I let my thoughts trickle freely through my mind, in hopes of finding another memory chunk...

No, no I shouldn't do that, not right now, right now I should focus on getting to my destination without crashing into something at ludicrous speeds.

* * *

 _(A bit later, after Jaune and met up)_

Compared to the stinging wind speed I endured on foot to maintain my running pace, this was a gentle breeze I felt on Yang's motorcycle. All it had taken were some clever words to convince Yang that it was best if she experienced my 'plans' as a surprise. As such, I'd convinced her to let me drive, and to be blindfolded for the trip so my 'big plan' would be as surprising as possible.

Of course, these 'plans' I spoke of were just a picnic at a secluded location that I'd recalled, which surprisingly was not linked to a memory chunk.

Stopping Bumblebee right outside the clearing, I took a deep breath and let it out, a comfortable silence spreading around.

"So are we here?" Yang asked, blindfolded as she sat behind me. During the entire trip, she'd been holding onto me tightly (which was embarrassing since it squished her _lovely, delightfully soft_ chest into my back) and hadn't relaxed in the slightest, even though I'd been ceaselessly cautious and careful so I didn't end up getting her hurt or in trouble.

"Hehe, just listen, Sunny girl." I turned to face her, removing the blindfold with a gentle hand.

I watched her curious, almost innocently gleaming purple eyes look around, then she heard it, the gentle crash of the waves against the cliff, the soft sound of the wind blowing through the clearing, eliciting a dry, yet gentle, all-encompassing, hiss from the foliage.

She hugged me as a new notification appeared.

 **System Update: World Map added to Menu!**

 **World Map Updated! Point of Interest "Cliffside Nook (Vale City)" was added!**

I blinked, then realized how odd that was, that I hadn't had a world map until now. I opened it and found that it showed the world of Remnant, and focusing on the different kingdoms with a thought zoomed them in, though not past one-hundred percent zoom, which was annoying, but I was able to see the Point of Interest, this cliffside nook, added to the map. Presumably, I could eventually get a minimap that showed the area immediately around me.

... nothing?

No minimap?

Okay... _dammit_ , "You like?" I asked with a smile, starting to set up

"Sunny likes~." she purred, though I saw her blushing a bright pink even as she grinned at me.

"I can tell, you're pink all over." I teased, sitting down on the blanket, a traditional red and white checker pattern like you'd see in movies. One by one, I brought out everything, "Food from The Angel Garden, the place Marbel's parents own. I kinda have a strong reputation there." I brushed my knuckles on my chest, putting on a confident smile, though it felt weak.

Yang smiled and sat down next to me, crossing her legs and watching as I pulled out the food I'd made at home, bottles of orange soda, a bottle of Strawberry Sunrise, and a bottle of rum, "Wow, you really went all-out with this."

"Of course I did, I mean just look at the candles." I chuckled, pointing above us. Looking up, I watched with no small amount of pride as Yang's eyes widened at the simple copper construct of a cube cage with a chandelier hanging from above, each of the many lights magically burning with Xiburichu's flames, though it was all my own power keeping them up and together. The light they provided was soft, but bright enough to illuminate is both almost fully, a hint of shadows adding a romantic touch.

"That's... that's a chandelier! How did you make that?" she asked in wonder as she reached up, touching it as if to test how real it was.

"Metal elemental." I answered simply, "Shaping it was easy with how advanced my mind is, keeping the flames going with my Fire Elemental is all I need to do now." I smiled and took out a pair of stainless steel plates, "Here, for easier handling." I loaded up my plate with food and she did the same.

...

Together we made small talk, just talking about our days and the things that have gone on while I was gone. I was proud to hear she'd been studying and had gained a couple more points in INT, which helped her pass a test. Meanwhile, I'd literally just ran through the forests and experiment with a few skills here and there while constantly buffing myself. Even now my buffs were all active.

When we were done with the food, I put the leftovers in my Inventory and moved the chandelier out of the way, exposing us to the stars. I smiled and put an arm around her as she watched the sky, hearing her gasp and mutter something about an idea before pulling out her notebook and beginning to scratch something out. I hadn't seen her artistic ability for myself, but I had little doubt she could do it well.

She was just... amazing like that.

After a good while, she grinned and set her pencil down, then blushed redder than Ruby's cloak as she gently removed it from the notebook and handed it to me, "I... I made dis for you." she said a bit dumbly, staring at my moonlit face with her eyes twinkling, her cheeks burning a bright pink, and her hand shyly covering her mouth.

I took the paper and looked at it with both my eyes and my Sight.

 **Gained item "Heartfelt Drawing"**

 ** _Heartfelt Drawing (1/16)  
_** ** _Description: A picture of the night sky drawn by Yang. The stars are small, unshaded dots, the darkness of the sky is a very nice cross-hatched shading. The first page has the very circular, probably traced, moon on it, which also has a few almost flame-shaped craters on it, and the stars are arranged in a strange pattern, looking very similar to the points of two stick figures.  
Effect: Complete this item to receive its effects.  
Type: Quest Item, Resonance Buff Item_**

 **(To Jaune)** **QUEST RECEIVED!**

 **Quest: The Stars we Share**

 **Description: You feel a resonance from Yang's drawing of the night sky. With your understanding and sensitivity to Aura and the Soul, you have figured a way to empower the odd enchantment inside this piecework to a fully functional form.**

 **Objective: Acquire 15 more Heartfelt Drawing pieces and arrange them in the correct pattern to match the pieces of soul resonance to each other and fully form the pattern of the buff it gives.**

 **Reward for success: Heartfelt Drawing (Full), +4 CHA**

 **Penalty for failure: (The only way to fail this quest is to run out of time)**

 **Time Limit: Until Yang: can't draw anymore, grows to hate drawing, grows to hate you, or dies.**

I accepted the quest, quickly moving it out of the way of Yang's sight since she could see those now.

"Hm? What are you doing?" she asked as she watched my arm's motion.

I felt my face heat up, "Can... can you see that?" I pointed at the window. I felt relief as she shook her head No, "Okay, so that's a thing then. You can't see quest notifications that I get."

"You got a quest? What for?" innocent lilac eyes met my slightly guilty bright azure.

"Oh just... finding locations like this." I lied, though there was a reason for it... I just couldn't think of it right now. I _completely was not embarrassed_ about having a quest to get gifts from the girl who was _DEFINITELY not my girlfriend._

 _Definitely NOT!_

 _SHUT UP!_

"Oh, that's cool." she smiled and snuggled into my side a bit more. At some point during dinner, we'd removed our outermost layers, which basically meant I'd taken off my hoodie and she'd removed her jacket, both of which were laying a few feet away from us. My thick, muscle-bound arm held her much more svelte, yet still quite strong form close to me, it felt comfortable, almost natural.

It felt... RIGHT.

"I love the drawing, Yang, you're an excellent artist." I smiled at her and gave her a little kiss on the top of the head like I remembered doing to my little sisters. There was something extremely different this time, no brotherly affection in the gesture, just... a more plain affection.

Oh god please no. I want this but I don't want to be controlled by it! If I let this control me, I'll turn into one of those lovestruck fools you see on TV, and while I trusted Yang to be honest and right, power tends to corrupt those who don't know how to handle it.

Yet... my anger at myself didn't feel right. I didn't feel like I was angry at myself for letting this endeavor start to control me, I felt... different.

I felt like I was angry for not taking a chance with this moment.

Suddenly I felt memories fly back at me, forgone chances. I remembered a good few things in life I wanted, but lost because I had played too cautiously and hadn't taken a risk.

 **You have received a message!**

I hummed, checking it.

 _Unknown Number: Hey kid, this is Qrow. Don't ask how I got your number or why my number is so wonky, just listen to what I'm saying. You're in danger, Taiyang found out about Yang having gone out on a date with you, and he's looking for her with furious speed. If you know what's good for you, HIDE NOW! Keep Yang safe while I try to deal with him. I'm faster than him, but he has a MASSIVE head start. Good luck!_

I withheld any external reaction, but internally I was screaming in fury. I took in a breath and let out a sharp sigh, "Don't worry, just a shitty message from a random number." I wasn't lying at least, "Now then... where were we?" I gave her my best charming smile, which I felt was accented by the moonlight shining on my Charisma-enhanced face,

Yang coughed into her hand, blushing more as her eyes danced all around my manly features, "W-w-we... we were... um... we were taking about how I'm an excellent artist?" she answered with shyness, hesitation, and redness creeping up to the roots of her hair.

I smiled a bit, trusting my Luck and the fact that I'd put the odds in my favor by not being in Vale City itself to give me peace and quiet. I looked into Yang's eyes, "Yes you are, and you know what?" I cupped her chin gently, "Your most valuable piece? Hehehe... that's the one you see in the mirror." I gave a handsome, flirty grin, "And I have to say... I love art, and Yang... I..." I paused for dramatic effect, brushing a lot of her hair behind her ear before cupping her cheek.

And then, a notification took the mood I'd so carefully built up, and punched it in the face, then proceeded to beat it into a bloody pulp while screaming bloody murder, flipping it around and slamming it into the walls, the floor, the ceiling. Then, it threw it out of the window and followed it down, using its body to break its own fall and then finish this delicate mood off with a large caliber bullet to the head.

 **You detect an extremely powerful life form approaching!**

 **You detect a highly dangerous, bloodthirsty presence on the edges of your senses! Origin: Human**

I growled, looking up from Yang's face to scan the treeline with scrutinizing eyes, "Someone's comin-" I was cut off by words I didn't know I didn't want to hear until they had already been said.

"Oh god no. Jaune, hide me!" Yang clenched up in my hold, seeming to sense it too, and recognize it. I grimaced, immediately knowing that this was the only thing I'd specifically prayed against when I was preparing earlier.

I wrapped my arms around her, her lightly shaking form pushed close to my chest in a protective embrace, "Sssshhhhhh~... don't worry, I'll keep you safe. Here, this should help you feel a bit better." one by one, I began to cast my buffs on her to reassure her, "I'm buffing you so you'll be more protected, okay?" I looked at the notifications and paled a bit.

 **Yang's soul quivers from the effects of Fire taking hold.**

 **Yang's soul shudders from the effects of Air taking hold.**

 **Yang's soul shakes from the effects of Earth taking hold.**

 **Yang's soul quakes from the effects of Metal taking hold.**

 **You feel Yang's soul roil and surge with chaotic imbalance as Lightning magic touches her soul. You're not sure what might happen next, but it doesn't seem good.**

Yang's chest heaved under me, the messages appearing so quickly that I stopped myself just in time from potentially making Yang's soul explode from the magic I was imbuing her with.

I let out a tear, feeling regret, "I'm sorry, this one should make it all feel better."

 **You imbue Yang's soul with the element Water.**

 **You feel Yang's soul thrash in agony from chaos rending it apart.**

My eyes screwed shut as I felt it all crash together.

* * *

 _I watched with wise eyes as I saw a golden silhouette figure of Yang standing in the middle of a stylized ritual circle, shivering like a leaf in the wind. A star formed within a circle under her feet, six points glowing around her with every color of the rainbow._

 _Six rays of pure colored light erupted like prismatic volcanoes around her body, pulsating and wriggling as they converged above her head, melding into one another and forming a pure white light that began to outshine the golden silhouette._

 _With a roar like thunder exploding inside a glass box, I watched the silhouette shiver, its fluctuating skin settling and sharpening into a stronger, more unique form, draconic wings accented by orange bones splintered off of her back, filling in as the white light filled her up. A bright red heart appeared in the center of her chest, arteries of liquid fire throbbing around it as they branched around to feed her more strength from its center._

 _I felt her heart inside start to beat slowly, rapidly building its tempo to a fever pitch before stopping entirely, resting as a paralyzed, but shining beacon of strength._

 _Its arms folded across its chest, covering but not hiding the heart within in the slightest._

 _With more suddenness than the beginning of this image's beginning, its end appeared._

* * *

 **Balancing all six basic elements of magic within Yang's soul has cured the permanent status effect "Soul wracked by chaos"!**

 **Yang's full power has been released!**

 **-/\\-**

 **Yang Xiao Long  
** **Title: Hotter and Brighter than the Summer Sun  
** **Level: 36  
** **Class: Fiery Martial Artist  
** **Nickname: Sunflower**

 **Hit Points: 6500/6500  
** **Aura Points: 5250/5250  
** **Stamina Points: 7300/7300**

 **Strength: 67 (+196%) = 198.32  
** **Dexterity: 39 (+45%) = 56.55  
** **Vitality: 53 (+95%) = 103.35  
** **Intelligence: 32 (+45%) = 46.4  
** **Wisdom: 30 (+45%) = 43.5  
** **Luck: 18  
** **Charisma: 72**

 **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blonde / Bright Lilac Purple / Light Tan**

 **-/\\-**

 **Yang has received the status effect "Glimpse of Harmony"**

 **Yang's skill "Aura"s level has increased by 28!**

Damn! Even though her AP pool was still fairly small, literally half of my own, she had nearly double my level in Aura, and it seemed that her previous stats had been boosted upwards even further than before, fueled by the boosted level that my powers had provided.

The white glow surrounding her body like the corona of the sun slowly sank back into her skin, replaced by the normal golden glow of her aura as it flared up like an illusory inferno, softly burning around her in a warm glow as she grew more relaxed and peaceful within my hold.

I smiled and held her close, kissing her forehead before lifting her chin, "Listen... whatever happens in the next minute... don't forget... I love-" my words were cut off by an explosion of wood and leaves from a tree on the treeline.

Azure met blue as angry eyes locked to one another, two separate fires blazing in equal measures as I saw the blond man before me grit his teeth, a thin gray smoke escaping his mouth in great heaving plums as he panted in anger, his face redder than his daughter's cloak and his features twisted from what I was sure was a very handsome visage into a mask of pure hatred.

 **Taiyang Xiao Long  
** **Title: ?  
** **Level: ?**

He stood taller than me, his height listed as six-foot-two, but he certainly seemed taller with his broad frame, his muscle mass, tone, and definition being the stuff of legends... no I wasn't kidding, his build was listed as **Heavy Legendary Muscular** by Gamer's Sight, and if I could see his STR, I'm sure it'd easily be in the two-hundreds. His blond hair blazed like hot sunlight, seeming to lengthen a few inches as sunlight-orange Aura glowed around him like a star's corona. With an agonizingly slow pace, he took a couple of steps towards us, "Yang... sweetie... sunshine... step away from the dead man." he spoke in as controlled of a tone as he seemed to be able to manage, as I could figure he was controlling himself very tightly right now.

Yang tensed in my arms, and I sighed, "We were having a delightful picnic until you showed up. We ate some good food, we were going to watch the stars and listen to the waves and I would take her home. However, it seems that home has grown legs and come running to find her." I spat at him in as snarky of a tone as I could manage, my increasingly tense arms sliding away from Yang's form as I stood up, growling in anger.

"You have a lot of nerve, boy, talking to me like that. You have a death wish or something?" he demanded, his thick, sinewy hands squeezed into fists that I was sure would be able to crush my bones with barely any effort, if he had the same stat build as Yang, just... decades of training better.

"The only death I wish is on the creatures of darkness." I took Crocea Mors in hand from my inventory, "Conflict between Hunters is what gives those vile things strength. We can't let ourselves fall victim to things like the petty urges of anger." I used my father's words for extra effect, hoping against hope that any combination of Taiyang's past experience with him, my Luck, and my Charisma would defuse the rapidly ticking time bomb that was his patience.

I felt a small sense of relief when he seemed to calm down to half of his previous anger, "Well... Arc never told me he had a son." he looked me up and down, "You look just like he did, but more of a fucking runt." I could tell it was the protective rage talking, or at least that's what I told myself after his words stung me more than they should have.

"Funny, he only had good things to say about you, Taiyang, he hoped we could be friends." I said with a sigh, "So tell me... are you going to chill out and leave us alone, or do I have to fight for the lady's honor?" my sword was pointed at the ground as my shield rested firmly in front of me, even as the older blonde's flames started to make the metal barrier uncomfortably hot, even from the distance he was holding. For added protection, I activated Stone and Metal Skin while I still could.

"This isn't about HONOR, kid, this is about you trying to get in my daughter's pants and me seeing straight through your ruse." his fists caught flame and became covered by as he got into a stance I recognized as similar to Yang's, but with the grace of a master of the art, which according to Yang's own words and the words of my semblance, was called **Flaming Dragon Locomotive Style** , named after one of their ancestors, Huǒchē Xiao Long, whose name literally meant 'train' in the same sense as the naming of his style.

I sighed and looked down, "Sir, getting into your daughter's pants is... close to the _bottom_ of the list of things I plan to do to her, at the very bottom is to break her heart, right above that is hurting her in any way, and then above that is letting her be sad or miserable. Taiyang, you need to calm the hell down man." I really, REALLY didn't want to fight. I barely survived even a single hit from my bout with Qrow, and he wasn't even trying to kill me! Taiyang would no doubt hit harder, tank more, and go for the killshot from the very beginning.

That... was something I just couldn't handle.

Sure I once held my own in that fight, but Qrow hadn't even started to take it seriously, not labeling me as even a slight threat until I gained that strange status effect that ended up shutting off Gamer's Body for a while. Even WITH the effect, though, I'd hardly managed to fight back...

Shit, I'd gone and revealed a lot during that fight, hadn't I? Luckily, I'm pretty sure Qrow hadn't revealed the information to anyone, if only out of the need to think it over. Hopefully his minor amount of respect for me would see that the critical info that I could _regrow my goddamn head from being cut off_ wouldn't see its way into the wrong hands.

Of course, Taiyang must have had a special skill called 'Piss People Off', because his response was to pull a 180 on me, "So what, you aren't even attracted to her then? You think you're too good for her? That she doesn't have what you want?" his accusations were all challenges, "You think my baby girl isn't beautiful?"

I sighed, sticking Crocea Mors into the ground to free up my hand, and immediately used that hand to facepalm, "Tai, you can't seriously see the world in black and white like that, can you? A modern legend like you shouldn't be making these accusations just because you don't like that Yang likes someone. I thought you'd want her to be happy, not lonely?" I ignored the notification that I'd gaining the skill **Filibuster** , and continued, "Just..." I gazed into parts of his backstory, noting the two names that were positioned next to that awful little pairing of words, **(Ex-wife)** , and couldn't help but feel a little bad for the man, "I know you cherish your daughters more than the warriors of old cherished the sun. I can see why, they're both amazing young women and deserve the best out of life. You can't keep them locked away from these emotions or experiences, though, even if it pains you. Eventually they'll slip out, and because they have so little experience from being deprived of having a normal social life, they'll be preyed upon by people who would want to take advantage of them. Have you ever known an Arc to take advantage of someone?"

"Yes I have. Right now in fact. God, you claim to be so wise but has your father taught you anything about the world? Anything at all?" I paused at his words, compressing my shield and crossing my arms over my chest, just as he was right now, and gestured for him to continue, "Alright, let me ask you a math question... you know what a 3:1 ratio is?" I nodded yes, "Three women to every one man, that's the state of the world's population right now, from the countless deaths in the Great War that nearly drove us all to extinction. Recovering a whole population takes time, and let me tell you one things: people are better people than either of us wish to admit, I'll confess to that. My desire to protect my daughters isn't purely because I'm some TV-poster example of an asshole overprotective father, I can reason with people, you know, I just prefer to not bother with it." he raised a hand, pointing at me, "And I don't like to reason with people who try to psychologically attack me, so please excuse that I'm going to act exactly like you expected.

"Wait wha-" if I thought Qrow's strength was ungodly, then the force of the fist that rocketed towards my face, shining like a comet streaking through the sky, was the actual devil.

Air exploded around me as I broke the sound barrier.

...

You know, I never realized how much space were between these trees before I began whistling through the forest like a human bullet, crashing past trees, branches, and the dirt itself as I ended up being thrown around by what I crashed into, bouncing off the ground like a morbid rubber ball. I barely managed to keep track of the fact that my HP being sheared off in massive chunks. Thankfully, I stopped the encroaching death with a combination of Mana Shield and Adamant Foil, both of which managed to defend me enough that I was left with a couple hundred HP remaining when I stopped moving.

Shit... Taiyang must have been even stronger than I thought, if even through my 64 VIT, level 18 Physical Resistance, and the buff Featherfall reducing environmental collision damage by 23% _still_ managed to take nearly 4000 HP out of my pool. I could see how far away Yang was from me, and that was now about two kilometers.

Growling in anger, I Sprinted back, giving myself a Regeneration from Soulforge, followed by renewing the skill Regeneration's buff, I felt anger and wrath threatening to spill over.

 **Channeling your emotions of anger, you have created the skill "Aura of Intimidation"!**

 **Channeling your emotions of wrath, you have created the skill "Aura of Killing Intent"!**

By the time I got back to the clearing, I heard another voice arguing with Taiyang, "Dammit Tai! You can't just punch your problems away!" it was Qrow, I recognized immediately, "I already psychologically assaulted the kid, and y'know what happened? He didn't break down, he just fought harder! Look, even if you don't agree, you should still know that he has the Qrow Branwen Seal of Approval." I internally smiled at that, my anger relieved a bit. Even if he was a crusty old drunken bird, he was reasonable at least. I entered the clearing, glowing azure with activated Aura.

Yang looked like she'd been on the verge of crying before her gaze turned to me as I snapped a branch underfoot, "JAUNE!" she rushed over and nearly glomped me, a couple of tears seeping into my chest, "I was so worried! Oh my god please tell me you're okay." she looked up at me with shimmer lilac eyes filled with unshed tears.

I smiled softly at her, my wrath temporarily quelled, "I'm fine, only about one-third alive, but fine nonetheless." I let go of her and looked at Taiyang, "Wanna try to kill me again?"

Flames blew from the buffer Huntsman's nose as he looked between Qrow and me, and I saw a vein in his forehead bulge a bit, "That's it! I'm done with debating about my parenting style! Both of you, just FUCK! OFF! NOW!"

I watched with wide eyes as Qrow went flying, his sword, which had been held in his hand, falling to the ground with a very heavy thud, and then before I knew it, I was flying straight up into the air, flames chasing me upwards from a loud, draconic roar that erupted from Taiyang's mouth. Calling up Xiburichu's influence, I managed to move the flames to split around me, saving me from all the damage they would cause.

Falling slowly as I popped off a Featherfall from Soulforge, I watched as Yang flailed around before giving up and looking very, VERY upset at being carried over her father's shoulder.

I sighed, gently touching down on the ground over half a minute later, giving up for tonight.

Honestly... the risks were just too high. Taiyang was a chaotic and stubborn man, he wouldn't hesitate to actually kill me if I opposed too much. Hell, I was sure he'd been trying to both kill me and dispose of the body with that first launching punch, I was just more durable than most people.

I sighed again, _'Goddammit! GOD FUCKING DAMMIT! This was supposed to be a good night! A night to make up for literally running around for a few days and delaying our dinner together!'_

The mood had been just right! I was seconds away from sealing the deal! God... just...

Is this what love gets me? Is this was upgrading Luck gets me? Did it increase bad luck too? I didn't know, the description of it mentioned it increased one's luck and fate. What exactly was that supposed to mean? I know destiny is what you're supposed to do in life, but fate? Is there a difference there?

I looked at the trail left by Qrow's sudden forced exit, his sword laying on the ground. He... he had had more luck with Taiyang than I did, and warned me about his rampaging search, so I needed to get on his good side. Even if I didn't get any more benefits like those, it was still very good to have someone extremely powerful be my friend.

With a grunt, I lifted the sword and, with just a bit of Aura, unfolded it to sword form.

The thing was crazy, weighing at least two tons. I had to wonder, had it been made without a metal elemental? It must have taken decades to make it this dense and powerful if that was the case.

I sharpened the edge with Crocea and looked at the weapon with Gamer's Sight.

 ** _Lilith's Claw  
_** ** _Description: A gigasword made many years ago by Qrow Branwen, forged and tempered and damaged and repaired countless times. It has been squeezed into an incredible density by means of a technique called Tighten Steel, compounded by ?, and it now weighs about 4100ibs. It has complex mechanisms housed in its guard, allowing the blade to fold down and the double barrels of the shotgun to extend to firing length, or to fold up and the handle to extend into a scythe form, which is the form Qrow uses best. The resonance from the metal cries out in nightmare-induced rage._**

 ** _Type: Mechashift Gigasword/Scythe and Double-barrel Shotgun  
_** ** _Damage: 5000 (gigasword), 5500 (scythe, +7% from Scythe Skill, 5885 total), 1500 (shotgun)  
_** ** _Stamina Cost: 750 (gigasword), 1000 (scythe, -2% from Scythe Skill, 980 total), 250 (shotgun)  
_** ** _Toughness: 18  
_**

 ** _Functions;  
_** ** _-?_**

I hummed, feeling the sheer strain to my SP just from swinging the damn thing, but luckily I gained **Gigasword Skill** , which already started to reduce the cost of just swinging the thing by a decent amount.

A quick bit of math in my head told me I'd manage about seven swings before I'd have to play it by the minutes with my SPR, as that was just the numbers. I couldn't fight the numbers without breaking the game, and right now I needed to be in top form.

I had a birdie to find.

* * *

 _(Some time and one walk later)_

The trail of destruction led me, luckily (or maybe Luckily) right to the downed body of Qrow. I could see his massive HP, AP, and SP bars filling back up at a decently fast pace, which I could only guess was due to his no-doubt astronomical stats. With a dim, solemn expression, I stood and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And wait-"You just gonna stand there all night or are you gonna help me?" Qrow groaned, lifting his head up and looking at me, "By the way, I have authority to say that your form is terrible."

"My form?" was that REALLY what he was focusing on? "Is that REALLY what you're focusing on? My _form_? When you were just _launched through a goddamn forest_? What is WRONG with you? Are you DRUNK?"

"Yes, actually." he said simply as he got to his feet, pulling a flask out of his breast pocket and taking a few swigs, this one filled with peppermint vodka, Gamer's Sight told me, "Now then, my sword?"

I looked at him, then sighed. If I was going to get him on my side, I'd have to play a bit of hardball, appeal to his style.

And so I didn't break eye-contact, even as he gasped when Lilith's Claw disappeared into my inventory, "I'll give it back when we get back to the city walls. For now, we talk."

Qrow stared at me with hard eyes, wine-red seeming to shift to a bloodier hue, "Kid, I don't know what kind of shit you're trying to pull, but it's not going to work. Drop the illusion and hand the sword back."

I'd come this far, there wasn't any point in backing down now. I sighed heavily, then looked at him, "You can fight with your hands, I'm sure. Come on, we're heading back to the kingdom and we're going to talk." I equipped Crocea Mors, adding weight to the blade with a shell of steel, though I'd prefer a stronger material, really.

I began walking, offering no quarter as the old drunk's more negotiable side kicked in, "Alright, alright, fine. So what do you want to talk about, runt?"

"First off, think of a better nickname, I'm only half an inch shorter than you." I said while cutting down a Beowolf that suddenly charged us, the beast dying to my strong strike, "Secondly, you asked me about magic the other day?"

"So you've finally decided to give me a straight answer, then?" he remarked while punching a Boarbatusk so hard its body burst like a bubble, "All I got was Ki and the Elements, which starts to explain things, but not quite."

"Well I won't give you a gay answer." I chuckled, smirking at him, "So listen... trust is a two-way street. You tell me what you define as magic, and in exchange for not killing me, I'll tell you what I know."

I watched his expression shift several times, then he sighed, "Alright, fine. So... have you ever heard of the Story of the Seasons?"

I didn't really know where this was going, but I felt like it was worth something, "Story of the Seasons... right... I think I know that one... old wizard lived for centuries in his cottage in the woods, suddenly outside he sees a girl, whose name is Winter, and he asks what she's doing, and she says she's waiting for her sisters. She asks what he's doing, and he says he's just living. She tells him to meditate, and so he does. They wait for a while, and slowly the frost covering the window fades away. Eventually, along comes a bubbly girl whose name is Spring, and she says that she and Winter are waiting for their sisters. He watches as she turns his war-torn garden into a small field filled with growing food, flowers bloom where her light glows, and her wonderment and joy softens his heart. Then comes the third sister, Summer." I saw him wince a little bit at that, but shrugged it off and continued.

"She told him that living life inside all the time would never lead to anything good, and so he should stop watching life through a little window, and come out the door and live life like he should. He leaves the house and as the land grows its plants, they play together, and the old man feels happy. Then comes the final sister, Autumn, or Fall, who is calm and wise. They gather together around a banquet table, and the old man asks why they've been so kind to him, he who has nothing. Autumn turns his attention to the fertile land brimming with life, the home protected by nature, and the animals that all love him, and then tells him that he has so much.

The old man's spirits are lifted and he's filled with hope, and he asks why they've done all this for him. They answer in confusion, saying that they did for him what they do for all people. They help people who need it, that's just how they are. Seeing the purity of their hearts, the old man grants them all a part of his magical power, telling them that now they have the power to do so, so much more, and they would have this power for as long as they live a path of goodness." I sighed heavily, looking into the sky, "And that's the story of the seasons, it's a nice fairytale about altruism, unless you're saying that the old man was real and the powers he had were real..." I looked up when I heard flapping far above.

 **Name: Giant Nevermore  
** **Title: Nothing left for the moonlit.  
** **Level: 55**

Qrow looked at it as well, "Well that's what I'm saying, Arclet." he looked at me and I looked at him, "So can I have my sword back now?"

I deadpanned even as I fired several Energy Arrows at the giant bird, "Are we at the kingdom?"

He sighed, "No."

I grinned, "Well there's your answer, now then... trust me on this, ignore the tutorial and get ready to jump."

"Ignore the tutorial for wha-"

* * *

 _(Third Person POV)_

Qrow watched as a bright blue window appeared in front of him, outlined in dark red.

 **PARTY INVITE!**

 **You have been invited to Jaune Arc's party "Think of a better nickname"!**

 **You will be brought into The Game with this action.**

 **[Accept] [Decline]**

Qrow's eyes widened a bit, but he pressed the accept button quickly. With extreme suddenness, a painful rushing sensation to fill his core, as if his soul was being wrenched open, then filled with white-hot lava. Soon, however, the pain faded.

 **Qrow Branwen has joined The Game in the Party "Think of a better nickname"!**

Jaune's eyes widened immensely as they took in the small block of information that immediately appeared.

 **Qrow Branwen  
Title: He who distorts Oblivion  
Level: 183**

Jaune just as quickly calmed down, "Okay now just ignore the tutorial for now and how about you use some of that level 183 power and get us up there?" he pointed to the Nevermore that was preparing to launch a flurry of feathers at them.

Qrow grinned, then with a flash, they both felt a sensation like being pushed inwards on all sides, then being swung like human swords.

Suddenly, to Jaune's surprise, he was falling through the air, looking down at the Nevermore, who seemed confused, taking in its stats, he sighed and took out several more pounds of steel, adding it to Crocea Mors' length as the two descended, landing on its back, "You think I got this?"

"Just swing hard enough, kid, and quick!" Qrow barked over the loud wind that rushed off the Nevermore's wings, buffeting them and threatening to send them both flying.

Gathering his Strength, Ki, and Aura, Jaune swung the elongated Crocea Mors, cleaving through the Nevermore's neck and causing its movements to stutter, then stop completely as it fell.

Qrow grabbed the boy and jumped, his semblance activating again as the two reappeared on the ground.

* * *

 _(Jaune's POV)_

That... was a rush. I coughed a bit, then jumped backwards to dodge the massive head of the Nevermore falling on me, "Well... that was a thing." I mused, removing the steel from Crocea Mors' blade, "So... now I suppose you can read the tutorial." I looked at him a bit, then walked over to the collect the loot.

 **Your level has increased by five!**

 **You gained the item "Shramidnis"**

 **You gained the item "Preyend (x2)"**

 **You gained the item "Adimium Bar (x3)"**

 **You gained the item "Skill Book: Mana Barrage, Energy Arrow"**

 **You gained 25,000 lien!**

I analyzed the items. Shramidnis was a sort of cape made of the Nevermore's feathers interwoven on a layer of black leather, probably the thing's skin. The two Preyends were wickedly curved white daggers with red guards and black handles, resembling the talons on the beast's feet. The metal, adimium, seemed to be some sort of 'evil counterpart' (I don't know how) to aluminum, though it was lighter than it. I rolled my eyes when, a couple of seconds later, I realized the joke, replacing the "lum" referring to light, with "dim" referring to dark. Still, it was worth something, given how it was pretty sturdy, and apparently represented the thing's feathers.

The skill book, as I suspected, was a very old book on Aura techniques, and had the details of weaving together the patterns of Mana Barrage and Energy Arrow, the latter being far easier.

I looked at Qrow, "Well then... I suppose this was good." I waited for him to finish reading everything, noting that he gained a couple of points in his INT and WIS, then I hit him with Gamer's Sight.

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Qrow Branwen  
** **Title: He who distorts Oblivion  
** **Level: 183  
** **Class: Alcoholic Buster Berserker  
** **Nickname: Drunken Birdie**

 **Hit Points: 175,000/175,000  
** **Aura Points: 285,000/285,000  
** **Stamina Points: 115,000/115,000**

 **Strength: 203 (+200%) = 609  
** **Dexterity: 288 (+600%) = 2016  
** **Vitality: 245 (+300%) = 980  
** **Intelligence: 145 (+700%) = 1160  
** **Wisdom: 105 (+700%) = 840  
** **Luck: 128  
** **Charisma: 52**

 **Age: 46  
** **Birthday: October 4th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 6'0  
** **Weight: 300 ibs  
** **Build: Medium Legendary Muscular  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Dark Gray / Wine Red / Light Tan**

 **-/\\-**

I whistled at that, "Damn, I wasn't kidding, modern legend."

Qrow looked up as he closed the final window, "I suppose so. Well... now what?"

"Now, we keep going towards the kingdom." I answered flatly, looking at the walls that were appearing over the horizon while contemplating if I should apply my points or not. I decided against it for right now, "So... magic has to do with the seasons?"

"Sort of, not really, that's not the point. Magic has to do with the elements. Controlling the elements without the use of Dust, bending nature to your will." he scratched his left hand, looking at the kingdom walls, tall and powerful and slowly growing larger with every passing second.

"I see, then that explains things a bit." I noticed my own WIS had increased by a point, "So magic, the elements, and mana have to do with nature. I have a skill called Nature Affinity, which affects the elements. Magic takes control of the physical world... I have another skill, Summon Elemental. I can explain it quite clearly."

"Then explain it." Qrow said as we leaped over the wall, his sword appearing in his hand as I moved the icon to his equipment block.

"Suppose you're trying to change the color of the wood of a tree." I dropped down, the two of us taking a casual pace as we crossed the city via the rogue's highway, AKA the rooftops, "Well you see, a tree has a lot of wood in it, and the wood has a color of its own. Trying to manipulate the elements without Dust is like trying to color the tree's wood away from just... pure white colorlessness." I mulled over that bit of description, then decided it was good enough, "Yang's 'tree' would be colored with the element Fire, no doubt, but she could still, with the right resources, color it with, say... earth? It's tough to describe that part, but I have a skill that can bypass the attempts and gives you something good almost for free. Summon Elemental takes the tree that is your soul and peels off a splinter of it, coloring THAT with the element of the Elemental you summoned, such as Metal or Fire." I formed a metal claw and a small flame above two of my fingers, "The elemental has a basic form of consciousness, not understanding things like you do, but rather understanding them from the viewpoint of an Element." I took in a steeling breath, "I don't have any coloration but for what I've summoned, Metal and Fire, and I plan on summoning more, Air, Earth, Water, and Lightning. Those six seem to be the basic elements of Mana. By performing the Summon Elemental ritual, I basically splinter my soul and color it with the elements, and the color stays there permanently... then I grow the splinters from there. I'm fairly certain they'll grow to become full branches of my 'tree', and full-fledged powers even in their individual rights."

"I see... and the metal one... that's how you managed to sharpen my sword." he mused, smirking at me, "Don't think I didn't notice, I have eyes keener than an actual crow. I know when my weapon's been tampered with."

"Well be glad I didn't compromise its structural integrity, which I CAN do, and reinforce the structural integrity too. That's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to my powers over metal." I stopped our journey, noticing a growing buzzing in my ears, "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That buzzing, like static... I'll figure it out in a second, but first let me promise that I will eventually help you get an Elemental of your own, assuming it works for normal people." I scratched the back of my head, feeling an itch rising.

Then the static broke out all around me.

 **ERROR! ERROEO!#!# (* !_!#*(%% &!**

 **Reach of power exceeding maximum grasp! System stability is becoming compromised!**

 **Error ERROR ERROR ERRRRRROOORRR!**

 **Activate Automatic System Protection?**

I hit the button quickly, trying to block out the technological squealing and screeching all around me.

 **Party Member "Qrow Branwen" has been kicked from The Game!**

 **Party "Think of a better nickname" has automatically dissolved due to having no members!**

 **System Stability has been secured!**

 **Running quick scan.**

 **Waiting...**

 **Scanning...**

 **Loading...**

 **All glitches and bugs have been rectified!**

 **"It's a beautiful day outside, perfect for a nice walk."**

The noises stopped, I felt my windpipe open back up again as the shock of everything wore off, "Okay... I need to level up before we party up again." I noted with a sigh, "Well I suppose that makes sense, the sheer difference in our power levels started to destabilize my power. Now then... I've told you all I can think of about magic, and gave you a glimpse into my way of viewing the world. Now then, I want something in return, something I know you can do if you actually give a damn about doing it."

"Alright, fine, assuming you're not bullshitting me, tell me what it is."

I looked at the ground, taking in a deep breath through my nose and letting it out slowly through my mouth, calming every nerve I had even as Gamer's Mind worked to do that for me. This was stupid, I heard a voice say in the back of my head, but my hate "Taiyang mentioned the... population problem. I, as a game character, see that as a quest, I'll probably get a quest for it at some point when I end up accidentally charming another woman. I want you to make sure he doesn't step out of line again like he did tonight. Whether I want to be with Yang, or Ruby, or any other girl, or both, or have, like... a... whatever those things are called... look I think it's pretty fair, in fact you got out of this with a fucking bargain. I gave you info on bending the laws of the world around us, you give me coverage to bend the laws of the kingdom so I can make sure as many women as I have the fortune of meeting can be happy by my efforts." I gave a loose, casual grin, "Just think of it as being a hero in a romantic way."

Qrow stared at me, then he slowly began laughing. His laughter deepened and intensified with each passing second, until I was sure he'd pass out from the lack of air getting to his brain, "Oh my GOD, kid, you are more like your father than I thought, and that's a compliment by the way. He might have been pretty stupid, but he always had a good heart." he poked me on the chest, "Alright, don't worry, okay? I'll make sure the big bad dragon doesn't get in the way of you assembling a harem for yourself." his words were dripping with sarcasm, "Just make sure that everyone involved is able to get along without too much trouble, and everyone is consenting to this, especially Yang and Ruby, they can get... possessive, after what they've been through." he sighed, his sarcasm dropping off near the end when he mentioned his nieces. I knew he probably wasn't going to do a damn thing I said, but there was a chance he would.

"Don't worry, whether I'm level thirty-two or level three hundred and two, I'll always do my best to make sure everyone's happy and well." I smiled honestly at him, though in truth I was thinking more about the smiles on Yang and Ruby's faces, assuming they could handle the idea of both of them being in a relationship with me at the same time. I had a feeling it would take a fairly long time of convincing them both, since their sisterly bond was probably going to get in the way of that.

Still I'd do what I had to to make them both happy, even if it meant sacrificing some sanity to manage not one, but TWO eccentric and adorable sisters.

Luckily, even though a large amount of it has already been sacrificed to fuel my anger aimed at Taiyang, I still had plenty of sanity to spare.

* * *

 _(Later, still Jaune's POV)_

Walking down the street, I sighed heavily.

Now that I'd had some time to cool off, I'd also had time to think clearly. Tonight had gone from perfect to hellish in less than a few minutes. I'd had Taiyang seconds from accepting me, but the bastard was so stubborn that he snapped back to hatred. Luckily now I had Qrow at least running some damage control, but...

Well... the notification floating beside my head still had my mood down.

 **-1 Closeness to Yang! (x6) (Total: +93)**

They had started appearing not long after I found Qrow, and just a minute or so after that, I got the notification that she'd gained the status effect **Teary Sleep** , so... in essence, she'd gotten distraught by what Taiyang had said, her mental faculties were in tatters, and she'd cried herself to sleep.

In other words, tonight was _just fucking FAAAANtastic!_

Fortunately, it seemed that Marbel had gone to bed early, and I'd taken the liberty of turning off inter-member notifications, so she wouldn't see Yang's status effects without looking for them herself.

Right now... right now I just needed to distract myself. Qrow's aloofness towards my requests pissed me off, but not nearly as badly as Taiyang's behavior. Gamer's Mind might have cleared my head half an hour ago, but I didn't WANT it to be clear. I knew I could come back from this, I knew I could right the wrongs Taiyang committed, especially now that Qrow would-, MIGHT be keeping a leash on him, but...

But I just wanted to drink something or get a new skill. I needed something to distract myself.

I looked down two roads, one leading to where I knew I could find some booze, the other leading to where I knew I could find some late-night book stores.

I fiddled with my inventory after deciding to go for the books. I wasn't sure if I could get a hangover, and I didn't want to test that out when I needed to be working on repairing things between Yang and I from the moment she woke up. I could go without sleep, I'd done it before for these school projects, and now that I had supernatural energy flowing through me, it would be pitifully easy to stay awake.

So now, I just had to think of something, and find some books. Some skill books would keep me distracted for a little while, that's just what I had to do.

Even if what I WANTED to do was run across the sea to Patch, find the Rose/Xiao Long household, take Yang, and flee into the night. That was what my heart was telling me to do, but my more logical mind was keeping that desire in check. I just needed to focus on playing the Game for right now.

Yes... exactly... focus on playing the game.

 **Keeping your mind clear and free from desire has staved off the siren calls of Gluttony, increasing your INT by 1!**

 **Gamer's Mind has been reinforced against the calls of Gluttony.**

O...kay then? I suppose that made a bit of sense, in a weird way. I wasn't willing to think about it at the moment... now then... my physical stats. If I wanted to do more at this point, I needed more than just my own body. I need to load myself down with weight, pull trucks like that one guy from that movie. There was a bit of a problem though.

After a while of scaling my training up, I'd start damaging the landscape, since it wouldn't be able to handle the intensity of the things I'd be doing. I needed to find a way around that.

In my musings, I found a place that sold books and coffee. With over a hundred-thousand lien, I had more than enough to get whatever I wanted. I picked out several books, seemingly random ones to most people, but to my Sight, they detailed things like Spear Skill, Hammer/Mace Skill, Katana Skill, along with a few more Aura-made weapons and some new fields of crafting.

Each of the skills, Vorpal Sword, Gleaming Dagger, Flash Axe, Day Breaker/Dawn Mace (the two weapon skills were in the same 'skill'), Soul Scythe, and Magic Missile (which was a spear), had their own special power associated to each of them. Vorpal Sword had very high damage, a whopping 300%, and would penetrate defenses on a flat number, as opposed to a percentage. Gleaming Dagger could take any number of forms and be adjusted on the fly, as well as giving me an attack speed boost. Flash Axe could send out a short-range wave of energy, as well as leave afterimage lights that did some damage (not as much as the actual axe, of course). Dawn Mace and Day Breaker could shock my enemies, like a stunning strike from an RPG. Soul Scythe had the longest melee reach and the highest damage, higher than Vorpal Sword at 500%. Magic Missile had a low summon/charge time compared to the other weapons, given that it was just a long rod of Aura, had the highest Defense Penetration at 40%, and as its name implied, could be launched for a ranged attack, similar to a giant form of Energy Arrow.

I finished 'reading' the books that I could, saving some of the others for actual reading later (and not just because they weren't skill books). As the golden particles faded, I took notice of a figure standing several feet away near the mouth of the alleyway. I examined her expression, which was one of shock and horror, "Wh-what... what did you just to those poor, defenseless books?" her golden eyes were wide and full of disbelief.

I smirked at her, feeling tension starting to melt. Maybe this was what I needed, someone to just kinda... mess with for a bit, "Oh, you mean... THIS book?" grinning, I reached into my sleeve to help hide the fact that I sneakily extracted one of the other books from my inventory, "Just a bit of a trick of the lights from this humble magician." I bowed with the book in my hand, then looked at her, finally focusing on the small block of info floating above her head.

 **Blake Belladonna  
** **Title: The Beauty  
** **Level: 32**

Her beautiful eyes homed in on the book in my hand, "How did you just..." her face curled into one of great confusion.

"As I've just told the lovely lady, I'm a magician." I smirked, Charming focused heavily on her. I felt myself relaxing, things coming more naturally to me as I could focus easier. Damn I needed this more than I thought.

Her cheeks seemed to bloom with a pink hue, "A magician? So... can... can you do a card trick?" the second the words came out of her hesitant mouth, I noticed her face curl a bit more in what must have been awkward, embarrassed feelings, as if she was regretting asking that.

I thanked my pack mule tendencies and high number of inventory slots. I made a sweeping flourish of my arm, the fabric of my hoodie seeming to flow until I stepped back, revealing a small table with a black cloth on top of it. I chuckled at her surprised eyes, then ruffled my hair over the table, a deck of cards spilling from my shaggy blond locks. I gave an enthusiastic and charismatic chuckle, "Tada~!" I gathered the cards, manipulating them with Gamer's Sight and Amazing Grace, swapping them out and around with precise motions. I continued the shuffling for almost a minute, Blake's eyes watching me, then I dealt out a Royal Flush, "T'is a fine array ma'am, truly you fit the blackjack, or as some like to call it, the clover." I pulled out a four-leaf clover with a snap of my wrist, "Or maybe a flower?" I pulled out a daffodil with the same motion, "It goes with your eyes." as I stuck the flower in her hair, I noticed the new skill, **Magic Tricks** , appear and start leveling up several times, "Hmmm... no, the lady's eyes are much richer than this mere flower, so rich in fact..." I pulled the daffodil out and with my fingers quickly switched it away with a gold coin, "I'd say they're made of gold."

Blake's cheeks were red, but her golden eyes were wide, "That... that's very impressive." she smiled at me.

I chuckled, "Almost as impressive as your smile." it was with a dinging sound that my attention was brought to the series of notifications to my side.

 **A multitude of actions has increased your Closeness to Blake by a total of +20! (+6, +14) (Total: +20)**

 **Blake's Respect for you rose drastically!**

 **Your relationship with Blake upgraded from "Stranger" to "Acquaintance"**

 **Performing dazzling acts that incite awe and wonder into your audience has increased your CHA by 1!**

 **Invading the thoughts and feelings of someone in a benign way has increased your CHA by 1!**

She looked away, blushing more, "My smile isn't anything to fuss over." she said humbly, denying my statement.

I hummed a bit, then held my hands over my head, ready to put some recent updates to use, such as Auto Loot, which grabbed things near my feet and put them into my Inventory, "Ah well since I'm taller than you, you should clearly just look down so I can't see it." I chuckled and 'magicked' the table away, revealing an arrangement of cards on the ground that spelled out _Hello_

Blake once more was impressed, if the **increased Respect** notification was anything to go by, "You are just full of surprises, aren't you Mr. Magician? You're good though, I'm forced to admit." she shifted her weight a bit, a hand on her hip as she looked at me.

"Ah, Mr. Magician, good one... though that reminds me. I'm out of cards now." I pointed down, where the ninja's eyes were drawn to the lack of cards all over the ground. I pulled out my trick deck behind my back and added a couple of notes. I planned on using these as a little joke for Yang to be amused by, but it was probably good to do this too. I'd get practice for later. I smirked, "If only I had some more." with a bit of manipulation, I dropped the trick deck neatly on top of Blake's head.

Blake blinked, pulling the deck down, "Okay... THAT was really impressive... you didn't even move." she hummed as the looked at the deck.

I bowed at the waist, chuckling, "A magician never reveals his secrets... but if you want to learn more about me... then start by flipping that top card." I gestured to it. Golden eyes looked down at the innocuous deck, I watched Blake flip over the top card, which read 'So what is your name miss?'

I watched her blush return with twice the force, "B-b... Blake. My name is Blake Belladonna... and yours?" her tone was shy. No doubt she was probably pretty socially awkward, if her backstory info of solidarity, White Fang involvement, and unending criticism and hatred from human society were to be taken with any credence, and while my semblance might have been a nuisance and very dickish at times, it had never actually led me astray before.

I smirked and took the top card off the deck, it disappearing as I threw it into the air, the next one reading 'My name is Jaune Arc, nice to meet you.'

Blake smiled softly, "W-well... th-that name is... nice. It sounds... elegant... noble... strong." I couldn't help but find that small smile quite cute.

I gave a charming smirk, both the skill and a bit of Teasing being brought to focus as well, "Well thank you, Blake. I must say that your name is very nice as well. It sounds graceful and beautiful, like a princess, or a ninja perhaps, with the Deadly Nightshade translation." I hummed, "You wouldn't happen to be a ninja princess, would you?" I chuckled, having noticed the rather plain Class she had, Shadow Ninja. I had noticed that classes were a bit like titles for others, but more literal and adhering closely to their fighting style. Yang's had been **Fiery Martial Artist** , Ruby's, if I recalled correctly from the last time I saw her, was **Speeding Reaper** , and now Blake had **Shadow Ninja**... yeah, things were pretty complicated.

But then again, so were these people. I was technically still a blank slate, I'd had about a week of Huntsman training, and all I knew was that I was tough and could run forever with the exception of needing food on occasion. I would never get tired. Gamer's Body not only negated physical damage, even the lethal kind from when I once got shot through the head, it also negated a lot of status effects dealing with fatigue and exhaustion, things that I could figure would drain someone's SP passively, reduce their SPR, and even increase the SP costs of skills. In addition, I was fairly certain that most skills for normal people had an SP cost hidden inside, whereas mine didn't. I was so far from a normal human that it wasn't even funny, even at this low level. If I could train and scale myself properly, make calculated risks and improvise, I could reach level 100 before Beacon started.

It was just a matter of time, effort, and placement.

Lucky for me, I happened to have enough of the first two to get as much of the third as I wanted.

"I'm not, sorry." Blake denied, bringing my brain back up to the front of me, as well as making me realize I hadn't extrapolated on how these girls were painted with dozens of shades of life's colorations, altering them through their experiences and their innate personalities. Yang might have had a brash and boisterous outer shell, but inside there was a precious and moe golden heart beating with soft, cozy fireplace flames. Ruby might have seemed shy, easily flustered, naive, and dangerously kawaii on the outside, but I'd glimpsed into who she really was. She was a good example of 'It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog'. Those silver eyes could sharpen into keen daggers when she was determined, like she had been when she wanted to watch Robin Hood. She had a good head on her shoulders, and could probably figure out my emotions if I wasn't careful to hide them behind a wall of Gamer's Mind, "But it's... nice to hear, even if it's hilariously far from the truth."

Dammit, this was NOT the time to be getting lost in thoughts! "Well of course it's nice to hear. Anyways, alas I am just a magician, not a psychic, so we can't continue our carded conversation."

"Wait... so you just HAD these cards on you?" she asked curiously, "That must have been difficult to pull off, considering you'd need to have the marked ones not be drawn..."

I smirked and pulled off the top card again, making it disappear to reveal a card that simply read 'Yeah.' "It was tough, but I pulled it off flawlessly."

She blinked, "Don't tell me you actually did this psychically..."

I removed another card, 'No, I'd have to guess your name, Blake.'

Blake stared at me, obviously still impressed, as well as slowly looking around, probably for hidden cameras or something, "I'll say it again, it must have taken a LOT of luck to pull this off."

"Oh trust me, it did. It took over 100% luck to do it." a lot of Luck, that is. Really, for as much as I bashed on the stat for not changing what I wanted, so far the things I _could_ attribute to Luck were pretty good. I'd gotten tons of lien, plenty of loot, and managed to pull this whole trick off with a total stranger based on just Luck and quick thinking.

Thinking back, I felt a spike of anger flare up, but then get squashed down by cold hard reasoning. In the moments that I had dumped those points into Luck, I had been much more foolish than I was now, acting on a panicked decision and getting swift karma for not thinking things through. I had acted in a way that had, in that moment, seemed like a good decision. Sure I had spent 75 points earned by relatively easy leveling up, but I had reasoned that if it was that easy to get 75 points through leveling up, I could get another 75 with only a moderate increase in difficulty. In addition, boosting my Luck had seemed like a very, VERY good idea, since I was figuring that I could get good luck in more situations in the future, AND get useful skills for it, like I had done for all my other stats up until that point, but when I breached the 100 mark...

Well let's just say that if had been privy to the tidbit of information that I would get three skills that essentially equated to _**'Fifty-fifty chance to do Double or Nothing for damage of one attack', 'Have very loose lips but also make other people have slightly looser lips',**_ and _**'Have a 4/5ths chance of having a nightmare EVERY SINGLE NIGHT',**_ and also know that I'd get lectured anyways, then I would have adjusted my point usage in a _slightly different_ manner. I was reasonably pissed when the pattern had stopped just short of not fucking me over, but I was mostly over it.

That of course didn't mean I would be putting my hard-earned skill points into Luck anytime soon.

With my INT, WIS and DEX, I felt that I was pretty good at thinking things up on the fly and making precise, dexterous movements. Of course, I had vast and unfair advantages to just about anything I could put my mind to, given the nature of my semblance. I grinned at her, then pulled off the next card, 'So what is a beautiful woman doing here in an alleyway?'

I hummed internally when I saw a strange emotion flicker in Blake's eyes, before she shyly looked around for several seconds. After looking, and her blush intensifying a bit, she spoke up, "I don't see any beautiful women in this alleyway... unless you happen to secretly be a woman?"

I narrowed my eyes at her a bit, then scrolled through her profile, noting that her CHA was 75, three higher than Yang's. My gaze relaxed a bit, knowing that I hadn't been hallucinating. I smirked at her, letting out a small sound of amusement, "I'm not a woman, but I do suppose you speak the truth. You wouldn't be able to see her without a mirror, because I am indeed talking about you, mademoiselle." I chuckled flirtatiously, putting on a bit of a french accent, "So what has brought you to my humble alleyway?"

She blushed more, "I-i'm not THAT beautiful... but um... I was just passing by on my way to exchange a book, but I saw the strange glow and the seemingly disintegrating books and got worried for that poor literature." she twirled a lock of her hair looking down shyly, "I... I really like books, and I wanted to make sure you hadn't damaged them..."

"Ah yes, right. Don't worry about the books, I can promise you that the books are completely fine." the ones I hadn't eaten, that was, "I must also say that I forgot, amidst my focus becoming lost in those beautiful eyes of yours, the reason you even came in here." Was I flirting? Yes, if the levels I've gotten for it say anything. Did I believe in it? Well... no. It was complicated, the true feelings behind what I was saying. In reality, it was more of a response to the desire to bring happiness to those around me. I could see that Blake's mood had been pretty low, and I was flirting with her to make her feel better. If there was one thing I'd learned from Yang, it's that girls like to feel desired. It was pretty easy to grasp, if you weren't dense, as really, a little bit of flirting wasn't harmful. It would, in a small, easily-handled way, let the target girl know that the flirting guy found her attractive. I smiled more softly at her, "So... would you like to see another trick, or would you like to go do that book exchange?"

Blake cleared her throat, seeming to take a moment to gather her resolve, "I should go. Though I have no qualms with watching these impressive tricks for over an hour, I'm sure you have better things to do than flirting with girls through cards."

I hummed, stroking my chin thoughtfully, then smirked wider, "Why yes, I have ONE better thing I could be done... I could be accompanying the beautiful young woman I was flirting with."

"O-oh?" I noticed that the ravenette offered no resistance. It was a bit disappointing, at least Yang would flirt back, "A-and what w-would you like to a-accompany for?" I laughed internally at her flustered reaction, feeling satisfied that I'd dissolved her focus enough to make her stop automatically connecting pieces of information.

"Hah, well you said you were going to exchange a book, for starters." I smirked a bit more, then relaxed my emotional bombardment a bit, "After that... we'll see how things play out." I smiled more softly and honestly, earning a sweet gaze back, "So, since you know where you're going, you can lead the way."

We exchanged looks and smiles, and I followed her as she led the way.

...

Walking in, I looked around the store. Its front had labeled it with a simple name, _Tukson's Book Trade, Home to every book under the sun_. I smiled at the charming little name. It was a hyperbole, yes, but it was pleasant and charming. I looked at the man behind the counter, who seemed to be reading the late-night news, a soft bluish glow illuminating his features as he took a sip from the steaming mug of coffee beside him.

 **Tukson  
** **Title: Whose Fangs have tarnished  
** **Level: 35**

I whistled lowly at that, taking in his stats. High STR, VIT, and INT for a civilian, though he had a lousy 5 LUK and little combat skills aside from a decent level in Unarmed Skill. He didn't even have a fighting style, which ironically had a permanent status effect called **"Savage's Folly"** , which gave him a huge boost to damage, but lowered most of his other attack parameters, including the side effects of attacks.

Then I glanced over his backstory while pretending to look through a field of useless books. Incredibly tough, left the White Fang for moral reasons. Never learned to fight well, going off of instinct, but he was okay with that. His level was probably twenty lower than it could have been, but the lack of fighting expertise he had was only half of what must have been a large limiter.

 **Status Effect: Fragile Shine**

 **Description: A terrible innate affliction of the Aura that makes its physical formation very fragile.  
**

 **Effects: Reduces effectiveness of Aura Construction skills and Aura Shielding skills by 90%  
**

 **Duration: Permanent**

Even though he had his Aura and could strengthen himself, he was in a stark lack of shielding abilities. A glass cannon in a purely magical way. I could estimate maybe... one good blow to the head, maybe a strong blunt-force strike or a large caliber rifle bullet, could take him out, despite his high HP.

Sometimes it just didn't matter if you had high HP, if you could be broken as easily as a normal, unenhanced person then you would die just as easily. Dark Souls was a good, if infuriating example of that. I had rage quit countless times.

Ideas flickered through my head as I looked over some skill books, things I already had, but right now I just needed something to pretend to look at while mulling over my thoughts on how to prepare for the eventual reparations with Yang. I wanted to be sincere with her, tell her how I felt. I only flirted with Blake to make her feel better, but for Yang? There was a definite emotional connection we shared. She was the first I'd told the full truth about my semblance to, the first I'd made this kind of connection with in the first place... she was incredible, and I wanted to make her feel that, instead of just saying it.

So I plotted. I plotted long and hard, thinking of something very carefully, putting care into the details of it and making some contingencies. My massive mental stats helped the process immensely, of course, so much so that by the time I found Blake and myself walking down the street once more, I was already done with the bulk of it. Humming, I looked at Blake, "So... since this kind magician has nothing to do, would the fair lady wish for me to walk her home?"

Blake let out a choking sound, then cleared her throat and seemed to get ahold of herself, "I... it would be best if we didn't go to the place I could consider home on a good day."

I hummed suspiciously, "That sounds like something having to do with criminal work." I mentally facepalmed, no doubt that Stay True had made me say that, "Or something equally suspicious. You're not doing a very good job of deflecting curiosity."

Blake sighed, "How obvious is it?" she seemed... almost depressed at how quickly I'd caught on. I wasn't sure how to feel about that.

I looked at her and told the truth anyways, Stay True be damned, "To any other person, you'd appear as a normal human girl who is training to be a Huntress. To me? I have some special powers that let me see the truth of things, and I know you're a faunus and you're in the White Fang... I also know that you're getting very disenchanted with their methods. You want out and you plan on using an upcoming mission to hijack a train shipment of Dust as a facilitator to leave that life behind." I watched her face run through a marathon of various emotions, before settling on murderous caution, "Call it a pun, but I can be your 'Arc-angel' savior in this case. If there's three things I believe in, it's second chances, redemption, and peaceful endings." I gave her my friendliest smile, "I can help you on your redemption quest and give you a way to make a good name for yourself and other faunus." it was a frustratingly simple goal, become a Huntress in an effort to expand the trust that humans have of faunus. It sounded ridiculous when you thought about it, but getting that revered of a position in society could very well help the image. I wasn't one to knock a plan for being far-fetched, after all I managed to convince Qrow to keep Taiyang off my back even if I decided to date multiple women, such as Yang and Blake, or even Yang and Ruby, or hell I could be with all three of them if I wanted.

The only limit was my wits, charms, and creativity.

Blake stared at me, then slowly reached for her weapon, I could see the intent to kill rising in her eyes and a notification about a drop in Closeness to her, "You're a dangerous man, Jaune."

I shook my head, "Not dangerous, just well-informed. Come with me, you can stay at my house for the time being. I want to help you, truly I do, I want everyone to get the happy ending they deserve."

Blake looked at me, then sighed, slowly sheathing her weapon again, "I'll give you one chance, Jaune. Prove to me that you are who you say you are."

I smiled back at her, holding my arms out in a peaceful gesture, "I'll give you a second chance, Blake. Prove to me that you are who you claim you are."

She crossed her arms under her breasts and pouted at me, "Ass." but I saw my Closeness to her shoot back up, as well as getting a massive increase to Respect.

I chuckled, then picked her up, "Ass-isting your goal of making a better life and a better name for the faunus." I started walking, "Come on, I used to think my dad would kill me for being out late, but now I know at least he's cool with it as long as I actually come home. I just hope we don't catch him awake."

Or... god forbid... doing _something._

* * *

 _(Half an hour or so later, Jaune's POV)_

 **Avid study of game mechanics has unlocked the Game Mode: Survival**

I sighed, turning off my computer and standing up, doing some stretching exercises I'd looked up and thinking over things while shaping a few soda cans into a summoning circle. I needed more power, and I knew for a fact that I could do so with a new elemental. Some elements would be difficult to conjure or collect, such as metal, or air, thus I decided to summon the latter.

I quietly moved to the other room, where Blake was reading a book, looking so widely awake I was surprised that she hadn't drank any coffee, "Hey." I said softly, setting the summoning circle down as it finished forming, "I'm going to do something, and it'll leave me unconscious for a few hours. Can you watch over me? Make sure nothing goes wrong?" I wasn't worried too much, but it'd be good to have someone run damage control if I didn't wake up until four hours from now.

Blake looked at me, having redressed into a black yukata, "Are you sure?"

I rolled my eyes, "Blake... I have faith in you. I let you into my home, explained things to my dad vaguely, and I'm basically giving you free board and food for an indefinite period of time. I have faith that you're a better person than to kill me in my sleep after I've been so kind." I looked at her with a 'really?' look in my eyes, my arms crossed, "Now then, I just need you to make sure nothing bad happens to me. I don't know what exactly happens to my body when I do this other than the fact that I fall unconscious and can't be woken up until it's done. I need you to just make sure I don't die."

Blake closed her book around one finger, "You're very serious about this, aren't you? Why... why is that?" she was skeptical, so I sat down and looked at her, our faces nearly level.

I spoke with a low, calm voice, "Because I believe that everyone can be a good person, if they just try, and they really, truly want to be. You're hurting, and damaged inside, but I want to help you heal. I see a lot of potential in you, Blake, you can become a hero of the faunus, like you want to, you just have to try... and believe in yourself... and cheat life." I chuckled at the 180 her expression did at that last thing, "I have. It's how I managed to do those tricks earlier, along with some quick thinking and careful maneuvers. Here... I'll prove how much I trust you." I opened up the window, and sent the invite.

* * *

 _(Blake's POV)_

"I'll prove how much I trust you." Jaune said with that odd determination in his voice.

 **PARTY INVITE!**

 **You have been invited to Jaune Arc's party "The Bumblebee of Justice"!**

 **You will be brought into The Game with this action.**

 **[Accept] [Decline]**

I stared at the square in front of me. I didn't quite understand this... but it felt slightly familiar... like a... video game? I'd seen some people playing various video games at some of the hideouts, it wasn't too much of a stretch to reason that it was a notification. Everything else seemed darker, I noticed my aura had activated, a soft purple glow that was darker on the outside, and grew lighter as you got closer to the center. I looked at Jaune's face.

That look of trust and determination, I'd seen it in Adam's face before he turned into the monster he is today, but it lacked the dangerous edge Adam's had been lined with, instead having a nobler tone. I would dare to say that Jaune was quite handsome when he gave that look, directed towards me like it is, it seemed to resonate with a power that sent a small shiver up my spine. I briefly looked over the rest of his body, strong, muscled arms and beefy hands, not like Adam's surprisingly lean build for his faunus type. He was shorter, by a good few inches, but we were both in the height of our developmental stages. I weighed the pros and cons, finally deciding that if Jaune had benefited from this game thing, to the point where he said he had 'cheated life', then maybe it was worth looking into.

Still... I had... ONE question...

"Why Bumblebee?"

"Huh?" he asked, confused and surprised that, of all things, I picked THAT to comment on.

"Why is it The Bumblebee of Justice? Why not just 'The Hunters of Justice'?"

"Oh... er, well... I like my names to be clever, like my friend Yang is like the sun and my symbol is like the crescent moon, so our party is called Celeste, which is like Celestial. I've got blonde hair and some yellow clothing, and my symbol is in gold, and you've got black hair and a lot of black clothing and your symbol is in black, so I took those two colors, since I couldn't think of much else, and I thought, 'What is black and yellow?' and then I remembered that bumblebees are, so I picked that."

The train of thought WAS clever... but also quite goofy. Maybe... maybe I could use something to laugh at in my life, if nothing else.

I pressed Accept.

I immediately regretted it, "ARGH!" GOD... DAMMIT! I felt like my soul was being torn open and filled with a white-hot liquid. If I wasn't in such pain I'd probably think it some sexual euphemism that was marking me as Jaune's charge. I saw a window slowly coalesce, my faunus nightvision lending itself to helping me figure things out outside of the shine that seemed only visible to my eyes, judging from how Jaune hadn't reacted to it, but rather in concern to my pained state.

After what felt like entirely too long, the burning faded into a relaxing warmth, which soothed me until I relaxed completely, "That... was intense."

Jaune sighed in relief, and I realized that he'd held his hand over my mouth, "I'll say. You started screaming so I had to cover your mouth so it didn't wake up my dad. Are you alright?"

I shook my head to clear it, "Kind of... everything's a little bit fuzzy." I looked up at the window above my head.

 **Blake Belladonna has joined The Game in the Party "The Bumblebees of Justice"!**

I saw two other names, a fifteen-year-old girl and a seventeen-year-old girl, brunette and blonde respectively. I saw my name there too, in the Party Members list. I slowly navigated the windows.

"Just read the tutorial, okay? I need to do this summoning." Jaune said, before placing his hands on the odd ritual-like circle underneath him and breathing deeply.

* * *

 _(Jaune's POV)_

Breathing with my Ki, I looked deep inside myself, humming lowly as I used Azure Dragon's Chilly Breath and focused as hard as I could on summoning an Air Elemental.

Suddenly, I felt a violent wrenching sensation inside myself, followed by feeling like I'd been stabbed, and I saw a splinter of aura float down into the summoning circle. However, the second it touched down, my vision faded as my consciousness exploded.

* * *

 _Chaos..._

 _My consciousness explodes across the entire world, my sight encompassing the sky._

 _I'm consumed endlessly and fed again with my own flesh._

 _People and animals, breathing._

 _Fire and lightning, burning._

 _Plants processing me for their own needs._

 _The oceans and rivers evaporating and boiling to feed me._

 _I give and yet I also receive in equal measures..._

 _A deal of desperate mutual exchange, taking what I need and giving what I don't to the world below._

 _It's just that..._

 _It's air._

 _It's chaos._

 _I feel an anchor crash through my skull, massive amounts of myself drawn in._

 _I'm tossed around like a child's toy._

 _I feel a master taking hold._

 _Devils and archdemons and demons alike, raging across the battlefield._

 _Gods and archangels and angels alike, fighting valiantly against them._

 _I feel myself torn open, filled with false light, tainting purity._

 _A sword colder than the highest mountaintops, cleaving through flesh in a song of death._

 _Victorious but yet beaten, a king and a warrior at my side._

 _Gold and Ivory, complementing my Azure._

 _I flee from the lands of fire and death._

 _I sail across the world on a vessel made by my light._

 _I feel Ki waning, my body withering endlessly._

 _Wait... if I am air, then why am I also made of the flesh of a man?_

 _I see blonde and gold, ivory and white._

 _The skies are black and filled with ash._

 _I silence the cries of the earth with a gentle touch._

 _Grimm fall in countless numbers, torn asunder..._

 _My style changes for my body cannot support my previous methods._

 _I turn cold and hard as I age, recording what I can._

 _Cold as ice._

 _I feel hatred flowing, but I do not let it overwhelm me._

 _I overcome what I can, and yet..._

 _And yet it still is not enough..._

 _Wind blows..._

 _Rain falls..._

 _Fire burns..._

 _And I... return to the earth._

 _I..._

 _I breathe._

 _Breath..._

 _I am the breath of the earth._

 _I am Air._

 _I am... Mystral._

 _I feel myself breaking away from a whole._

 _But... I am merely a piece..._

 _A piece of an even MORE glorious whole._

 _I am a splinter of a tree._

 _It only has some power, but it is still growing._

 _It is still growing, and i_ _t shall grow strong._

 _As it grows strong, I too shall grow strong._

 _I am Mystral._

 _I am air._

 _My breath is infinite._

 _I am Jaune Arc._

 _I am human._

 _My soul is eternal._

 _I am... one._

* * *

 **ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!**

 **DANGEROUS BUGS DETECTED!**

 **ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR!**

 **WARNING, DANGER, JAUNE ARC, DANGER!**

 **ERROR ERROR ERROR** **ERROR** **ERROR** **ERROR** **ERROR!**

 **GLITCH BUG GLITCH** **BUG** **GLITCH** **BUG** **GLITCH** **BUG** **GLITCH!**

 **ERROR** **ERROR** **ERROR** **ERROR** **ERROR** **ERROR** **ERROR** **ERROR** **ERROR** **ERROR!**

 **O*(#WN%*Y#$ &I*nh34va9889oz34nz238905z32o6349z8y302452039-z45230bhtrzunbrtzlhro89&*(^*# &% &% )%W(*%# % B)# % #*5y7095y893w5yn (*&# )Y *#(%Y #$(^_$# Y) #% #_% ! b*() #% BN )&^O**(&% #HY(*%& #543( %($ *Y^$#(*%Y(*NM #$)%(* #$%Y$*#**

 **...**

* * *

 _(Unknown Location, Unknown POV)_

Long tresses fell perfectly as she stood up, black and white her clothing of choice. An incandescent shine reflected off the metal clasped in her hands.

She stood not too tall, petite for her status, but she reveled in power, a grin revealing perfect teeth.

She walked forward, grinning from ear to ear as volcanic glass crunched under her boots, red aura glowing softly around her as she walked towards the dais. She took in the figure standing there, overlooking a realm of fire, blood, and death. She giggled softly, a light, breathy sound.

The figure turned to her, skin of purest vile white shimmering in the moonlight, crimson veins creeped up the sides of her face towards her baleful eyes, colored so darkly you could mistake them for blake. A glowing, hellish red bore into her as this regal figure of power stared blankly, emotions barren from her face save for a hatred towards everything in the world.

The woman giggled, her dark locks covering half of her face in a way that would have looked demure and shy if not for the powerful aura she gave off, as well as the psychotic grin on her face.

"Who are you to disturb me? What mortal would dare enter this place?" she demanded, voice so cold it could freeze an army in its tracks.

 **Salem  
Title: ?  
Level: ?**

Her exposed eye gleamed with silver light as she spoke, "Hello there, Salem. I've come to make a proposition."

* * *

 **First let me say... CLIFFHANGER AGAIN! HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH!**

 **Second let me say... I'm sorry this took so long, everyone. I was dealing with a lot of shit in my life and some problems with school, family, and home. There were times when I nearly forgot about this story altogether, but I didn't. I kept on slowly but surely, and I persisted until the very end.**

 **It's long overdue, but there's a good almost 33.8k words to make up for it.**

 **I hope you've all enjoyed the chapter, and I'm looking forward to all the reviews.**

 **I apologize if there was a drop in quality, as this thing was written slowly over the course of 3 months with writing sessions few and far between. If there's any glaring mistakes then please let me know.**

 **I'm also going to say that I'm looking for a beta now too, to help me out.**

 **Now then... I think that's everything for the behind-the-scenes...**

 **Let's just say... that last line is foreshadowing of an epic variety... and the epicness is... present.**

 **Hehehehheehehhehehehehehe, I'll never tell~**

 ***cheeky face***

 **Well, hopefully that's all good for now. The only thing left to do is...**

 **Omake time~!**

* * *

 _Omake: Here comes the king (story arc 1 theme song)_

* * *

 ** _*The song starts with a few chords from Megalovania*_**

Jaune glares at his computer screen, red in the face with a vein bulging on his forehead as he plays the infuriating boss battle.

 _ ***Very quickly, that part of the song dies out*** _

Jaune jumps back, the side of his hand bleeding from a large splinter piercing the skin. It cuts to zoom in on a droplet of blood landing on his keyboard with a muted note playing in the background.

 _ ***Suddenly, a rock'n'roll-type chord breaks out of the dulled quietness***_

 _These frail hands hold courage but are weak as twigs!_

 _He can't dish it out, but he's used to taking it~!_

It cuts to a flashback of a younger Jaune being beaten up in an alleyway, trying to use a trashcan lid to defend himself, but it's ripped from his hands and he's punched square in the chest.

 _But it only takes a spark to ignite the fire and roll the ball._

 _He's going to play the game and change it all!_

It flashes forward to show Jaune looking at the blue window that pops up, **Welcome to The Game! You have been granted the power to ascend to and past the level of the heroes of yore! Would you like to read the tutorial?** He makes a myriad of expressions before settling on determination, where it jumps to him looking at himself in the bathroom mirror and at the small block of information above his head.

 **Jaune Arc  
Title: The Gamer**  
 **Level: 1**

 _From Zero to Hero, one to a hundred,_

 _He's gotta play it smart even if he's hard to knock dead._

It shows the back of Jaune's head, and suddenly a bullet flies through his skull, but the wound closes up a second later and he slips into a fighting stance. He disarms the terrified man.

 _One to a hundred, from bottom to top,_

 _Always improving, he can't ever stop!_

It shows Jaune punching a punching bag, his arm bulging as a notification for increased STR appears. It then shows another right after of him running, then running faster as a DEX increase appears. Finally it shows him getting collapsing in exhaustion, but getting back up as a VIT increase appears.

 _Bottom to top, Zero to Hero!_

 _Here comes the king, AND HE KNOOOOOWS~!_

It cuts to Jaune meeting Yang, the two talking at a bench at the gym.

 _He's gotta fan the flames of the light._

 _He's gotta fill himself with the fight._

It cuts to Jaune and Yang sparring, using their respective weapons and causing some collateral damage as some of Yang's shotgun blasts and some of Jaune's missed swings tear chunks of the floor out.

 _Neeeewww friends._

 _New ways to begin._

 _Raise your stats,_

 _And get back to the grind again!_

At first it shows Jaune sitting in the spare bedroom of the Rose/Xiao Long house, meeting Ruby with a bit of a sheepish smile on his face.

It then shows a few partial cuts of some different angles of Jaune increasing his stats. One for STR that causes his muscles to bulge a little more with new growth, one for INT that makes little bolts of lightning fill his brain, and one for CHA that makes him sparkle with charms.

 _Can't stop._

 _Will he succeed or will he flop?_

 _It's hard to tell at all._

 _Through the terrors of the nightfall~!_

It shows a cheerful day with an older Jaune raising his sword skywards in victory, cheers of the people echoing out in the background, but then it cuts to a dark day with a crimson sky and Jaune falls, his last HP disappearing out of his bar.

 _With the soul of The Gamer, his eyes will gleam._

 _His mind is stoic as hell, but he can still dreeeeeaaaaaam!_

It cuts to Jaune waking up, breathing heavily. His death was just a dream. However, he gets a notification stating he had a nightmare.

 _From Zero to Hero, one to a hundred,_

 _He's gotta play it smart even if he's hard to knock dead._

It shows Jaune getting impaled in a dozen different places by the spikes of an Ursa Major. However, he pulls himself off of them and his wounds close within a second.

 _One to a hundred, from bottom to top,_

 _Always improving, he can't ever stop!_

It shows Jaune getting skill notifications, one for his Sword Skill, one for his Shield Skill, and one for Energy Bolt.

 _Bottom to top, Zero to Hero!_

 _Here comes the king, AND HE KNOOOOOWS~!_

It shows Jaune increasing his INT to new heights, then firing a Gaster Blaster at Qrow.

It cuts to afterwards, with Jaune battered and beaten and holding Lilith's Claw. He trudges along through the forest.

 _He isn't bound by any man's rules._

 _He isn't trapped inside a world made by fools!_

It shows a headshot of Qrow, with the notification "Ally Gained!", followed by a picture of his dad John with the same notification, then Marbel with the same notification, then Jenkins with the notification, then Ozpin and Glynda both at the same time with the notification.

 _Expand his power, expand his light._

 _Practice makes perfect, become perfect at the fight!_

It shows Jaune in battle gear, with Yang, Ruby, and Blake behind him on one side, and his dad in full platemail, Marbel in some light scalemail, and Qrow on the other side, the seven of them arranged in a V-pattern.

 _With the Sight of an angel._

 _And a heart full of light._

 _He can help all his friends._

 _Understand, the power~ that's inside~!_

It shows Yang taking in a deep breath, then opening her eyes to reveal that they're blue. It then shows Ruby seeming to phase into rose petals and moving so fast the grass under her catch on fire. Then it shows Marbel pointing her new dagger at an Ursa Major, then her form wavers a bit before she suddenly slamming into it, burying her dagger up to the hilt in the beast's neck. Finally, it shows five Blakes taking on a Deathstalker, which impales one of them, only to have it drop off, purple light leaking from the gaping wound as it turns back into energy and flows into the real Blake's body.

 ***it plays an instrumental for a while***

It shows Jaune equipping new armor, piece by piece. Boots with high shinguards, broad, intricately articulated shoulderguards, heavily covering metal gauntlets, more protective chest and back armor, greaves, boot-like plating, and an open-faced helmet with a golden crest on top of it. He then turns to the others, and it pans over them to show they're all equipped with different armors.

Yang is wearing a highly upgraded form of Ember Celica that looks almost like a gold and orange version of the arms of Iron Man's suit. Her hair is tied back into a long, thick braid. Her jacket has been modified to be more modest and cover. Her boots now have a foot version of Ember Celica laid over them.

Ruby is wearing bracers that hold some bullets, two lines of them each, and a new armored corset. Her cloak is lined with fur around the mouth of the hood and the tail of the cape. Crescent Rose's blade now gleams with silver light from Dust. She looks stronger, more developed, and ready for the oncoming battle.

Marbel is wearing a leather jacket with light plating on the forearms and the shoulders, a bandana covers her mouth, and metal boots covers her shins and feet, with cloth leggings reaching up to her thighs, her shorts reaching down to nearly her knees, which are covered with metal armor. Her weapon is a white and pink dagger with a brown glow around it.

Blake is wearing black arm coverings and taller shoes, her white shirt and shorts having been replaced with a medium gray. She's wearing gloves with dust woven into the fabric, glowing, rune-like symbols in a dark purple-gray just somewhat discernible from the black leather. She loads Gambol Shroud with Dust bullets, then looks at Jaune and nods.

Last in the line is his father, John, grinning at him, his dark blue sword held a bit like a cane. He's practically glowing with pride with pride for his sun, and gives a subtle thumbs up, a light blue aura surrounding him as he wears his ocean-blue platemail armor, his shield on his back and his helmet under his arm.

 ***the music fades to a hush as the lyrics start up again***

Jaune nods to them all, then turns to see a veritable tidal wave of Grimm approaching them all.

 _From Zero to Hero, one to a hundred,_

 _He's gotta play it smart even if he's hard to knock dead._

An ephemeral flashback to him being decapitated flashes through Jaune's mind, but he then claps his hands so hard there's a sound of thunder.

 _One to a hundred, from bottom to top,_

 _Always improving, he can't ever stop!_

A veritable battery of magic bolts of all elements form a line to either side of the party, appearing out of thin air as a fuzzy Skill Description window appears, the only discernible text being **(Prestiged from Mana Barrage)**

 _Bottom to top, Zero to Hero!_

 _Here comes the king, AND HE KNOOOOOWS~!_

He launches the line of magical bolts, cutting deep swathes in the otherwise solid line of Grimm. The party charges forward to meet the line.

 ***the music starts to build tempo***

It cuts away to Jaune brooding while sitting on the edge of a an air conditioning unit on a rooftop.

 _He has to overcome his sadness and shame._

 _He has to be confident, he can't think he's lame._

Jaune gets up, equips his armor, and starts walking to the edge of the building.

 _The night is the darkest right before it turns day._

 _He has to stand strong, he can't ever run away._

It pans up past the precipice to show a small army of people, among which are the teams RWBY, JNPR, CRDL, CFVY, SSSN, NDGO, BRNZ, ABRN, then Marbel, John, Taiyang, and Qrow, with a few indiscernible few.

It begins to pan past their faces as they all look up at Jaune with bated breath and various amounts of eagerness, anxiety, and other 'looking-forward-to-this' emotions.

 _Be the hero he dreamed of, he can lead them into the fray._

 _With each man an angel, and each angel a god._

 _He can make things right, everything will be okay._

 _He'll clear all the skies, the sun won't be blot._

He smiles and sends a quest to everyone present, then looks up at the sky, where a hole of blueness has been carved into a dreary gray.

 _He can do it all, accomplish his dreams._

 _Now that he has the ultimate means._

It fades to show that all of that was just Jaune's imagination, and he's still in the bathroom, and his hand is hovering over the Yes button on that same window, **Welcome to The Game! You have been granted the power to ascend to and past the level of the heroes of yore! Would you like to read the tutorial?**

 _Heroes aren't~ just made in day~._

 _He can't give up~, he has to train~._

 _But he knew of all of that anyways~._

 _Because now his life is just~. A~. GAAAAAME~!_

He hits 'Yes' on the tutorial and the screen flashes white.

 ***the music ends with a small echo of the last notes***

The white quickly fades into a dark blue background.

An image of Jaune in a combat stance appears, holding his shield out front and Crocea Mors to the side.

In front of him, the words "The D'arc", with the D'arc over his shield next to the Arcs and Crocea Mors' blade over them, appears on one line, and the words "Game of Life" appears on a second line at the same time.

Following that, a set of options appears "Continue", "New Game", "Options", "Credits", and "Exit".

A cursor, shaped like Crocea Mors, slides into view, then hovers over "Continue", which highlights from blue to azure, with the outline going from white to gold, and it clicks, with a small confirmation sound.

The screen then cuts to black.

* * *

 **Not really a mini-scene or mini-story or anything, but I am proud of the effort I put into it, even if it DID push me past my desired post-time of 8/14**

 **That's everything for now, people. Hopefully shit like this won't happen again, and I can write more consistently.**

 **Just a heads up, though, I will be starting college again this fall, so things will be stilted a bit, but I promise not to do THIS kind of thing again.**

 **The long-ass wait time, of course, not the 33k word chapters... but I DO find those to be a bit difficult to read sometimes. I'll try to keep things under 30k, though, make them more concise and space the chapters out a bit better.**

 **That's all for now, folks. Thank you all for your patience and know that I love you all dearly. I can't wait for the new reviews, to hear how this chapter did. I won't be too confident because I think it's a bit messy, but I'll leave the judging up to you, the fans.**

 **Now then, all that's left is the obligatory profile plug.**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Novice Scholar  
** **Level: 32  
** **Class: Tank  
** **Nickname: Jantastic**

 **HP: 5000/5000  
** **AP: 12,500/12,500  
** **SP: 6300/6300**

 **Strength: 57 (+50%) = 85.5  
** **Dexterity: 51 (+50%) = 76.5  
** **Vitality: 64 (+50%) = 96  
** **Intelligence: 98 (+3) (+50%) = 151.5  
** **Wisdom: 81 (+3) (+50%) = 126  
** **Luck: 110  
** **Charisma: 64**

 **Stat Points: 25**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'11.5  
** **Weight: 187  
** **Build: Medium Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Bright Blonde / Bright Azure / Fair**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Alright, see you all next time~!**

 **^w^**


	9. New Days

**8/15 at 2AM: I'm going to do everything I can to get this chapter out AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.**

 **I love you all.**

 **A couple of reviewer responses:**

 **(the questioning about the harem route):** Don't worry too much, people. Cooler heads have taken control now (not meaning I've been overthrown by someone, but rather the people in-story have calmed down). In this chapter, Jaune has some friendly convo with Blake describing his plight and how he possibly fucked things up with his emotionally charged words (Gamer's Mind or not, what Taiyang did royally pissed him off). I'm not jumping into the Harem Route, I'm more lunging towards it, but stopping at the edge, looking at it, and then backing off. Jaune has learned from his past mistakes and will not be so hasty this time, or at least he'll be able to repair things better.

 **Asmalar:** Alright, people, since there's been a lot of hate I've gotten over Luck, let me explain: Luck increases more than just his drops and chance for, say, a random stranger to donate to his charity (Please support the 'Jaune Git Gud' Foundation), it also interacts with the concept of fate in some regards. At 51, he got a 'good' skill (barely gets used because of how rare its chance is, but it's a nice passive EXP booster), at 101, he got three 'bad' skills ("Damage gets a Double or Nothing" for the first, "Have quite loose lips but other people have slightly looser lips" for the second, and "80% chance of having nightmares every time you go to sleep" for the third). However, the pattern alternates, so that means at 151 he'd get some 'good' skills, but at 201 he'll get some 'bad' skills. Also, his nightmares are not just visions of the future, alright? Nightmares can just be nightmares, y'know (like the Terrifying Nightmares). Most nightmares he'll have will be born of paranoia (Animated Fear) or of past experiences (Traumatic), and Ominous Nightmares just plain don't make much sense but are a bit scary.

 **kewllewk** : Well... sir, you are correct in the allegation that that is bad writing. I know it is, I'm not the best at writing, but I try to get through. I'll provide my meager explanation based on what Jaune knows and thought about (I mentioned a bit of this in the previous chapter, but saying it here too is good). Jaune loves his father to death, and respects him to no end, he's the man who stuck by his side. Jaune does not want to disappoint or worry his father by staying out late without at least telling him why. For reasons (literally just "reasons", I'm sorry but you have me pinned, I have to admit that these things literally mostly only happened because I wanted them to) he figured it was a good idea to do a stat dump, because he could study a bunch of shit and gain INT and WIS, work out like crazy and get STR, DEX, and VIT, and CHA is getting gained by increasing his charms and a bit of it is gained off the back of his increased fitness. When Jaune realized that he was probably going to be in some deep shit, he kinda stopped thinking for the most part. As for the second part of your review, there will be more details on that in this chapter, assuming you're still reading this story at this point. For the third part, Jaune's motivations in the moment were "I hate Taiyang and I want him to be SO fucking mad because he can just eat shit.", and as with the previous point, things will be explained further in this chapter.

 **Teturo:** Ah, well... okay then. I looked up some stuff about bras but I barely understood it. I'm going to just cut out the parts about the rib cage size, just stick with cup size.

 **Edit 1 (8/19 at 2AM): I'm going over things to fix some stuff due to some suggestions.**

 **Story Arc 2: Playing Prometheus.**

 **Chapter 9: New Days.**

* * *

 **Acquisition of a Basic Air Elemental has increased your Air Affinity by 10!**

 ***ERROR REDACTED* unknown power *GLITCH BUG BUG BUG GLITCH* +2500 Max AP and +1 INT!**

 **Increasing your understanding of the world by gazing through the eyes of the elements has increased your WIS by 4!**

I awoke to see Blake lightly gasp, looking incredibly tired. I realized that I was floating in the air and felt the new presence in my head.

"Mystral." I said simply, and in a few moments, she appeared.

Blue wisps of wind, some tinged gold, some tinged purple, coalesced together, swirling and forming what appeared to be a small blue dragon a darker scales among the normal ones covering its lean body. Between two frosty horns was a mane of lavender clouds. and its wings were tinged yellow, lightning faintly arcing between bones of wispy clouding.

"I am here." she spoke, and I knew it was a she from the voice, which sounded like amplified whispers of wind.

"I can see that. You're surprisingly faint." I noted, now that I took a step back to think about it. She was small, her body no more than two feet long. Her form was faint, hollow in the center, like she was made of glass that was only painted on the edges of each face.

Her eyes gleamed azure, "I am of air. Air is not known to be solid." her way of speaking was slightly more intelligent than Crocea Mors and Xiburichu. Just to experiment, I summoned them as well.

I brought out a large block of metal, and with my sword, it twisted into a shape that nearly mirrored my own, but for being silvery and lacking more than a small amount of coloring.

Then, flames ignited in the air, spreading in a controlled manner and filling out to the form of a short man, no more than 5'4. His skin was like a smooth sheet of flames that had fallen perfectly and been stitched into a human shape, a corona of golden fire around his orange form, his eyes glowing azure just like mine, and brought out all the more by the red surrounding them. He was bald, more than likely because his hair burned off when he became an elemental...

Okay... I'm sorry for that, that was terrible.

I noted, however that Summon Elemental's level had increased by four during that meditative state, giving me another elemental charge.

An elemental with only four charges... reinforced by my willpower and Aura... well, I'd sparred with Crocea Mors.

It was odd, it had come up as a level, but he should have been pathetically weak then, if he was only level 4... then again, as a part of me, his level was independent of his stats and skills. He was tougher than nails and beat my ass, even if I beat his right back. Even then, his levels would still function differently due to just the fact that he was an elemental, an entity made up of soul. The ground didn't have a soul, nor did the air, the rocks, or fire. Nothing that wasn't living didn't have a soul. Levels seemed to partially be gained by soul, or perhaps gained in a large amount by soul. Anything with a capacity for love had a soul, and thus had a level, even tiny little babies.

Yet the Grimm had levels and they didn't have souls. Levels weren't based entirely on souls, but I still read some Grimm as having an amount of energy that wasn't Aura, but was clearly some sort of spiritual force. It was just more confusion for the pile of shit I had to deal with. They had no aura, but did the fact that they have a level and they had this energy... did that mean that they had a soul?

 **(To Jaune) QUEST RECEIVED!**

 **Quest: Summon Fire from Shadows pt.1**

 **Description: Increase your understanding of the soul by finding out what makes the Grimm tick. Find out why some seem to have power beyond soulless monsters and how one day, the Grimm may not be so grim.**

 **Objective: Discover how the powers of some Grimm are granted and fueled.**

 **Reward for success: Unlock more of this quest line, +5 WIS, Increased Closeness to Grimm, ?**

 **Penalty for failure: Possible death. Permanently increased aggression from Grimm. Loss of unknown percentage of Max AP, ?**

It didn't have a time limit, but... those penalties... I severely hoped I would succeed in this, if more for not getting penalized than the intriguing rewards. I accepted it, as I was wont to do. It was too interesting to not look into, even if it was frightening in its possibilities.

I couldn't let chance scare me away. I had to endure, to carve my survival out of the world's flesh. I'd get gristle and fat, yes, but it'd be worth it for the succulent meat among it.

What... was I even saying? I realized that I was very, VERY hungry, and Blake still looked exhausted, I needed to make this a little quicker, "Blake... meet Crocea Mors, Xiburichu, and Mystral, my elementals. It's a unique skill I've found I have, or at least something that used to be more common, but for one reason and/or another, it became a lost art. I don't know the details, because it's older than fuckin' dirt. Either way, I know it know and I can do it."

Blake looked at me, intrigued. She glanced between the three figures, looking at them then at me, "This is... it's hard to know how to react, Jaune. I've read stories where creatures connected with the elements were present, sometimes even a major plot point, but... seeing it actually happen, when I know it should be impossible? It's more than a little shocking. Most people would consider what you're doing to be fairytale magic."

"Well, I told you already, Blake. I'm a magician." I equipped the Wizard class to boost my APR, which was pushed to a solid 3000 AP/m from that. I smiled at her, "So... ta-da~!" I gave jazz-hands as I gestured to the elementals, "Judging from your lack of too much reaction and your increased INT and WIS, I'm assuming you read the tutorial?"

She nodded, "I did. I'm a little surprised, but... I've done a lot of thinking the past few hours, and I'm willing to accept your help."

I smiled, dismissing my elementals and taking a moment to adjust to the new additional perception. I could feel the air all around myself. Not just the air on my skin, but I felt as though my sense of perception, of touch and smell and sight, had become spread throughout the air itself. It was more than a little nauseating, feeling so much at once, but Gamer's Mind cracked down on the mental effects. My eyes were a bit sore, however, for some odd reason, "Right, that's good. All I need right now, before anything else... is first off..." I sighed and created a simple folding chair under me out of steel, sitting down as I wracked my brain for answers. "It's about... almost half-past-four in the morning. I want you to get some sleep, okay? I'm happy that you chose to accept my help. I just... I need someone new to talk to... a girl who probably understands the other party's feelings... I kind of fucked things up with Yang." I pulled up her profile over my hand, showing her picture, "She's... she's amazing, and things tonight... they were supposed to be a really special time, but her stupid overprotective father showed up, and well... he's a hunter, and so there was a fight." I began laying out the tale of last night's events with a slight feverishness, an anger rising in my words on occasion as I worked through it. Getting it off my chest wasn't as effective as TV made it sound, but I felt just a little bit better after letting out the fumes, "So I talked to her uncle for a while and well... I don't know how seriously he'll actually take my requests, I mean... I told him about... about that thing where a guy has two or more girlfriends at once, but like... they're all boyfriend and girlfriend and girlfriend together? Do you know that thing?" I looked at her for answers. She read romance novels, surely she'd know what it was.

Blake's eyes widened slightly in recognition, "A harem. You told your prospective girlfriend's uncle about wanting a harem?" I sighed as her words were incredulous, actually waking her up slightly, as if she was energized by my stupidity, "I'm sure you realize that he's going to tell the overprotective father about that. Do you have a death wish?" she looked at me with a smirk, like she was amused by my imminent doom. However, she yawned a few seconds later, which broke her expression quite handily.

"I'm pretty sure he could just tell that I was emotionally charged. I can't even believe I let myself get that riled up. You see, my power has this thing, Gamer's Mind, which usually mitigates my emotions until they're entirely disappeared. Unfortunately, like a lot of games, it can be broken with the right actions. I just... it's frustrating. It's frustrating as hell that I have to deal with all this... all this _BULLSHIT_! I should be going out and-"

"Jaune?" Blake interrupted me before I could continue on my tangent.

"What?"

"Could you get back to your point? I'm running on fumes here, you're lucky I'm even still listening."

"R-right... I got a good few minuses to my Closeness to her, during that conversation with her uncle. I don't know exactly why, but I'm pretty sure she was really distraught and shaken up by everything too, and she blamed me for what happened. I just... I don't want to lose her, even if she's not even my girlfriend yet... That idea... the idea of us being together romantically, that's just... that's just a prospect that we were so, SO close to trying out." I sighed sadly, my aura glowing around me faintly as I stared at the floor, as if the carpet was woven with the answers to my plights, "But now she probably blames me for everything that's happened." I sighed, feeling sadness taking hold.

I waited for what felt like years, but was probably only a few minutes, in near total silence. The only sounds in the air were soft breaths and a subtle hint of violin music that Mystral played in response to my mental wish for sad music to emphasize my strife.

Suddenly, the silence and the violins were all broken by Blake's words, "Jaune... I don't have a lot of first-hand experience with fathers or relationships, as you can probably tell with your Gamer's Sight thing telling you my backstory. By the way, you being able to see that REALLY unnerves me, but... right now I can just deal with it, since you... well... you're willing to do all of this for me... Aaaaanyways, I DO know that what you have with Yang... it sounds like something special. I don't think I could ever hope to find something as strong as what you two have." I chuckled a bit at her modest statement, "I'm sure that if Yang is taking the relationship you two have been building even HALF as seriously as you are, then she's probably aching to talk to you."

I sighed, then chose to ignore the obvious for the time being, "You're a pretty girl, Blake, and you're surprisingly nice as far as I've seen. Your INT and WIS show that you're very smart too, and you've helped me feel a little better. I guess... I don't know... I've been going so fast with everything since I got this power that I haven't hardly had a chance to BREATHE. It's like I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off, barely taking the time to actually utilize my INT and WIS like I should. I've just kinda been... a mess. I got with Yang more on instinct than anything... but... then again, when people don't know what else to trust, they trust their instincts. Not just the ones that tell me to make a family with her, I'm talking about the instincts that made me want to be her friend. The instincts that told me that there was more to her than what was on the outside, and I followed them, I followed them to a T. Now... now we're so close. We're so, so, SO painstakingly close to sealing the deal and becoming boyfriend and girlfriend..." I rubbed my forehead, feeling like my eyes were going to explode, "... and yet, at the same time, we're so, so, SO depressingly far. I'm pretty sure I'd have to beat some sense into her father to make him let me date her, but... that's not an option. I don't want to have to solve my problems with violence. I want that to be the last possible option if possible. I just... with all this new thinking power, I think all the more, and I get so frustrated sometimes because I usually think of more questions than I can think of answers."

Blake studied my face for a full minute, though it was probably her exhaustion making her brain work slower that was doing it. After an uncomfortably long time, she spoke, "Jaune. Relax. Just take some time to relax. Even the White Fang encourages taking a break so you don't work yourself to insanity. They hate humanity, but they know that insanity makes people make mistakes... that, at least, is one thing I can say is alright." she sighed, "Though I suppose taking a break is the most 'good' thing they could do, since it means they're not doing bad things." I could tell her mind was slowing down, as her speech patterns were slowly breaking down. I'd seen it in my sisters long ago, now that I could remember things more clearly with my high INT and WIS.

She blinked slowly with one eye, then the other right after, and I chuckled at how silly it looked, "Heh, yeah, you look like you could use a break too. You sound so exhausted I think that just taking a cat nap won't quite cut it." I chuckled harder when Blake pouted at my pun, "Come on now, don't look like that, instead try looking like an asleep person. I'll let you get to bed, alright? I'm gonna take some time to think things over and figure out what I want to do with myself and with Yang. You just get some rest, and... I'll leave you a note before I head out today."

"Heh... alright, I guess I gotta repay you for what you're doing for me, then?" she looked at me amused, probably with the confidence that she could stop me from doing something inappropriate to her while she was asleep. I suppose her suspicions still held strong even when she was nearly nodding off with each word, "I should warn you... I'm not a good at many things but fighting things and shtuff." her exhaustion was making her speech more spotty and slurred with every passing second.

Still, I understood her lack of trust. We'd only just met today and I had done and said much more than most people would ever even consider in regards to a stranger. I didn't understand it too much myself, to be honest, but I felt some sort of connection to her. It wasn't like what I had with Yang, but rather it was like she was someone I've met before, and that I knew she was a person worth having as a friend. It wasn't a romantic connection, it was something different entirely. I didn't know what exactly it was, but I know that it was... it was just plain _odd_.

I wasn't going to worry too much about it at the moment, because I had other things to do. I stood up, my chair turning into a steel block underneath me and going into my inventory as I patted Blake on the head, "It won't be much, I don't want to take advantage of someone who's come on hard times. I just want to help you get better. You want to go to Beacon, right?"

Blake nodded slowly, smiling a bit, "Nyeah. Look... I've been pretty shkeptical, but... before anything elshe happens, right now I think I should say tell you thank you. You've given me a some new hope, Jaune... so~... thank you."

I smiled back, "You're welcome, Blake. I'm trying to be a hero, so saving people from bad times is what I gotta do." I gave a two-finger salute as I walked out of the room, but before I closed the door, I added one last remark, "Goodnight, Blake. Sleep well."

She waved to me before unceremoniously collapsing onto the bed. I chuckled softly, using two solidified hands of wind to pull the cover up over her before walking down the stairs to the kitchen.

* * *

 _(A few hours later, Jaune's POV)_

I withdrew my Vorpal Sword from the Longhorn's devastated side with a grunt, collecting the twisted spear that was left behind, **Filanger** , and putting it into my inventory. I hadn't found any loot worth picking up until now, since this was a new item.

 **SYSTEM UPDATED: Added Party-Inventory options.**

I looked at the new options, and found it to be exactly what I could have asked for. I guess I had to loot something to get the update, and I hadn't picked anything up except Lien until now.

Three options. The default setting was **Munchkin's Bag of Holding** , which made it so that I was the only one who could interact with the inventory at all. Next was **King's Hoard** , which let my party members put things into the inventory, but did not allow them to take things out. That's when it came to the last option, **Community Chest** , I could appreciate the reference, and the function of letting my party members have full access to the Inventory. I set it to Community Chest immediately, and then moved over to the nearest clean area, leaning against a tree and putting on a shirt, since I'd had Crocea Mors tear me up, mutilating my flesh until the pain was just a dull ache and Stone Skin and Metal Skin had to be hit with heavier, more deadly weapons to be punched through.

I wanted to improve myself on my own, of course, and technically Crocea Mors was a part of me. It was how I accepted The Game, since it was a part of me too, as my semblance.

"Good morning Sunshine." I said as I looked at Yang's camera view, having found a way to turn it on from where I was.

Yang cracked open one eye, "Well that's an interesting wakeup call." I saw a smile slowly spread across her lips, though, as well as my Closeness to her increasing by 2, "But not at all unwanted. Good morning Mr. Player Man." she giggled softly, sitting up and letting her blanket fall off her form, revealing her shirt, the left shoulder of which had slipped down, showing off a bit more of her chest, and the tail of which had ridden up, showing her flat, toned belly.

I stayed strong. Yang had ridiculous CHA boosts, and as a hormonal teenager I was more susceptible to them, regardless of what Gamer's Mind claimed to say. I figured out that its effectiveness was based off the total of my effective INT and effective WIS, as well as some of my CHA too (but that was irrelevant). What it meant for the most part was that not only would increasing either stat would grant me even more mental power, my Aura would boost it even further. Meanwhile increasing STR, DEX, and VIT increased the power of Gamer's Body.

After a second of thought, I smiled wider, "Well, I figured a nice start to today would help to make up for the bad ending to yesterday. I think you'll find that I made you a nice breakfast, which is packed in the inventory. You can access the inventory now, I gained an option to let my party members add things to it. I also found an option to make this into a private video channel, so that's now a thing." I chuckled a bit, sitting down to pull out my own plate, a biscuit sandwich, with a sausage patty, a fried egg, cheese, and bacon. I watched with pride as she began to eat at her desk, draining her first glass of orange juice in a few seconds, then beginning to eat. I chuckled a bit, "Heh, talk about breakfast in bed."

Yang giggled, "I'm not in bed, I'm at my desk, and you're... in the forest, I'm assuming? Training?"

I nodded, "Yep, and I summoned an Air Elemental, and made a new friend. She's a faunus who's trying desperately to get out of the White Fang, she doesn't like the senseless violence and she's realized how horrible it is. I believe in second chances and forgiveness, so I'm gonna help her out. Lucky lucky, she wants to be a Huntress like you." I smiled reassuringly at her, figuring that painting the picture in optimistic hues would help Yang understand and make friends with Blake.

... oh who am I kidding? Yang would make friends with Blake easily, even if they were literally like night and day.

"She? Who is she?" her eyes narrowed. Obviously she was skeptical because it was a woman, I should have realized.

"Her name is Blake Belladonna, I added her to a new party, The Bumblebees of Justice." I chuckled softly, "Like your motorcycle. I guess even when I'm with a beautiful young woman, I just can't stop thinking about you."

Yang's face turned an angry red, but I'd thought over this well over a dozen times, "A beautiful young woman, huh? More beautiful than me?"

I shook my head, "She might have three more CHA than you, but she's like the night, while you're the drop-dead gorgeous daytime. Heh... who'd think I'd meet my closest friend ever while trying to figure out my semblance and hitting the gym for the first time ever? I guess my Luck has always been pretty good for these sorts of things." I chuckled happily, finishing my sandwich and pulling out a bottle of water, pouring it over my face as a cool wind blew around me thanks to Mystral, "And despite her literally being the night, I'd much rather spend a night out with you, Sun Angel." I gave a confident smirk, trying my best to at make her laugh, if nothing else. I sounded ridiculous, I was pretty sure.

Yang blushed, giggling like a schoolgirl and smiling, "Help, someone help~! I think some hot guy is flirting with me~. I'm not too sure though, he's pretty goofy."

"Damn, I guess I was too subtle with it." I chuckled heartily, "Well just so you pick up on it now, I know you're beautiful, you don't have to keep showing it off... or you could continue, I'm not complaining."

I felt a surge of pride in my heart when Yang blushed more, coughing a bit in surprise, "P-p-pervert. You skipped flirting and went straight to perversion." despite her words, I saw my Closeness to her increase by another two. I could figure that it was only because of the respect and closeness I had from her that I could get away with what I was saying.

Regardless of whether or not I could get away with it, I reeled it back in, not wanting to push things too far and end up making her doubt me more, or confirm any claims her father might have lectured at her. That... made me think. I checked my closeness to Ruby, which hadn't changed. I suppose it was Luck that she didn't eavesdrop on the lecture, "Heh, s-sorry, I was just joking around." I threw the stutter in for effect, having the decency to blush a bit, "Look... I have an idea, it'll make sure things go smoothly, okay? I've made lunch for you, and don't touch the picnic basket by the way, that's for later. I promise with all my heart that I'll make it all up to you, okay?"

Yang smiled at me, her lilac eyes sparkling a bit, and she swallowed the last of her food, placing the items into the inventory, "I trust you. My dad doesn't, but I trust you. You're the closest friend I've had in years, I'm not letting you go just because my dad knew your dad and thinks you're a dickface because of it." she giggled and got up, taking a few seconds of pause in front of her closet, then began to exchange her bedclothes for her regular outfit, "I... about last night... I'm sorry for not... for not doing anything, I tried but the look dad gave me... he's never looked more... more ANGRY at me... he's looked upset, yes, but never angry like that. I didn't know what to do." I frowned at her sad words. I hadn't blamed her in the first place, she wasn't responsible for what her father felt or desired.

I decided to surprise her with a blue scarf I picked up from a store in town, "Don't worry, alright? I don't blame you, that situation was out of either of our controls. Has your father done anything like this before?" I had to know at least a little more, maybe find something out that would help me squeeze past this bad first impression.

I watched as Yang brushed her hair to straighten it a bit from her bedhead, "I've shown interest in guys, never been out on a date though, because of dad. He scares them all off, either passively or actively. You're the only guy I've met who's made it so far, my only friends are girls and that's just how it is. Dad's okay with a guy, even happy that I have a friend, but if either of us started to show any interest at all, then the guy suddenly thinks they aren't worthy of being my friend, or thinks I'm too intimidating for them to handle, or they just plain never talked to me again..." she sniffled, and I felt my heart crack at that little sound of sadness.

That crack in my heart now felt colder than even my hood, and my hood was now lined with an icy dust. I'd taken some time to go around and collect bits and pieces of things I needed, and in that endeavor I found an interesting piece of information. As it turned out, I had a great-uncle, Antoine, who's been working for about sixty years in the clothing business. He gave me some good discounts on normal clothes, and even wove me a new hoodie. I provided Dust, he provided a product with his semblance, which was like telekinetic clothes-making. He'd finished a few simple commissions in less than an hour. Afterwards, I'd asked why he never kept in touch, or visited, and he was just confused. He didn't get out a lot. It wasn't due to his age, it was due to the fact that he was a little bit obsessed with his work. I hummed softly as I thought about that, then my fingers slightly played with the strings of the hoodie, which I'd dubbed Frostburn. It was a simple design, snowflake patterns on the shoulders and around the mouth of the hood, and flame patterns along the cuffs and tail. It was nice, I liked it a lot, which was why I wore it. The rest of my purchases were tightly clustered into a single group in my quite large inventory.

Really, it's amazing, what you can do in just a few hours when you can run at a couple hundred miles per hour, or in my case now, condense the air into an invisible jet like the Justice League to simply fly over the streets and straight to my destination, then travel times were usually not a problem. With even only six charges into Mystral, she could still make winds that moved at over one-hundred miles per hour without straining my APR too badly, which was at an impressive fifty-per-second now, after my various boosts...

I shook my head and got my focus back onto the situation at hand, "Well I'm glad I was able to get so close, then. Honestly, I don't think your dad is a bad _person_ , per se, but... his _personality_ could use a little work. I'm glad that you don't actually hate me any more, I got these messages, about... my Closeness to you... it had dropped by six points last night. I'm assuming you got a lecture from your dad?"

She nodded, "It was... it was awful. I didn't know what to do, I once broke a lamp and he just told me it was okay and that it wasn't set up right and it was bound to fall at some point. Even last night he blamed you for everything and told me to watch out about things. It's not even you, it's every guy ever." she sighed, "I was almost going to scream and cry, but I saw that you were alive, both times, so... I just went along with it, I didn't want to make him hurt you more." she looked at me tearfully.

I 'wiped' the screen to signify that I was trying to wipe away her tears, "Hey now, don't cry. The sun doesn't get rain, it's supposed to shine bright for all the peoples to see it. A beautiful girl like you can't go messing up her beauty with tears, so cheer up." I smiled reassuringly at her, and her tears stopped, her lips trembling into a smile, if one that was faint and weak, "I'm glad it's not personal between your dad and I, I don't want to hate him, even if I have reason to. He's your dad and he deserves respect. He's known you your whole life, I've only known you for a week now... still, though, he could tone his overprotectiveness down a bit. I can tell he has some measure of respect for me, after surviving all of that, and I'm sure he wouldn't ACTUALLY kill me. Gamer's Sight could tell me that he has too much respect for my dad to kill me. However, past all that, I'm mostly glad you're better than him in that regard. I think that children should be better than their parents, and their children better than them. A parent's objective is to protect, care for, and nurture their children, as well as make sure that those children grow up to be better people than they were." I smiled softly, hoping to appeal to her more family-loving side.

Yang gave a small smile, her eyes gleaming as she turned to the camera, setting down the hairbrush "Heh... well I know two things: I'd never smother my children, or abandon them." there was a bit of venom in her words, not aimed at me but more at her mother, who had abandoned the trio.

I don't know the full story or whatever motivations she might have had, but Raven Branwen must not have had as much of a heart as Summer and Taiyang thought she did when they all got married.

From what Gamer's Sight was able to glean from just a few names in a 'Family' tab, given that it could gain information from more than just looking at the actual thing, I knew that the two women had both married Taiyang together, the three of them living happily as a trio. Raven must have been upset by something and left, just walked out and never came back. Far too soon afterwards, Summer died tragically.

I set that thought aside for a minute, "I know your children would love you, Yang, you're a really easy-to-like person."

Yang smiled at me as she took a second glass of OJ and drank it dry with a wide grin, "I know, I know, bask in my glory~."

I rolled my eyes with a playful smirk, then stood up, my eyes sparkling, "Oh my god~! Did an angel descend from heaven? Does she serve the sun god, is that why she's so bright and radiant~?" I pretended to be absolutely star-struck by her, but a second or two later, I just laughed at how absurd I'd sounded.

Yang laughed too, but she kept it down a bit, the kind of laugh you give when you remember a funny joke or a good pun, "Hahaha, you're blond too, y'know."

I pretended to be surprised, "I am?" I looked at a bit of my shaggy hair above my eyes, "Oh my god I am! Yang why did you not tell me this sooner~?"

Her laughter intensified, even as she called for Ruby to join her in a ride to school, "We gotta go to school, like NOW." she shouted to both Ruby and me, then turned back to the screen and gave me a small smile, "Thanks for cheering me up. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Alright, I'll see ya later, alligator." I closed the private call with a chuckle, beaming as I saw my closeness to Yang was back up to +98 now. I don't know what would happen when I reached 100, but I was going to find out, and I was going to find out TODAY.

Right now, though... Blake would still be asleep for a few more hours, Marbel was in school too, but I suppose just messaging her would be fine. Getting Ruby into the party would be nice. I figured since I'd added Marbel to Team Celeste, I'll add Ruby too. Blake can join after she's out of the White Fang and has made at least a few steps onto the path of righteousness.

I couldn't make things TOO easy for her. She HAD done bad things for the White Fang, but clearly wanted out and wanted redemption. As my dad says, the fruit is as full of sweet as the labor is full of sweat. I don't know if those are his own original words, but they would help make the biggest impact on her psyche and help me help her clear the Fang's goals from her mind, getting a revitalized focus on her own.

With that thought put to rest for now, I ran off, deciding that summoning a new elemental would take too much time, and instead opted to train.

* * *

 _(A few hours later, after returning home, Jaune POV)_

I stood in the middle of my room, breathing deeply as I channeled fire and air around my body. I had a plan that would work, in theory, purely because of Gamer's Body. It was simple.

To increase my VIT by taking damage, I was boiling my blood in my veins with Xiburichu's flames. After a while the pain just faded away, dull to my senses as I thought.

I'd had a lot to think about, and so I had taken the time to think a lot.

I disliked Taiyang, with an unbelievable passion. I didn't HATE him, per se, even if he'd attacked me, even if Qrow had attacked me too, he hadn't fully tried to kill me because he figured I could be reasoned with.

I didn't HATE either of them. Hate was a strong word. It took dedication and anger and energy to hate. I didn't have the heart to give all that, especially when I knew that it wasn't the right way to go. Qrow had messaged me, asking if I was alright and I had calmed down, and I had immediately messaged back that I was calmer and didn't want him to try to convince Taiyang to let me date Yang and any other women, but rather just Yang.

Luckily, he had taken my claims with a more logical mind, having squashed his anger down more easily due to practice and skill, and confirmed that he'd had a 'chat' with Taiyang about his unacceptable actions last night. He'd also turned off the program that let Taiyang track Yang's scroll, which was how he'd found us after having an epiphany in the midst of his anger.

That had pissed me off, that he'd track his daughter's movements, but it still didn't make me hate him. Every man has a breaking point. It took a LOT to make me actually HATE someone. Hating just wasn't really my thing. I'd like to love everyone, come to gain their trust and their friendship, it's how I'd always been. I would like to do these things.

But just because I'd like for something to happen, didn't guarantee that it would happen, or even be possible at all.

I'd started to break through to him, though, before he broke through me right back. It wasn't that I hadn't made a good point, but that he was stubborn and had double-knotted his apron strings. Trying to threaten him with anything like violence was out of my league, and trying to pull any legal cards was out of either of our leagues.

Hunter affairs were not subject to judicial rule. We were all just... _above it_ , given our superhuman abilities. I'm pretty sure they could bury Taiyang alive in a volcano and he'd escape within an hour. Usually it took other hunters and the rule of the Headmasters to stop things from getting out of hand. The Headmasters of the different academies had ruling over the many Huntsmen and Huntresses that went through their institutions. They were burdened with a great responsibility for their power, just like Spiderman warned about.

I couldn't play the victim, that'd just make me look foolish and weak, and Taiyang would have absolutely no respect for me then.

I had meant what I said to Yang earlier, I didn't blame her for not intervening, it wasn't like she could do anything to stop him except for cry or scream. I'd help her train. I didn't care if she ended up having higher STR than me, I was better suited to be a tough-as-steel wizard anyways. We'd both be badass in our own regards.

Technically I was already pretty badass, though not due to my level, but rather more my skills. I could level my skills independently of my character level. My character level raising only gave me more HP, AP, and SP in my bars, and more stat points to spend. Granted that was useful as it gave me more resources to work with for my skills. I didn't have an impressive amount of HP or SP, but my AP was pretty high. I had a huge INT and WIS score for my level too, and the level of Aura, I could now confirm, raised in accordance to my Max AP, so I could raise it to level 99 by meditating a bunch, or raising my INT further and/or leveling up more. Whatever it would prestige into, it was going to be awesome.

I smiled, I was starting to come into power, as a proper and awesome Huntsman... no, I was already decently powerful as a Huntsman.

Sure I had poor Max HP, but my AP could be used for Mana Shield to absorb any damage I took. In addition, any wounds, even normally fatal ones, would heal in seconds as long as I still had HP left. I could definitely hold my own in a fight, and was a good bit more powerful than my level suggested, thanks to my proficiency in Aura and the breadth of my set of skills.

I'd sorted out my feelings over Taiyang and what I'd do, as well as a bit of planning of what to do with Yang. I'd also done some thinking over my own self and come to realize that I'm not just made of paper anymore, even if I still felt like it. Now was time for thinking over one of my split-second decision from last night.

Blake.

I had thought about it earlier, in that something had driven me to help her. She was hesitant, obviously wary of humans, but still believing that there's good in the world, and that things can get better. She was full of hope, even if it had been drained by her time in the Fang. I'd picked her up at a critical time, when she was still freshly torn and full of impressionability. I'd made a good impression, thankfully, and gained her trust when it was probably at its most exposed. She was desperate for something new, something that would renew her dashed hopes.

I had, thankfully, been that something. If she'd had time to cool and harden, she'd probably end up becoming distant and maddeningly stoic, the kind of person that would take something like Yang's warmth to deal with.

I didn't want to date her, no. I had Yang and she was all I needed. I'd said those things about harems to Qrow out of sheer frustration, I didn't really mean them. If I ever got a harem, I was fairly sure that the only person Yang would be willing to have be a part of it would be Ruby, so the two wouldn't be separated. It'd be difficult going, sometimes, but it'd be worth it to make both of them happy. They were both incredibly endearing, and even if it wasn't in the same way, I loved Ruby too, she was like a little sister that I was denied getting.

One of seven, that is...

I still had that quest to repair my splintered family, and it had gained a couple of unknown rewards. The Game knew something that I didn't about the situation, and I would find out by completing the quest.

Hmmm... that was a thought. "Journal." I said in a commanding tone.

 **SYSTEM UPDATE: "Journal" was added.**

I opened the window and quickly wrote out a list with my mind. I had to get more STR and VIT for my quest for Miss Glyn, I had to visit Coldwater and see my mom and my sisters. I had to find a place out in the wilderness where I could train without being found by anyone roaming the forest, and I needed to continue to mend things with Yang. Our little conversation had done wonders for our tattered interpersonal atmosphere, and I had an idea of what to do next. I remembered the synchronized memory chunks connecting Marbel to The Angel Garden, and the camping trips we'd had. I smiled at the memory, and decided to make a base on Eagle Mountain, since it was a good twenty or so miles away, so I'd have plenty of privacy.

I thought about how to get there, which led me to think 'ride on the winds', which then led me to think about that... I could only call it a 'cutscene' last night, after I summoned Mystral. For some reason, she was different than the other two, and it was in some way that caused that to happen, since it hadn't happened before.

I didn't know what it was, all I knew was that there was a woman who resonated beauty and power, and a lot of evil, making a deal with what my Sight had told me was some creature named Salem, who looked like what would happen if a Grimm looked almost perfectly human. Her unnatural coloration made it clear she wasn't normal at all. As for the woman, it was mostly in first-person, but a few third-person shots, as if shown from the eyes of something very near her, showed that she had white and black clothing, her hair was probably black, given how it glowed in the red light, and her eyes were silver.

I would almost hazard a guess that somehow, Summer Rose was alive and kicking and now EVIL... if it wasn't for the fact that this woman wasn't just a woman, she was a young woman.

She couldn't have been more than 20, from what little I was able to discern from her features.

I didn't know who she was, but I knew that she was dangerous if she was making deals with powerful grimm like what Salem looked like.

I had to sort out things with Blake, first. I didn't like her romantically, I had just been trying to cheer her up, having been desperate to find some amount of joy after last night's debacles.

I sensed the air around her distort as she took in an uneven breath, and cooled myself off with a quick whirlwind, drawing the heat out of my body as I walked to the guest room. I smiled as I saw her start to rise, "Good afternoon, sleepyhead. It's about 1PM. Would you like to stay for lunch or do you have to do anything before your mission in a couple of days?" that was one thing I was glad that looking through her Backstory had provided, if nothing else.

 **She plans to use an upcoming mission to steal Dust as a means to assist her escape from the White Fang.**

Blake sighed, "No, but I should report back to our base. If your power has any way of turning you into a faunus, then you could come with me."

I hummed in thought. I hadn't considered that too much. I'd unlocked Survival Mode during a bit of game studying I did on my scroll in that few hours I had this morning before Yang woke up. I suppose it wouldn't be impossible.

I'd also gained a new skill, too, while trying to grill a burger with Survival Mode on, and I'd put a piece of cheese on top of it. It had melted, and when a bit of it fell into the aura-fueled fire with the handful of charcoal I'd put on there, I had gained the skill, oddly enough, and was left with a piece of chalk in the coals. This one... it seemed cool, but it was odd to me.

 **Alchemical Aura (Active) Level: 1, Exp: 14.43%, Cost: 400 AP.  
A rare ability of special Aura users who are able to use their aura to force chemical reactions to occur where they would normally not, allowing them to create substances as if by magic. This ability is fickle and finding out what makes what can take some alchemists decades.**

 **Allows the user to force unnatural reactions to occur by usage of Aura.**

 **Known chemical recipes: Charcoal + Milk Product = Chalk + Fire Essence + Water Essence**

I had the two essences in my inventory. They were odd, like a small gooey lump of Dust. They were crafting materials, used in Alchemy, which I'd unlocked under my Craft skill, fixing a bug that listed Dustcraft as Alchemy by accident. I wasn't too sure about these random bug fixes, but I was glad that whatever was controlling the game was fixing its mistakes.

Maybe... I could force something new...

Maybe... maybe...

Hmmmmm...

AHA!

"Blake, I have an idea. I need a bit of your blood to do it. If this works, I should get a skill to turn myself into a faunus."

Blake looked at me skeptically, "If you can help me try to possibly get out of the White Fang early, then I'd appreciate it. I don't want to steal anymore. If that means I need to bleed for my freedom, then so be it, I suppose." she sighed, almost as if she'd been asked to take out the trash and was inconvenienced by it, and picked up Gambol Shroud. With careful precision, she made a tiny cut on her finger, letting a few drops drip into my hand before retracting it and healing herself with her aura.

I healed her with Soulforge, smiling a bit, "Don't worry, I'll do what I can to help. If I'm going to be a hero, then I'm gonna have to go to scary places to save people." I focused Alchemical Aura into the blood droplets on my hand, forcing them to react with my semblance in a way that would-

 **"Mana Affinity"s level increased by 1!**

 **Alchemical manipulation of non-human blood has created the skill "Beast's Blood"!**

 **Beast's Blood (Active) Level: 1, Exp: 42.44%, Cost: 20,000 AP  
** **The ability to alter your race by manipulating your blood and Aura to take on a new physical form. Dangerous to most people, but Gamer's Body should protect you from the negative side effects.**

 **Usable Forms: Cat Faunus.**

I grinned just slightly, but then frowned when I realized that I wouldn't have enough AP to cast it normally. I sighed, but then looked at my profile. I had leveled up Mana Affinity to 20, granting me an additional 5% Max AP, and my INT was ninety-nine. I had twenty-five stat points too, and so...

Yeeeeeessssssss~.

But only a little, I've learned from my mistakes and I'm not dumping my points like before. I was cautious, though. Was it just Luck that would fuck me over with good or bad luck, or was it all stats had some negativity at the 100 mark? I didn't know which was the answer, but I figured that a little more AP, and an ability to change my race almost freely would be worth a little bit of crap.

I applied my points.

 **INT: 101 (+3) (+70%) = 176.8**

 **By raising Intelligence above 100, you have gained the skill "Magic Eyes"!**

 **By raising Intelligence above 100, you have gained the skill "Wizard's Pool"!**

 **By raising Intelligence above 100, you have gained the skill "Battlemage"!**

 **By having high INT, you have unlocked the class "Mage v3"!**

 **By having high INT and LUK, you have unlocked the class "Dice Mage v2"!**

Well... THAT was something.

I waited for the changes to take effect, and there were significant changes due to Wizard's Pool and its increase to my Max AP. I could figure now that, given how it's been progressing, I needed about 25,000 Max MP to prestige Aura, give or take. I'd get enough with just a few more levels, maybe about level 40? It was hard to tell exactly what.

Thankfully, I now had enough AP to cast Beast's Blood.

So I did.

I felt a sharp pain in my head, like holes had been sawed into my skull, followed by what could only be described as something being pulled out of it. After about ten seconds, the sensation stopped and I sighed, then checked. Yep.

 **Race: Faunus (Cat)**

I went to the bathroom and looked into the mirror. Sure enough, two blonde-furred cat ears were resting atop my head. The left one twitched lightly. I chuckled, then focused on the inverse of the spell, which reversed the effects. I was a bit surprised at that one, but thankful. I just had to dismiss the spell to return to normal, instead of cast some sort of reversing spell to fix it. That would have been awkward if my dad saw.

... shit, my dad! I'd told him about Blake, but only briefly.

I quickly wrote out a note, explaining most of the entire situation from both last night and right now (of course I tastefully said 'a bad group' instead of 'the White Fang', and retrained myself from adding a 'colorful' description of Taiyang's assholery) and that I'd talk to him when I got back. I also added a few post-scripts explaining I do not have an attraction to her, she's not my replacement girlfriend, and he should talk to Taiyang and the two should catch up, talk, and make nice, so he would back off some.

When I was done, I turned to Blake and smiled, "Alright, let's get to that camp."

Blake cleared her throat, "It's a long way..."

I nodded my head, "Well lead the way, then." I chuckled, "Here, a buff for you." I cast Haste on her, then on myself, and let her take the lead.

Once outside, we tore across the Rogue's Highway like two bats out of hell... or a more apt description would be 'bats going into hell', hehe.

* * *

 _(Almost an hour of traveling on foot later, Jaune POV)_

 **Level: 34**

We'd killed a few big Grimm along the way, though I had to cut back on my speed boosters because with them, I outraced Blake easily. As we approached, and Blake told me we were only about a kilometer out now, I activated Beast's Blood and managed to keep pace even as I felt my body slim slightly and the cat ears form. I pulled up the hood on my plain blue hoodie as we slowed down. I hummed, then looked through my inventory.

Experimentally, I 'equipped' a bottle of green hair dye, and instantly my hair became green. I did the same with a pair of orange contacts, since I figured I could try out some disguises later on. This was one such occasion. I made Blake stop, the two of us still well over half a kilometer away, and I applied some makeup, getting the skill **Disguise** and leveling it up twice as I fixed my hair to a different style, or rather -a- style, since I usually kept the 'windswept' look.

We resumed after I'd covered all my bases. I had a reason to be paranoid. Having my face known by terrorists who were about to possibly start disliking me a lot was NOT a good thing, nor was being seen as a human when they knew I was a faunus. Properly disguised and having written a page of aliases with brief descriptions, I named myself Jade Hex and was ready to face the leader... or a couple of armed goons blocking the path.

They were both just under level 20, and had nothing that could threaten me, they barely had Aura, measly pools of only a couple hundred points. At the beginning of the weak, I might have been intimidated slightly, but right now they were just a nuisance.

This place set me on edge, I didn't like it here. I had to do something to hamper them...

 **QUEST RECEIVED!**

 **Quest: Causing some cavities**

 **Description: The White Fang needs to be weakened, and you're in their main camp. Find a way to fuck things up for them.**

 **Objective: Sneakily sabotage some White Fang equipment.**

 **Rewards: Whatever items you steal, +20 Morality, +?% mastery of Stealth.**

 **Penalties: -600 Reputation with Faction: White Fang, become hunted by the White Fang, possible death.**

Well that was something. I hummed, then grinned, turning on Auto-Loot and stealing a tent spike from the ground, _Jaune W: Blake whisper to me in the party chat, okay? I'm going to sabotage them in subtle ways :W_ I changed to the Ninja class, smiling a bit, though making myself look nervous to be here.

 _Blake W: Alright, I'll try :W_ There were maybe a dozen goons here, but nobody that was a threat, or at least, not one worth worrying about. Nobody, except...

"Adam, I'm back." Blake smiled slightly, but it didn't reach her eyes, it was just a motion.

 **Adam Taurus**  
 **Title: The Prince of Ivory Beasts**  
 **Level: 82**

He was taller than me by about five inches, with a lean build of deadly musculature. An apex predator, I'd call him, mostly due to how that was what was listed as his Build. I waved, "Hello, sir."

"Kitten, you found a new recruit." he smiled at her, and Magic Eyes showed me the red eyes underneath the mask were sparkling.

Speaking of...

 **Olmadonrun (damaged)  
** **Description: The mask of a Longhorn Inquisprint, an apex predator of bovine blood. It contains part of its power.**

 **Effects: +6 Earth Affinity, +10 Fire Affinity.  
** **"Butcher's Beef" increases Attack Damage by 75%, but decreases moral sensitivity by 90%  
** **"Blue Flag" increases sensitivity of detecting aura. Detecting large amounts of aura hurts you for 600 HP per minute.  
** **"The Running Specimen" increases Movement Speed by 140%, increases Effective STR by 60%, makes your build leaner like an apex predator, reduces Effective INT by 50%**

He was wearing a Grimm Mask, though it was clearly damaged as it had been carved down to only cover his eyes, and altered to have the unique eyeholes. He'd harvested it himself. I didn't find anything out of place for him, so it was just coincidence that he had such an item. I suppose in theory, cutting off a Grimm's mask would save it from disappearing.

Still, I could hate this guy, or at least function with the confidence that he is a villain.

 **Quest: Violent Dentistry  
** **Description: Adam Taurus is the man that corrupted the White Fang with his violent and vile ideals, and he needs to be dealt with.  
** **Objective: Kill Adam Taurus**

 **Rewards: Either disband, usurp, or send the White Fang into a frenzy, Varying morality change based on path taken, anything that can be salvaged from Adam's body, ?, ?**

 **Penalty: (depending on severity of failure) injury and possible death, Maximum un-closeness with Faction: White Fang, become hunted by the White Fang.**

I sighed, accepting the. I'd probably have to deal with him anyways, "I'm kiiiind of looking forward to joining the White Fang." I spoke in a nasally voice.

"'Kind of'? 'Kind of'?! Blake, you brought someone here who only 'kind of' wants to join. You realize what has to be done if he doesn't accept, right?" Adam looked infuriated at my apprehension.

I hummed curiously, trying to look clueless as I saved this current disguise outfit as 'Jade Hex Disguise' for future use. I could save twenty outfits, one for every five points in INT I had, which was good to know.

"He said he was sure. I guess the long trip gave him cold feet. Adam... I'm not quite sure about this anymore, actually..."

"Blake... what do you mean? I don't like that tone, kitten. That tone is dangerous."

"Not sure about me, sir. I'm s-sorry. I p-promise I won't t-tell anyone!"

Adam growled, nearly snorting, "You, little boy, are one of the most infuriating people I've ever met. I haven't even heard your name yet and already I'm ready to remove your head."

I saw the burly man, Lieutenant Banesaw, over on the side of the tent shift his weight, then I noticed a weapon, Wilt and Blush, leaning against the table nearer me. Gamer's Sight told me that it was owned by Adam, and I knew how to fuck things up more. I backed away a bit, letting The Game cover me as I took a moment to Auto-Loot it into my inventory. I let my teeth chitter, "S-s-s-sir I'm s-s-sorry." I shivered in 'fear', faking the emotions with my ability to control my voice. I was ready to bolt out of here with all my buffs activated if I had to, "I-i-i-i-i sh-sh-shouldn't have come here. I p-p-promise I won't tell anyone about your base, sir, I promise!" I dropped to my knees, pleading with him.

Blake facepalmed, "This was a disaster... Adam, I mostly wanted to talk... Adam!" she raised her voice when Adam had walked towards me, his fists clenched.

"Blake, you made a mistake. It happens sometimes, I'll take care of it now." he cracked his knuckles, but I could tell that he was getting a headache from sensing my aura, his HP having been reduced.

Could I do it? I had enough AP for two castings of Gaster Blaster, both of which would give me two blasters, equaling to four blasters dealing 5000% damage directly to his everything. I already had his weapon...

No, not yet. I wouldn't kill him yet. I was going to escape with Blake, one way or another. The easy way... or the hard way.

"Adam no, he's a faunus like you or me. If you kill him... I'm leaving. I'm walking out of here, and I'm never coming back. I will leave the White Fang. This... this is too far!"

Adam froze, then sighed, "Fine... you can live, runt. Get out of here, and don't come back. If you tell ANYONE, then I will find you and I will rip your head off with my bare hands." he clenched his fist in front of my face in a threatening manner.

A lot of good THAT'LL do, asshole, "Y-y-yes sir." I said fearfully, getting up and running away in a desperate sprint.

Well... that hadn't gone to plan. He had physical stats well into the one-hundreds. Qrow would have no problem beheading the jackass, and unlike me, he wouldn't survive that injury.

It would be so easy to obliterate him right now, but I didn't have the means. I'd taken off my armor and made myself look as unimpressive as possible, and I didn't have an outfit saved of my main armor.

I looked back at Blake, _Jaune W: I'll try to get back here tonight, okay? I need... I need to train. :W_

 _Blake W: Alright... please be careful, okay? :W_

I smiled, _Jaune W: Don't worry 'kitten', I'll be back. :W_

And when I was out of sight, I poured on my buffs and tore across the landscape.

* * *

 _(A few hours later, Jaune's POV)_

I straightened up and smiled, looking down at the dead Cavaliscera as I let its vile ichor smoke off of Crocea Mors. I'd trekked most of the way to Eagle Mountain, taking my time to kill every Grimm that came at me. So far...

 **Level: 37**

 **HP: 8000/8000  
** **AP: 23,200/23,200  
** **SP: 10,000/10,000**

I was pretty close, now. If I could find something with a high level, then that'd be great. However, that could wait until later. I had to get back to Yang.

The view of Vale was beautiful from up here... I could definitely see making a house up here, inviting Yang to watch the sunset with me. I could even...

Huh... that was an idea.

I cleared my throat, pulling a fat stack of Lien out of my inventory and putting it into a bag, _Jaune W: Yang. I'm going to be setting up something really nice, but it's gonna take a loooong time. I'm putting a bag full of tons Lien into the inventory. I'm working on getting Blake out of White Fang, but right now, I'm focused all on us, Sunflower. I'm gonna make this a super special time, to make up for last night, okay? I promise. I need to summon another Elemental. :W_

I waited a bit, then I sighed in relief when she replied, _Yang W: I won't like it the most, but... if it'll make what you have in store for later better, then I'll find a way to distract myself with over fifty-thousand Lien. :W_ I could hear her giggling, and I smiled widely.

I just had to make sure of one thing... _Jaune C: Hey Marbel, you there? :C_

 _Marbel C: Yeah, just doing homework. After this I'm gonna do some working out. Jaune, are we gonna go training today? I've been waiting for a while. :C_

 _Jaune C: Don't worry, tomorrow is Saturday, we'll go grinding for ALL the levels, get a ton of levels. I'm pretty close to a breakthrough. Aura is able to prestige, if your Max AP raises to about 25,000. I'm close to that. :C_

 _Marbel C: Holy crap that's awesome! I should boost my INT a bunch, then, right? :C_

 _Jaune C: Yeah, not just for the AP but for the increased mental power too. Being able to think more is good for you, it helps improve your fighting style. Anyways, I'll be getting a new Elemental now, alright? I'm gonna hole up in the cave up on Eagle Mountain. :C_

I said that in the party chat to tell Yang as well, I knew she would read it.

I ran in the direction of the 'cave'. It didn't open up into any underground caverns, but it went about fifty feet back and my dad, and Marbel's dad liked to leave alcohol fermenting in there. I walked inside, noting the massive mouth it had, probably the widest part of the cave. That would be a problem.

Sighing, I pulled out the barrel of steel, followed by another and another. With Crocea Mors, I constructed a wall covering the mouth of the cave, pulling metal up to form holes through it for air. I didn't need it, per se, but it helped me seal everything up for the ritual.

Forming a ritual circle on the ground out of tin again, and this time focusing on summoning an earth elemental, a couple of sapphires and a diamond I bought from a jewelry store. They were sizable stones, as I paid a lot for them.

My senses dulled a bit, and I soon found myself slipping into meditation as my conscious sunk into the ground...

* * *

 _I feel sick... I feel too heavy and so, so numb._

 _Suddenly, my senses return anew, in the dirt..._

 _...in the rocks..._

 _...in lava and magma..._

 _...in the dust and the sand..._

 _...in all things, really._

 _I provide the foundation for the plants to grow._

 _I endure eons of footfalls._

 _I rise up from the ground, lifting my brethren as hills and mountains._

 _I fall in their absence, forming valleys and canyons._

 _I'm abused and beaten and broken._

 _But they break themselves to get to me._

 _They get their strength from me._

 _I am their strength._

 _I am the flesh of the world._

 _I hold the secrets and the mysteries._

 _I'm filled with holes, and those holes are filled with air or metal._

 _I am torn from my brethren, made to feed crops, to feed life._

 _I give them my strength,_

 _No... I lend them my strength, as I reclaim what I lost._

 _I reclaim all of it, eventually._

 _Years and years and years and years._

 _Decades and decades and decades._

 _Centuries and centuries._

 _Many millennia._

 _I lend my strength and it is returned to me in kind._

 _Nothing is lost, nothing is wasted, that is the way things are._

 _I give my strength as the dirt feeding crops._

 _I give my strength as the rocks making homes_

 _I give my strength as the gemstones granting lovers courage._

 _I give my strength in granting metal to endure with._

 _I'm torn apart but that is only my weakness being taken away._

 _Metal endures, yes, but my strength is infinite._

 _Fire lends its will, but my might is stronger than even the intensest flames._

 _Air breathes life into things, but a spark will not fuel a flame, only start it._

 _I am strong._

 _I am so strong that strength is based upon me._

 _I am not just strong, but I am strength itself._

 _I am the foundations of the planet._

 _I am the foundations of life._

 _I am the foundations._

 _All the same function._

 _All the same purpose._

 _Flesh._

 _I am the flesh of the earth._

 _I AM earth._

 _I am a king and my name is Roimontagne_

 _I am... Roimontagne..._

 _I feel myself break away from a whole._

 _But... I am merely a piece..._

 _A piece of an even MORE glorious whole._

 _I am a splinter of a tree._

 _It is strong, but I will give it true strength._

 _As it grows strong, I shall grow even stronger._

 _I am Roimontagne._

 _I am earth._

 _My strength is infinite._

 _I am Jaune Arc._

 _I am human_

 _My soul is eternal._

 _I am... one._

* * *

I woke up with a start, as if my brain had been reduced to next to nothing and then suddenly it all turned back on.

That one was... a bit simpler, if I had to say. Then again, the saying _was_ 'dumb as a rock', so it was fine. I understood.

 **Acquisition of a Basic Earth Elemental has increased your Earth Affinity by 10!**

 **Increasing your understanding of the world by gazing through the eyes of the elements has increased your WIS by 2!**

I smiled, that was more like it. Crocea Mors was summoned, tearing down the wall with his control over metal, revealing the manifesting form of Roimontagne. His name was a rough translation from french, it meant 'Mountain King'.

He was taller than both my mirror and me, about 6'8", with a rough carving on his bald head that had the three gemstones I'd used set into it, now arranged in a small triangular pattern. His eyes glowed as two azure crystals, his body rising, rocky and rough, from the ground. His lower body simply melded to the ground, like a slime beast, but made of rock. He was buff from what I could tell, and stocky too. A stout strength and great stature, it was a figure befitting a mountain king. I smiled at him, "Hello Roi. I'm going to call you Roi for short, okay?"

"That is acceptable, master." his voice was like crunching gravel, "I shall make the wall?"

I nodded, "Yes, make the wall." I looked at the massive open mouth of the cave.

Slowly at first, then going quickly, a metal door formed and a wall of stone several inches thick form around it, conforming to the frame. The door weighed a good four hundred pounds, but I could lift well over a few tons now. I grinned, even as he spoke, "It is done."

"Good job you two. I'll polish it later but this will protect this place from any Grimm attacks." I walked out to see that it was about 7:30, nearly sunset, I also noticed Yang snoozing at the base of the Great Tree, as Marbel and I had dubbed it in our youth. She looked adorable, Bumblebee parked nearby, her body facing the cave, she'd gotten tired waiting for me. I glanced over at the storage box on the back of Bumblebee to see what she bought, and saw that it was full of artistry stuff, and a box with a necklace in it, as well as a few bottles of alcohol.

I smiled down at her and cleared my throat, which slightly roused her from her sleep, then I gave her a little kiss on the top of her head, "Wakey wakey sleepyhead." I chuckled softly, smiling.

She didn't meet my eyes at first, "You're awake... I'm glad." she smiled a bit, I could tell by the impression she gave to the air.

I smiled wider, sitting down in front of her, "And you're awake too, I'm also glad. It's always nice to keep the day full of sunshine." I chuckled at my own joking statement.

Yang giggled softly, then lifted her eyes to meet mine, They were a bit pink, as if they'd been red from her crying, and then she'd fallen asleep and they'd recovered a good bit, but not fully, "I wanted to make sure I'd be here, so I could be the first person you saw when you got up." she said softly.

I chuckled a bit, though her statement made my face heat up a bit, it only further confirmed what I'd come to realize. Maybe it was Luck, maybe it was Charisma, maybe it was Wisdom guiding me in subtle ways, or maybe it was just my own work, but I couldn't deny it anymore. I'd been so close and I knew what I felt.

I'd fallen in love with Yang, and more than likely, she with me as well.

I had forced Gamer's Sight and Gamer's Mind to try to explain the status effect she'd had, so I figured I should bring it up, "Yesterday night... I gave you those buffs." I formed a rock behind my back to lean against, "And it cured a status effect you had, 'Soul wracked by chaos'... I know that applying all of those buffs at the same time makes a status effect, 'Glimpse of Harmony', so I guess that would be a thing to cure it... still, Yang... look at me." I made her meet my eyes, "Before then... was something wrong?"

She sighed, "Well... the only thing I suppose would be out of the norm is that I've been looking for my mom for years now. She... she left our family without warning... I just wanted to know WHY." she groaned, as if exhausted by the concept, "I don't suppose your Gamer's Sight can see why?"

I shook my head, "No, sadly, or I'd tell you. I'd like to know, too. Those three seemed like they'd be happy, all together, but... apparently not."

"Yeah. Life was good, at least from my perspective. There were a lot of smiles from those three... wait... I... I never even realized... my dad married Raven and Summer... at the SAME TIME?" she looked at her hands, as if the answers had been printed onto her fingerprints, "Er... but back to the point." her face was red, and she let out a choked hum, "Uh... I suppose that'd be enough to upset my Aura, given just... how much I've felt over it..." she shivered a bit, even though I could tell with Magic Eyes that she wasn't cold.

I sighed softly, then stood and picked her up, "Come on, let's just drop it for right now." I glanced at the sky, gauging the time, "The sun is setting, and I know how much you love the sunset, so let's just go watch it. I'm pretty sure we'd both prefer that over this weird conversation." I chuckled softly, then formed a platform of solidified air under us and began lifting us into the sky, up to the peak of Eagle Mountain.

Yang watched in awe as a gazebo rose from the stone, forming around us by the power of Roimontagne, "Okay... this is just plain awesome."

I smiled at her, "By the way, surprise~." I chuckled lightheartedly, "I figured it'd be nicer this way. Look, we can see both the sunset and the moonrise at the same time from here." I stretched out my arms and pointed at the two celestial bodies, golden orange dipping down under the horizon while milky white peeked over the other horizon. With the boost from Magic Eyes, I could see the craters on the shattered moon much more clearly.

I was a bit surprised when, rather than going to watch the sun set, Yang instead just hugged me, sniffling a bit, "I'm sorry about what happened."

I hugged her back and rubbed her back soothingly, kissing her forehead, "It's okay. I don't blame you and you don't blame me. It was entirely your dad's fault for not being able to let his dadness grow up with his kids and know when to stop trying to protect you from absolutely everything. You're not made of glass, you're make of skin and muscle and bone and stuff like that... and I just... I have to say... I love the way it all comes together... you may be a Sun Little Dragon... but to me you'll always be leagues above the sun in terms of your beauty, Yang..."

Yang blushed, "J-jaune... w-where is this coming from?"

I sighed, "Last night... before your dad interrupted us... I was going to say something... and I felt like my heart was going to explode..." I took in a breath, taking her hand gently and putting it over my rapidly pounding heart, "I... I did more thinking over things... last night I talked with Blake because after things went so horribly bad I needed some reassurance that I could still make a woman smile... and while beautiful what Blake has for a smile doesn't even hold a candle to the sparkling sunshine that is your smile, Sun Angel." I smiled at her, lifting her chin to look directly at me, "I've played my life too cautiously up until I got this power. I'm not made of glass either, I'm made of skin and muscle and bone and stuff just like you... we're both human, Yang, even if we're superhuman because of our Auras. I didn't think that it was possible... for a long time I didn't think that it was possible for this... for what I'm afraid is all just my misunderstanding... but I'm done playing things safe, I'm going to do what I can to get my own slice of life pie... so please... I pray to god or whoever is up there... please let my instincts have led me in the right direction, and know that I can say this now." I sighed, taking in a deep breath and looking at Yang, my eyes waiting for something, anything from her.

It took a long while, but her eyes glittered, her lips curled into a smile, and she spoke softly, "I think I know... I think I know what you want to say, Jaune... so please... don't leave a girl waiting... and just say it."

I looked deep into her eyes, bright azure meeting lilac purple, and I spoke those six words that made me feel like my heart would explode from my chest and I'd bleed out all my HP.

With endurance, with willpower, with breath, and with strength, I said it, "Yang Xiao Long... I love you."

Yang's face lit up in the most beautiful way, her eyes glittering beautifully as her smile widened more, and she returned my six words with her own six, "Jaune Arc... I love you too."

I was sure my face lit up too, and my aura glowed around my body, as hers did too, as if drawn out by my own glow. I cupped her cheek, not saying a word, and slowly leaned in as she did the same.

A fading sunlight.

A rising moonlight.

And fireworks flew, exploding into bursts and flowers and wheels and balls and all sorts of other shapes, filling the skies in our heads with lights and sounds and colors, it was almost overwhelming.

Her lips were soft, warm, full, and slightly squishy against mine. I held her as close as I could comfortably get her as we shared this moment. I was pretty sure that Gamer's Mind was the only thing letting me think at all in this moment.

What seemed like a lifetime, but I think was only... sometime... we broke the kiss, both of us panting for breath, though I recovered faster due to my higher VIT, and I held her closer, the two of us glowing with a combined light that was a gentle, life-giving green, like some forms of healing magic I saw in some games. I smiled brighter, "I don't know if I'm dead or alive... but either way, I'm certainly in heaven right now, hhhhhhehehehehehehe~." my voice was breathy and soft, my chuckles even more.

"I feel the same way... like I just got air after nearly drowning... it's so sweet and refreshing... I love it... I love YOU." her voice was similar to mine, and I'm pretty sure we were both doing this because any firm or loud sounds would ruin the moment we were currently sharing.

I'd done it... even if it took me too long to realize what was right in front of me all along.

The fireworks faded, the bursts and flowers and wheels and balls and all the other shapes fading, the lights and sounds and colors grew dull in our minds as our senses slowly came back to us.

A rising moonlight.

A fading sunlight.

Our faces with bright with pure pink blushes of love, I could tell, but neither of us cared... in fact we _enjoyed_ it.

This was it. This was the point in the game that I knew... I knew I could take on anything.

With strength, with breath, with willpower, and with endurance, I'd get through it.

I'd get through anything life had to throw at me.

As long as I had my little sun with me, to light up the night.

* * *

 **Holy shit did I just do all of this in one just a couple of days?**

 **I DID! I *DID* do this all in just a couple of days!**

 **This sadly won't be the norm, but I hope you all enjoyed this chapter where I gave some reasoning, gave some cringes (more than likely from that part with the White Fang camp, I'm sure), but in the end I gave you something hopefully worth reading and something you hopefully enjoyed.**

 **Hopefully.**

 **I'm not gonna say anything more. Please note the things Jaune said about the 'cutscene' from the last chapter, and know that reasons stand to say that from his limited perception, it was a cutscene that, during which, his Gamer's Sight worked, if only somewhat.**

 **That is all for now, folks. Hopefully I can keep churning out shorter, but still good chapters on a more regular basis now.**

 **That's all... EXCEPT OH WAIT  
**

 **IT'S TIME FOR THE OMAKE~!**

* * *

 _Omake: The Sequel?_

* * *

 _(Years into the future)_

Celestia Arc was having a fun day. First her daddy had showed her how to blow up a Beowolf with a fireball, then her mommy had taken her out for ice cream, all in all, it was a really nice fourth birthday.

Right now, she was playing with one of her princess dolls, brushing her hair as her own soft blond locks had been done into a braid, courtesy of the world's best daddy EVER. He even put a bow in her hair like she liked. She was all smiles, when suddenly, her mother came in with another present, this one smaller than most, "Hey sweetie~, surprise~! Your daddy got you one last gift. He looked everywhere for one of these, and he found it~." the blonde woman fully walked in.

Celestia loved her mommy a lot, and wanted to grow up to be just as pretty as her. Yang (but she knew her name was Mommy, she couldn't deny it forever!) usually wore her hair in a braid, which was long enough to reach down to her waist and wrap around it like a belt. She had a massive pair of chest-pillows, her eyes gleamed a beautiful purple a lot of the time, but could turn blue, green, yellow, orange, and even red! She hoped her eyes would do that, but right now they were only a colored a soft indigo, leaning more towards blue than purple.

The four-year-old gasped in delight. A surprise gift? Another one? Her daddy was the best! He had to be the best daddy in the world, because he said so and daddy never lied, especially about that stork that would deliver a baby brother to her one day. He was taller than a mountain and wider than one too, because he had so many muscles she couldn't count them all! It had to be at least seventeen, because that was as high as she could count. Not only was he super big and super strong and super fast and super smart, but he also let her have candy a lot and made veggies not taste icky. If he'd spent a long time getting a gift for her, then it had to be something special!

Tiny hands tore into the wrapping paper, revealing a box, "Ni-... Nin-... ninu-"

Her mommy, ever the super smarticles she was, helped her out, reading the long word like it was nothing, "Ninvendo, sweetie. It's an old video game console, the Ninvendo DS. The part that's DS is called an acronym, it takes the first letters of the words. DS means 'Dual Screen', sweetie." her mommy was smiling all pretty now, it made her smile too.

"An acronym? So then... you're myyyy... my MILF."

Suddenly her mother let out a strangled choking sound, "H-honey why that acronym?"

"It means you're my Mommy I Love Forever~!" she hugged the older blonde, smiling brightly.

"O-oh, right. Of course. Sweetie, please don't ever say that acronym again. Let's just change the subject. Why don't you open it up, sweetie?" somehow, without Celestia knowing, Yang had opened the DS' box, revealing the old, scratched, chipped, but still functional handheld, "You open it kinda like a hotdog on its side." her mother made a gesture with her hands to represent two halves coming apart.

"Ooh ooh! Daddy showed me dis with his laptop." her young mouth wasn't the most able to make words happen correctly, "And he taught me that PC games are the master race!"

Her mother grimaced, "PC is for show-offs, sweetie-bear. You don't want to be a show-off, do you?" the little girl shook her head, "Of course. Consoles are smart, classy, and refined people like me, sweetheart." her mother giggled jokingly, but she couldn't be joking, her mommy was the smartest and classiest and refinedest mommy in the world!

"I'll be smarticles like you, mommy. Alright, Nin-ven-do DS, get ready to be opened!" she slowly pried the handheld open, however... "Owie owie ow ow ow ow ooowwww~!" she waved her hand around as she got a small, bleeding scrape on her finger.

What she didn't notice, however, is how the flailing of her tiny hand was getting tiny droplets of blood on the d-pad and the buttons.

"Oh man. Don't worry, sweetie, mommy'll kiss it better and get you your kitty-bandage that'll cuddle your hand until you feel aaaalllllll better, okay?" she kissed the finger and true to her words, Celestia didn't feel hurt anymore, in fact she'd stopped bleeding entirely and the little cut had closed up.

She felt strange, like she was going to be sick, but yet also like all her sicky tummy grumbles were being silenced. She looked over in the mirror, seeing herself plain as day.

However... not long after that... she saw indigo bits of information floating above her head. She called up ALL of her reading power to make out the words.

 **Celestia Arc**  
 **Title: The Gamer**  
 **Level: 1**

She stared at the information, then a new window appeared.

 **Gazing at things for a long time to glean their details has unlocked the skill "Gamer's Sight"!**

She was confused, but her little mind kept steady for the most-part, as if an unseen strip of tape was keeping it together.

 **Welcome to The Game 2: Daughters of Liberty! Don't tell anyone about it!**

The Game? That wasn't a clever name for a video game!

 **You have been granted this special power, which will allow you to ascend to heroism, and maybe even surpass the might of the heroes of yore! Would you like to read the tutorial?**

A tutorial? That was instructions, right? She didn't need a tutorial, she could just ask her dad!

"No."

 **Are you sure you don't want to read the tutorial?**

"Yes." she said with a smile.

 **ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED!**

 **Without need of direction: Decline the tutorial 1 time. (Bonus: +1 LUK)**

She smiled, then her mother came back, "I got the kitty banda-." her mother's words stopped when she looked at the clean, un-cut finger, "Did daddy already heal you up before I could get back here?"

"Uh... y-yeah~." Celestia lied, feeling bad. Lies were wrong, but the game said to not tell anyone about it, so she couldn't!

Yang sighed, "Alright, well there's a game for it too, so come on, sweetie, let's get you started." she smiled and helped her daughter boot up the device and start the game.

Celestia smiled, the hero of the game looked a lot like her daddy!

...

It was a good couple of hours later, almost her bedtime, and Celestia was still playing the game. Her mother had left after helping her through the first dungeon, with the giant tree man, and Celestia was doing well, she'd almost gotten to the boss of the fire place, too!

Her new power had made some interesting things happen, as well.

 **Studying a swordsman in action with Gamer's Sight has granted you the skill "Sword Skill" and leveled it up by a total of 7!**

 **Practice of hand-eye coordination has increased your DEX by 1! (x4)**

 **Memorizing sequences has increased your INT by 1! (x2)**

 **Consuming the item "Apple Juice Box" has restored 3 HP and 10 SP**

 **You gained 10 Lien**

 **ACHIEVEMENTS UNLOCKED!**

 **Hitting the ground Running: Decline the tutorial 3 times. (Bonus: +3 DEX)**

 **A Strong, independent Gamer: Decline the tutorial 5 times. (Bonus: +5 STR)**

She didn't need to know what money was for, she already knew! She had 10 Lien and that was enough for some ribbons or some candy, and mommy and daddy had a Lien fairy that paid for everything no matter how much it was, that's how they'd gotten her all these cool things for her!

She smiled. She felt good, that boost to her DEX and STR made her feel like a superhero! She'd thrown an old toy block across her whole room!

It had to be at least 10 feet! That was a lot!

She had gotten a lot of boosts to her stats, but she didn't even know what her stats looked like! She looked around her room for the window, "Stats?" suddenly, a new indigo window appeared.

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Celestia Arc  
Title: The Gamer  
Level: 1  
Class: Beginner  
Nickname: Little Sunshine**

 **HP: 40/40  
AP: 0/0  
SP: 21/40**

 **Strength: 9  
Dexterity: 12  
Vitality: 4  
Intelligence: 5  
Wisdom: 3  
Luck: 21  
Charisma: 15**

 **Stat Points: 0**

 **Age: 4  
** **Birthday: September 9th  
Race: Human  
Height: 3'0"  
Weight: 37  
Build: Preschool Girl  
Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blond / Deep Indigo / Youthful Pink**

 **-/\\-**

She smiled brightly, this was awesome! She was three feet tall and she could totally win a race against that lame-pants Dustin Winchester now!

Suddenly, a new window appeared, ivory in color, with black letters. She read it slowly to herself, "D-due to being... uh... re-pie-eat... with luck, you have the p-power to control your fatty and choose the way your story of be-coe-ming a heron-ee begins! Grand-eyes, good, bad, hooray-(GASP)! Hooray beginning!" her tiny hand pounded into the option, "Hip hip hooray~!" she cheered happily, unaware of what she'd just done due to her partial illiteracy.

 **Due to being replete with with Luck, you have the power to control your fate and choose the way your story of becoming a heroine begins!**

 **[Grandiose] [Good] [Bad] [Horrible]**

 **You have selected the "Horrible" beginning!**

"Hooray-lee!" young Celestia closed the window with the little X button and went back to playing with her DS, unaware of the terrors she had summoned upon herself.

It was only a matter of time until she lost her normal life for one that was just a Game.

* * *

 **MWAHAHAHAHHAHAAA~! I did it!**

 **I completed the chapter super quickly and even made a (hopefully) cute and possibly hype omake.**

 **The name of the 'sequel' of the game is a reference to Metal Gear Solid, by the way.**

 **Well, I think that's everything.**

 **Hopefully this chapter didn't feel too ass-pull-y and cleared things up. I DO want to get this out really soon, but I also want to do it quite quickly. I think next chapter's omake will be a Story Arc 2 theme song, possibly, or I might wait a few more chapters for that.**

 **Also, this chapter ended up super close to about 16k words. I'm gonna shoot for a range of 12k to 18k words for each chapter (minus the omake and outro), so I can keep the chapters coming relatively quickly, and pace things better, as well as give more chance to fix things before they progress too far.**

 **Coming up with omakes can be so hard~, ^~^**

 **But that's for next time, right now...**

 **Obligatory profile pasting.**

 **-/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Novice Scholar  
** **Level: 37  
** **Class: Wizard v2  
** **Nickname: Mr. Player Man**

 **HP: 8000/8000  
** **AP: 23,200/23,200  
** **SP: 10,000/10,000**

 **Strength: 60 (+100%) = 120  
** **Dexterity: 53 (+100%) = 106  
** **Vitality: 70 (+100%) = 140  
** **Intelligence: 101 (+3) (+100%) = 208  
** **Wisdom: 87 (+3) (+100%) = 180  
** **Luck: 110  
** **Charisma: 64**

 **Stat Points: 48**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'11.5  
** **Weight: 195  
** **Build: Medium Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Bright Blonde / Bright Azure / Fair**

 **-/\\-**

 **There we go with everything for now.**

 **Next chapter will have a bit of a time-skip, some more explanation of what happened with Yang's soul in the last chapter, and more things to come. Said 'more things' is going to more than likely end up being things brought up in the reviews.**

 **Please do your part and leave a review. Whether it's a complex list of criticisms and praises, or it's just you saying you're looking forward to more from some piece of an event. Whatever it is, I'd like to hear the voices of all my readers, if possible.**

 **See you then, but it'll probably be a while longer than it took for this chapter, as I start my college classes on the 22nd and that is going to start eating up my time like a starving pig.**

 **But until then, see ya later~! ^w^**


	10. Burning Daylight

**8/18 at 1 AM: Well I should get started on a new chapter again. Should try to keep the ball rolling as much as possible.**

 **8/19 at a quarter-til 7AM: Well I'm resuming after a brief delay, I fixed some stuff in chapter 9, which incidentally padded it to almost 17k words with the sheer amount of my editing**

 **I'm gonna keep doing this fanfic a few steps at a time, now. This way, I can get more content out to you, the people, and we can all have a good time.**

 **Please note that things are subject to change. Not just my writing schedule, but things in the story too. I can (with logic) do anything. I WON'T just do anything, because not having a plan will, with mathematical certainty, end with me writing myself into a corner. I don't want that, so I'll try to keep things going along a plan. I already have plans for a few chapters down the road, hehehe.**

 **Some reviewer responses:**

 **(the new takes on the prospective harem):** alright... I suppose I should be a bit more transparent: This story is not going to be a harem... YET. Depending on where I decide to take things, Jaune will end up with a whole gaggle of girlfriends, or at least two or three. Who will these two or three be? Well Yang is one of them, so that narrows things down slightly. No matter who comes and goes, Yang is staying.

 **Ryo no Kitsune:** Well there was a reason for that, and that reason is that they were not too necessary at the moment. I'll show them now.

 **MysticSpider:** Because of you, that is now in my search history. I did not get it from that, I didn't even know (and now wish to forget) that that exists. Nooootttttt my style.

 **Alright, that's the reviews for now. Let's get to the chapter!**

 **Story Arc 2: Playing Prometheus**

 **Chapter 9: Burning Daylight.**

* * *

I smiled up at the ceiling, using Roimontagne to slowly carve artwork into it, clearing stone and increasing the strength of the structure below us, so that it didn't collapse. I hadn't made sure to build it to regulation standards, of course.

I'd had other things on my mind at the time.

 **+1 Closeness with Yang Xiao Long! (Total: +100)**

 **Your relationship with Yang has upgraded from "Oddly Comfortable Friends (?)" to "Soulmates"**

That pretty much confirmed it. She was in as much, maybe even more in love with me than I was with her, if that possible.

It was, given Gamer's Mind dulled my emotions, even love too. It wasn't enough to stop me from feeling it, no of course not, but it let me think things over.

Love was a sweet fruit, but in order to let that grow, you had to tend to its bitter roots.

I was used to putting others before myself, in fact I'd come to accept it as just my lot in life, but I knew to care for myself as well.

The thing was, now I had someone who gave more credence to my previous thoughts than anyone I knew, even my family. I knew she wouldn't make me choose, of course not, Yang wasn't like that.

She was bold and brash, I saw it when we had fought. She was confident, and broke many hearts to be with me.

For that, I was infinitely thankful.

The thing of focus, however, was that she held family close to her heart. Under that bold, brash, boisterous brawler was a girl who was a daughter, a sister, a mother (but only to Ruby, given the lack of either's mother being present, though thoughts of the future and what it would hold had danced through my mind more than a little bit), and more importantly, a friend and a girlfriend.

Even if I hadn't gone for this approach, then we could have gotten together under different circumstances and still been just as secure. I could have complained that I was alone for Valentine's Day or something, and she would step in to give me something, as a friend.

As a girlfriend.

"Girlfriend..." the word was soft as it came out of my mouth, "Heh... I have a girlfriend now."

"Did the kiss not convince you? Do I have to show you some leg to get you to realize it?" she giggled at my side, resting next to me as we cuddled on the warm stone floor, heated by Xiburichu.

Still laughing, she raised one leg into view, showing that her knee-high boots had been replaced with shorter versions, which allowed more of her smooth, sun-kissed skin to be seen.

I laughed too, but both of our sounds were soft and gentle, as a loud sound might ruin the mood, "Heh, you were already showing some leg, Sunflower. I noticed, trust me."

She blushed a bit, but smiled, "Well I'm glad, I wanted you to."

Heh, that was another thing. Like anyone else, Yang had issues, of course. Years of being force-fed bullshit about relationships and what kind of man she should go for, that was a part of it.

She'd experienced maternal abandonment twice, once by death, and once by choice. Raven Branwen had chosen to leave her family for one reason or another. Whatever reason it was, I hoped it was a damn good one, or I was going to have words when I found her eventually.

The point was that Yang wanted someone who would stick by her and be attracted her personality and her mind, but she also wanted someone who would appreciate her physical beauty as well, and want to be with her. She also wanted someone who would keep her happy, and she thought that the previous two things would not inherently guarantee the third.

She wanted attraction from all angles, and I fit the bill firmly.

I loved her humor, puns were underappreciated in society, but she favored them above all other forms of comedy.

I loved her smile and her laugh, they were so infectious and addicting, I wanted to keep her smiling for the rest of her life.

I loved her looks. Maybe it was psychological, I associated blonde hair with love, affection, and care, since for the longest time, and during crucial developmental years, my dad, who was as blonde as he was a strong man, was my main source of stability in a chaotic sea of teenage development. Oh yeah, and she had curves for days and legs that went on as long as you wanted.

Most importantly, I just plain loved HER. She was everything I could want.

 **Convincing someone to fall in love with you, and seal your love with a kiss, has increased your CHA by 10!**

 **Kissing someone has created the skill "Kissing"!**

 **Giving your first kiss to a girl who gave you hers has granted you the title "Innocent Vanilla Romance"!**

 **By coming to understand your place in life as a Lover and creator of romance, heartfelt relations, and friendships, you have increased your metaphysical understanding of life and your purpose in the grand scheme of things!**

 **This increase in understanding has granted you 9 WIS, as well as 3 CHA!**

I hummed softly, making it a tune as I took in the information on the windows. I smiled and turned my head, giving Yang a brief, soft, but sweet kiss, breaking it after a few seconds.

Pink stained her cheeks even more, "What was that for?"

"Just because. Do I need a reason to kiss my beautiful girlfriend?" I grinned with as much of a playful confidence as I could, "Plus I need to grind EXP for my new skill, Kissing." I added with a brief smirk, before going back to the grin.

Yang giggled a little, "Well... in THAT case, how about we get EXP together?" she rolled on top of me, meeting my lips with her own.

Heh... it was just as good as the first time.

* * *

 _(The next day, late morning, Jaune POV)_

I'd taken some time to grind up more levels for Summon Elemental by building up the gazebo, keeping flames lit around it throughout the night, circulating air through The Cave (which had been added as a Point of Interest on my World Map) as I built up the wall covering it, and making stairs up to the gazebo in the stone face of the mountain. I'd also tested how much I could focus my elementals' power with a pretty cool idea.

I wished I could have had it recorded, the way the land opened up and the grass moved to the side to create a packed dirt road in front of Yang's motorcycle as we rode along, making at least a rough pathway from Vale to Eagle Mountain.

I'd informed Marbel of what she'd need to do as I split off from Yang, taking the Rogue's Highway to get to a blacksmith shop.

I had money to spare, so I spared no expense on getting materials. Redsteel, whitesteel, blacksteel, and yellowsteel. Four materials of four different colors, as well as just some normal steel for the chaff, and bluesteel for kicks.

I needed blacksteel because I'd managed to get Blake to join us. It was kinda easy, as I was not only giving her an excuse to not only get to meet Yang and Marbel, but also to get away from that damn camp.

I smiled as I looked at the three gathered before me.

Yang looked ready for action. She was wearing a pair of simple shoulderguards that cut off right at the curve of her shoulder, basically just giving her biceps and triceps some covering, as well as metal-covered boots. I wasn't taking any chances with her getting hurt, neither for the other two. I'd upgraded Ember Celica as well, refining the metal to illogically good readings, making it stronger and a bit lighter, balanced slightly more and protecting her better. Her hair was tied back into a ponytail, as well, to protect it a bit better.

Marbel was wearing a long sleeved leather jacket. I'd considered giving her one of the Canishigek jackets, but I didn't want her going crazy with Bloodlust. She had a dagger that was just shy of the length of her forearm, made of redsteel that I'd modified with Crocea Mors to be a flowery pink, with a layer of whitesteel acting as a strong, sharp blade. She was also wearing full-length jeans instead of shorts like she usually did, and had a pair of brown biker boots like Yang wears covering up to her knees.

Blake looked at Gambol Shroud, feeling the new unfamiliar weight to them. I'd made both pieces a bit heavier, just enough to balance the stamina cost to an even multiple of ten, to help her with her STR. I'd given her gloves with black claws on the fingers, and metal plates on her shoes that would give her more grip on some materials, and increase the impact power of any kicks she might wish to do.

For myself, I'd revamped my whole armor set, upgraded Crocea Mors with materials worthy of its name, and added more mass to Candidus Murus. My higher level had revealed some new information as to Crocea Mors' background, letting me know about some previous wielder.

 ** _-/\\-_**

 ** _Whitesteel Halfplate Armor  
_** ** _Description: Whitesteel plates made to protect most of the forearms and upper arms, half of the shoulders, most of the chest and stomach, a large portion of the back, the outer thighs, and all but the back of the shins. As halfplate armor would suggest by its name, it's only half as effective as full platemail. These plates are built more heavily than most armors.  
_** ** _Defense: 650  
_** ** _Toughness: 21_**

 ** _-/\\-_**

 _ **Crocea Mors  
**_ _ **Description: An ancient sword forged in hellfires and tempered in the blood of angels. It is Mastercraft Quality, and it has been restored to hold an awesome power with your adjustments. It has seen countless battles over its long life. During the adventures of Jacques Arc, it was christened and immortalized as Crocea Mors, The Yellow Death. However, despite this, it was said that its most famous kill, in a previous life, was in the hands of ?, who had been sainted for his nobility, honor, and bravery, and ? a ? with its gleaming blade. ?**_

 _ **Type: One-handed Heavy Longsword  
**_ _ **Damage: 1000 (+40% from Sword Skill, totaling 1400)  
**_ _ **Stamina Cost: 60 (-20% from Sword Skill, totaling 48)  
**_ _ **Toughness: 12 (+3) (Tougher than titans)**_

 _ **Functions;  
**_ _ **-Grimm's Bane: This sword has been bathed in so much Grimm blood that it has seemed to grow an affinity for it, drawing it more easily. Effect: +100% Damage vs. Grimm (This function seems to be only partially active)  
**_ _ **-Runic Formulae: The blade is inscribed with subtle runes now made visible by your adjustments. Effects: Allows Crocea Mors to be used as a conduit for some magic attacks  
**_ _ **-?**_

 _ **-/\\-**_

 ** _Candidus Murus  
_** ** _Description: A very old shield forged in the strength-granting flames of a volcano and enhanced with the care of a thousand day's precise work. It is Mastercraft Quality, and it has been restored to Great Power in its current state. It has seen many battles over its long life, and during the adventures of Jacques Arc, it was christened as Candidus Murus, The White Wall. However, its legacy doesn't stop there. It was wielded by Alexander Arc during his personal adventures throughout the world in search of ?, and then later by his son Matthias Arc in the Faunus Rights Revolution, where he fought to free the faunus from their damnation to Mantle and lives spent in slavery. ?_**

 ** _Type: Large Heater Shield  
_** ** _Defense: 600 (+36% from skills and class, totaling 524)  
_** ** _Stamina Cost: 100 (-18% from skills and class, totaling 82)  
_** ** _Toughness: 17 (+3) (Tougher than Gemstones)_**

 ** _Functions;  
_** ** _-Mechashift: This shield can transform.  
_** ** _-?  
_** ** _-?_**

 ** _-/\\-_**

I was a little more excited about Crocea Mors' past now, knowing it had, in a previous form, been wielded by a Saint. I don't know which, but they must have been a cool one if they got a famous kill with it. Regardless, I set aside those thoughts for now and focused on the task ahead.

I was glad Yang would have her new higher numbers. I'd explained to her that I'd been in denial because I didn't think a girl as amazing as her could love a guy like me, and that was what that resonance from her soul must have been, her love for me that I didn't understand. No matter what it was during the efforts, in the end I'd fixed her aching soul and made her healthier and happier. That was more than enough for her.

Marbel was eager to grind her level up. She'd had dreams of becoming a huntress after years of being friends with me, and her aunt had taught her a lot about Hunters, so that was a big plus.

Blake just looked eager for a change of pace, and I didn't blame her. This was a whole new game to her, and not just in the literal way with The Game. Going from being forced to attack people and locations, to taking down the creatures of darkness, it was certainly going to be different.

"Alright ladies, listen up!" I tried my best to do a drill instructor voice, like I'd seen in some movies. It certainly got their attention, which was good, "Today, we're going to be clearing a one HUNDRED yard radius around Eagle Road, and we're going to be clearing it of Grimm, comPLETEly. No exceptions, do NOT hesitate to attack them immediately, but be careful. Remember to not take needless risks, keep an eye on your HP and AP, run if you're in danger and message me, okay?" I got three nodding heads, "Good to see you understand. Now remember this is a game but in this game there are no respawns, so please don't, don't, seriously don't, do NOT under ANY circumstances let yourself get close to death. Please, I'd never be able to live with the guilt." I looked at them all with pleading eyes.

Their expressions softened a bit, and we all shared a moment of understanding. This was for training, they didn't need to do anything big or try to impress me with dangerous moves, they just needed to kill Grimm for a quest.

Suddenly, I saw windows appear in front of each of them, to their surprises. I read the words backwards off of one of them and was surprised.

 **(To Yang, Blake, and Marbel) QUEST RECEIVED!**

 **Quest: The Vision of Eagles pt.1**

 **Description: Jaune has tasked you and your two new friends with clearing an area around Eagle Road to give some safety for travel. Do as he says to ensure that the future of his plans can proceed as speculated.**

 **Objective: Clear all Grimm from a 100 yard radius of the whole length of Eagle Road**

 **Rewards: +15 Closeness to Jaune, ensure the safety of Eagle Road, +10,000 EXP, +1000 Lien, any drops you find.**

 **Penalty: Jaune is disappointed, do not ensure the safety of Eagle Road, +1000 EXP, +10 Lien, any drops you find, possibly injury or death.**

 **Time Limit: Until nightfall**

They each accepted by the time I'd finished looking to see what skills I wanted to grind in the upcoming gauntlet run. I'd developed a large amount of them just by using different combinations of mental shapes and elements, and nearly had whole 'sets' for both the Bolts folder and the Shots folder, lacking only the Lightning equivalent in the latter due to not being able to manipulate the lightning in the needed way. Even with my boosts to 'Ease of Casting', there were some things I simply could not force.

Even WITH the boost I got from the oh-so-interesting skill of Battlemage, which I was looking to level up.

 **Battlemage (Passive) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00% (achieved by raising Intelligence above 100)  
** **Legends tell of a chosen wizard who will fight with the strength of a warrior, the speed of a rogue, the vigor of a barbarian, and with the magical power of ten men. Sadly you are not such a wizard... but you could be one day.**

 **+25% Magic Attack damage  
** **+10% Ease of Casting.  
** **+10% AP Regen**

It gave a boost to my oh-so-craved APR, which I wanted to be as high as possible, given my strong build to be a Caster-type fighter, despite my armor and weapons. Whatever was running the system, it clearly favored magic users.

However, that didn't mean that a warrior didn't have its own advantages...

 **You have unlocked more information about Candidus Murus!**

 **Manipulation of metal-augmented Aura has created the skill "Sunbeam Zweihander"!**

I grinned, gripping the massive blade in my massive hand, the one I'd created.

It had taken a while to figure it out, but I'd found, through the eyes of Crocea the Elemental, that there were more parts to Candidus Murus than what met the eye. It took a degree of control over Metal, which I was able to see was an affinity shared by a number of past Arcs thanks to the new information in its description. The exact structure of the shield was more akin to a fabric than solid metal plates, allowing it to transform like it was right now.

It felt connected to my hand in a way that was hard to describe almost like using a motion controller, but one that was articulated for the entire hand and all of its motions. The 'plates' ran up my entire arm to flare out at the shoulder. They seemed to be connected by translucent sheets of my azure Aura, and clasped in the fist of it was the Sunbeam Zweihander I'd formed, which crackled and jittered before solidifying as as the guidance flowed in, "Well... let's get started." I smiled at them all, we had work to do, of course.

Three faces smiled back, and I turned and led the way.

* * *

 _(A couple of hours later, Yang's POV)_

It had taken a while to adjust to things, not just getting used to the new equipment, but getting used to Jaune.

We'd taken a big step in our relationship, and I was glad. Gladder than I was with the thrill and beating up Grimm with my fists. I still didn't fully understand it, but what Jaune did, those buffs he'd applied to me, and kept applying to me every half an hour or so, the first time it happened...

I'd always struggled with Aura control, at least the more complex parts than just 'channel it into my arms to make myself punch harder', and such, it was just weird. I'd tried for years, but progress was tough. Was I really that affected by my mother's abandonment that much? After what happened that one time, and I'd nearly gotten Ruby killed, I had always decided to not let it control me. I wouldn't make that mistake again.

Yet my soul was wracked by chaos, apparently. It wasn't a very nice implication.

"We're taking a break, come on, Sunflower, you look exhausted." Jaune's voice spoke, and I looked over my shoulder for him.

No Jaune, just a screen, which was a little bit disappointing. I thought he'd get me himself, but from the brown hair I could see in his camera frame, he must have been carrying an exhausted Marbel. I wish he'd carry ME, but I could walk on my own.

Still, it would have been nice.

I jogged back towards the road, where I could see the others gathered in the distance measuring thing. As the treeline broke, I smiled at them all.

Marbel was a cool kid, to my surprise. She knew more about this game than I did, given her previous experience with the genre. I was happy that she was here, and even more happy that she wasn't trying to steal Jaune away from me. I'd only just gotten him, I would fight to keep him. I'd use every dirty trick in the book.

It had taken a while, but first impressions had colored my opinion of him well. He was kind, funny, and determined. I only grew to see more of him, and of his virtues, as time went on.

He liked to think that he was stoic, but I noticed all those blushes he had when he was looking at me. I didn't mind the looks, in fact I encouraged them. I told Jaune outright this morning, if he wanted to look at me, he was welcome to.

He's my boyfriend, it was basically his unique privilege. I didn't mind in the slightest, because to me it felt good to be admired.

But... speaking of admiration...

I saw her arrive with a flying jump, landing like a superhero, of all things.

Blake.

Jaune had let her join The Game after knowing her for all of a couple of hours. He told me that it was a snap judgment, and while I didn't condone killing, she DID seem dangerous, especially with her being from the White Fang. I'd looked over her profile, however, and I could take her out if I had to, Jaune could too, with all his fancy spells and stuffs. I didn't like seeing people in such strict pairs of labels, like friends or threats, but she was an exception.

She was a girl.

She was mine and Jaune's age.

She was hot, I could see that I was straight as an arrow.

Jaune had trusted her faster than he had come to trust me. Even if it WAS a snap judgment, his Gamer's Mind should have kept him from just DOING it, he should have thought things through.

So there had to be other reasons, and either he saw potential in her as a combatant, or as a potential... potential...

No, no no no no no no no no NO!

Jaune wasn't that kind of man, he wouldn't replace me because of one bad date, no!

Goddammit brain, why do you have to make me think things like that?!

*poke poke*

What the? "What?" I saw Jaune's grinning, chuckling face as he poked a sandwich against my lips, "Jaune, I can feed myself."

"Apparently not, baby girl." oh fuck... mmmmmmmmmmm~, I really liked the way he said that, "I've been trying to give you your sandwich for a good minute now and you wouldn't take it, so I figured I'd have to feed you."

I couldn't help but giggle at the thought, "Well fine then." I opened my mouth wider as Jaune scooted closer, and I took a bite of the sandwich, smiling. Whatever Jaune had put in this, it was REALLY good, and had a good spiciness to it, too.

He knew me too well.

* * *

 _(Blake's POV)_

He knows me too well.

Or he's just trying to be a terrible comedian.

Or he's raci-...no, he couldn't be that.

He was just bad at jokes.

I sighed as I bit into my tuna melt sandwich. I wasn't complaining, I got free food, and really good food at that, for killing Grimm. It was a much better deal that what I had in the White Fang.

I can't help but think that Jaune's timing had been critical, what with all of this. I knew I was more than a little bit emotionally compromised, and my judgment would be hampered by that. He'd caught me at the perfect time.

I guess that 110 Luck of his was good for something.

If he'd caught me at any other time, either before two days ago, or yesterday, or especially today, I'd be too frazzled to react in the way that would let him get close. If it was after I left the Fang, I'd more than likely be too rushed, too panicked, too distancing to get close at all, and any time after that?

Don't even think about it.

But no, he'd caught me off-guard, wooed me with tricks, and convinced me to let him help. The only reason why I was even doing this was that, beyond my social anxiety, I knew the value of having an ally in the right place. He was strong, I could tell just from the presence of his Aura and the cut of his muscles.

The sexy, sexy cut of his muscles...

Snap out of it, Blake! You're better than that, you can't just go gaga over the first guy who's shown you true kindness since... ever.

I'd reasoned every single thing I could out, and my only conclusion was that the only reason Jaune was being so nice to me... it was just who he was as a person. Trusting, kind, noble, he wanted to help me turn my life around, and that was something for which I would not stop being thankful. It was odd, but... he just had an odd charm to him, I suppose.

This... no, it wasn't love. It was a simple attraction, that was it. I'd read about love, and what it should feel like, and this wasn't it. This was more fizzy, and almost grating compared to the invigorating warmth love was supposed to give. I was going along with this all because I didn't have any more preferable option.

He had caught me before I could find any path that could lead to being blissfully alone and in as much peace as I could get. Of course, being an ex-terrorist on the run would mean that peace would be faint and thinly spread.

... now that I think about it, I think I prefer dealing with a few people over the constant threat of exposure and death.

"For a cat, you don't seem to have much tongue, Blake." huh? I looked over to see Yang's giggling face. I didn't particularly enjoy the puns, but the laughter was a little infectious, if I had to be honest.

"I'm sorry, I was in some deep thought. I'm making a huge leap in my path in life, I need time to adjust." I excused myself bluntly, returning to my previous thoughts.

Still, that laughter, the combined laughter of Jaune and Yang... it seeped into my veins, warming me to the core.

Maybe things would work out well.

* * *

 _(Marbel's POV)_

I smiled as we all tucked into our meals. Jaune might have just been a waiter on paper, but in reality he'd done more work for The Angel Garden than half the staff combined, partially due to how they mostly pushed him around and made him do half their jobs. He still did it, never complaining from what I'd seen. I used to like going around the restaurant looking at everything, it was kinda fun, and the artwork mom and dad put up was really cool. I saw it all happen, though, and it hurt my heart that my friend, so full of laughs, would let himself get pushed around like that.

Jaune... I don't know what had happened with him. It was a couple of summers ago, he had suddenly started ignoring me after a trip to the beach. It had gone on for nearly two whole years, him acting like I was a total stranger, until suddenly he randomly 'remembered' me, and he had this power in addition.

It was an incredible power, don't get me wrong, but it was clearly doing things to Jaune's head. It had already done things to his body. I liked Jaune... n-n-n-no it wasn't like _that_ but I was mature enough to know that I was attracted to him... _at one point! I wasn't now!_ That attraction was... okay I couldn't deny, that attraction was coming back. Not only were we super close (we'd even gone swimming together in one of the pools of water up on the mountain) but he just... got me.

Of course, I could tell that Blake was eyeing him up with a less innocent hunger than what she looked at her sandwich with, and Yang was already his girlfriend.

I sighed internally, pulling up our three profiles and comparing the stats I'd need to attract him.

 **Strength: 7**  
 **Dexterity: 17**  
 **Vitality: 12**  
 **Intelligence: 24**  
 **Wisdom: 25**  
 **Luck: 43**  
 **Charisma: 20**

 **Height: 5'4**  
 **Weight: 100**  
 **Build: Growing Young Girl**  
 **Bra Size: AA**

Compared to Yang and Blake, I was pathetic. Yang had ten times my STR, Blake had about four and a half times my DEX, so I was beaten in what would affect my build. Yang had 53 VIT and Blake had 27, which the tutorial said would affect my height, and my CHA was over fifty below both of theirs, and that would affect my... size.

Dammit, I don't like playing into tropes, but why do I have to suffer from this A-cup angst? I wanted to just... just dump all seventy-five points I had from leveling up into my CHA and out-bust them both! Unfortunately, as Jaune had explained to me before I could even spend my first set of points, increasing my stats would change my body in potentially dangerous ways. His power of Gamer's Body made those changes happen automatically with no repercussions, but if I, say, dumped my points into Strength, even just twenty of them...

Suddenly becoming four times stronger? My muscles might explode. I had to adjust slowly, though Jaune said he had the perfect exercise for me to do.

He also explained that he once did a dump of seventy-five points into a stat and he had regretted it. I don't know which but I'd have to guess it might be INT, since spending all your points on increasing your intelligence might reveal that it was not such a good idea to spend all your points on increasing your intelligence when you're trying to be a strong, agile, super-tough knight. I'm pretty sure his LUK is part of the fact that he has such a life-changing and OP semblance.

I don't know how he did it, but my King Dork did it. He somehow became unarguably the biggest nerd in existence.

Still... nerd or not, I could see why Yang was attracted to him, and Yang was the kind of girl who could be on the cover of beauty magazines, or 'other' magazines. I don't read that bullshit, so I don't care what she does in her spare time, but if she hurt Jaune... I'd find a way to hurt her back, to avenge his honor. We were friends and whatever amnesia or other mental disorders he had wouldn't change that, I'd do what I could to have his back. He was like a cooler older brother that I was denied, instead getting Onyx, who was alright, but he was kind of an edgelord. Jaune was pretty much the opposite, a paladin who would do good and combat evil, and all that. I appreciated that a lot more than I appreciated Onyx hoarding his stuff and spouting nihilistic sayings. Honestly I was glad when mom and dad made him go off to college. Hopefully he'd come back a changed man, for the better.

Still, I'm glad I hid his knife collection from him, now I could practice all I wanted!

I sighed as I looked over my stats. I wanted to increase SOMETHING but Jaune told me to wait, because he had training he wanted to put me through to help me adjust to the huntress lifestyle. I needed it, as I'd missed out on a lot. With his help, however, I could catch up sooner, rather than later.

I looked over my options. It... it couldn't hurt TOO badly to put a few points into CHA, right?

While Jaune had turned to Yang, wiping her mouth clean and kissing her cheek, I quickly dumped twenty points into Charisma, feeling energy flowing through my body and focusing along my torso. It began to ache, and I quickly closed my profile as Jaune turned to look at me.

"You alright, Marbs? You just lost some HP." dammit, of course he was keeping track of our bars.

"Uh, yeah. I think I pulled something. Heal please?" I asked kindly, receiving five of them in quick succession. I felt a soothing warmth, but also a sensation like a hot fizzing in my chest. It was starting to work!

 **Increasing your Charisma to greater heights in a sudden surge has created a backlog of physical development! During the next occurrence of the status effect "Natural Growth", you will develop more than you normally would!**

It took all my effort to keep from squealing in joy. I was going to grow more! Now I couldn't wait for Jaune's training, no matter what it might be. I don't care if it ends up being chopping logs all day, I would stand a chance to be attractive and not trail behind these two like a pitiful imouto.

Now I just had to wait.

* * *

 _(Jaune's POV)_

I sighed, noticing Marbel's increased Max HP, I checked her stats quickly and found she'd spent twenty points into CHA. Why CHA of all things? Why not VIT or DEX? She's going for a Rogue build, it just doesn't make sense! I looked through CHA's effects and found the culprit.

 **CHA also increases one's physical developments, altering their body to be more masculine or feminine (respective to gender).**

She was trying to grow more. Looking at all three girls, I figured she was jealous of Yang's and Blake's looks. I sighed internally.

Women.

At least Yang wasn't the jealous sort, my kisses and a few cuddles had swiftly exiled those thoughts from her head. She was confident in the fact that she'd captured my heart, and I wasn't going to try to prove her wrong, since I felt the same with her.

Now then, the biggest issue I was facing at the moment...

 **AP: 26000/26000**

My theory hadn't been correct in assuming Aura would prestige when my Max AP reached 25k, or I was missing a piece of the puzzle. I felt the power inside me building up, reaching a threshold, but it couldn't break through.

That threshold, that would be the point where I'd get that prestige. I was curious beyond belief, what could the power that every great warrior and mage in history have to improve to?

I didn't know what it was, but I'm sure it would be obvious in hindsight.

I finished my sandwich and licked my fingers clean, smiling, "Mmmm~, that was great. How about you girls?" I got a few hums of agreement, which was more than enough for me. I stood up and walked over to the nearest tree. After adjusting to make sure I wouldn't end up making it fall on top of them all in case I accidentally cut all the way through it.

I'd fought a lot more Grimm with Sunbeam Zweihander than I had with Vorpal Sword, and I needed to change that. Vorpal Sword would be my main magical skill, and I needed it to be my focus.

Summoning the blade into my hand, I began doing the most basic training I could think of.

Smacking a tree with a sword. Though it was made of aura, it was the same thing and I couldn't argue that. I made swift strikes, easily carving several inches into the wood with the strength of my arm and the defense penetration of Vorpal Sword. With my other hand, I fired off dozens of Soulforges in seconds, healing the damage I'd caused. I sighed and stopped after a minute or two, realizing that the heals hadn't done jack diddly squat to fix the damage I caused.

I leaned against the tree, pressing my forehead and my left hand against the bark. When I'd reached level thirty in Mana Barrage, the skill had altered, now only requiring one free hand to use, or a conduit like Crocea Mors the sword. I focused and dumped Regeneration and Soulforge Restoration into the tree. I had to prove it could be done.

I kept my eyes on its HP bar, which slowly went up with the power of both skills. I knew re-upping the elemental effect buffs wasn't the most efficient way of getting EXP, but it was better than nothing. I straightened up as an idea popped into my head, and I began walking up the road, dropping the buff Regeneration on every tree I passed. When I'd gotten about three hundred feet away from the other three, I walked back down the road and dropped it on every tree on the other side of the road. When I reached the group again, they had finished their sandwiches and had recovered fully thanks to Regeneration, "We've made half the distance, if I'm not mistaken, so if we keep it up like this, we can at least reach the base of the mountain. I'm not expecting us to finish this today, but it should be done tomorrow, I'd think." I smiled at them, hearing sighs of relief. With a new plan set, I led them forwards, ready to take on the task at hand.

After all, we just had to keep moving forwards.

* * *

 _(A few hours later, as the sun is starting to in the sky, Jaune's POV)_

I smiled at the three, watching as Yang lay in the grass, taking a nap, Blake sat with her back to the Great Tree, and Marbel stood off to the side, chopping logs with a metal axe I'd crafted with Crocea, which made it quite heavy. Of course, I'd given her Regeneration to allow her to keep working, and she'd been sweating up a storm.

All in all, today's work had been good.

 **Jaune Arc**  
 **Title: Intermediate Hero**  
 **Level: 41**

 **Yang Xiao Long  
Title: Hotter and Brighter than the Summer Sun  
Level: 39**

 **Marbel Mayston  
Title: The Flowering Rook  
Level: 25**

 **Blake Belladonna  
Title: The Nighttime Beauty  
Level: 37**

I smiled, meditating with my eyes open (which I could do thanks to my massive INT and WIS). Soul of the World's boosts to my APR had quickly fallen by the wayside, but it increased my Max AP, which meant not only would I regenerate to a higher maximum, but I also would be able to get more AP per minute, which I'd been using to gauge my skill usage. I sighed softly, giving the girls all the buffs I had, except for Marbel getting the strength boost from Boulder's Strength, since she was training that right now. I felt a presence next to me and turned, seeing Blake's concerned face, "What's up, Blakerino?" I chuckled a bit, trying to ease her obvious tension.

She didn't budge, "Jaune, the mission is tomorrow morning. I need to go tonight."

I sighed, then engaged my Serious Mode, "Alright. Think I should come with? Do I need to be disguised?"

Blake nodded, "That would be best. Try to use that invisibility spell you showed me too, and use a different disguise if possible."

I focused, feeling out with my senses, then suddenly a volley of Energy Arrows fired into the forest, followed by a brief cry of pain. I lunged in that direction, finding a downed dear, its brain punctured several times.

 **Energy Arrow (Active) Level: 26, Exp: 20.00% Cost: 5 AP (10)  
** **A skill that attacks by emitting Aura as a concentrated line of energy. Attack power increases with INT and Mana Affinity. Pierces targets.  
**

 **Base Power: 53% (40)  
** **Range: 100m (50)  
** **Maximum Number of Arrows per Cast: 11 (1)**

I smiled and used Gleaming Dagger to gather leather and meat from the body. After a few minutes of gathering resources, I used Alchemical Aura and sure enough, Beast's Blood leveled up and I grew a small pair of antlers and a second set of ears, my race becoming Deer Faunus.

I lunged back, now wearing a new set of clothing and smiling, "Call me... Ringo." I shrugged, smiling, "Come on, let's get going." I jogged over to Marbel, patting her on the shoulder, "Marbs, I gotta go help Blake with some stuff involving her getting out of the White Fang. If something happens, here." I quickly gave her re-upped her buffs, as well as gave her Boulder's Strength, "Wake Yang up and use anything in the inventory to fight off whatever it is, okay? And don't hesitate to tell me, in fact tell me first, so I can come help."

Marbel wiped her sweat away with the back of her hand, "I got it, I got it, King Dorkthurius. Before you go, remind me how long am I supposed to do this for again?"

I looked at the pile of un-chopped logs left, "If you think you can still go for more after you finish this pile, then there's a good couple hundred more logs in the inventory. Just keep going until you feel you've done enough. Make sure that you have enough energy to get home, though, and hide your equipment from your parents to be safe. I'll be back n a bit, and Yang should wake up soon, she said she's only going to sleep for an hour."

"Right, I'll keep an eye on your sleeping beauty while you help the ninja to escape." she said with a slightly irritated tone, which I frowned at.

"Be safe, Princess." I gave her a quick side-hug and turned to Blake, my hair a rich brown, "Let's get going."

Blake nodded and began to lead the way, and I followed suit.

This... was going to be interesting.

* * *

 _(Half an hour later, Forever Fall Forest, near the White Fang Alpha Camp)_

I let out a low sigh, hating how this had to end.

I watched with morbid curiosity.

 **Sanson Bhalmy**  
 **Title: Wearing Tides and Flags  
Level: 8**

 ***BRRZZT***

 ***brrrring ring~***

I watched as the information window over the man shifted, his level draining and hitting 0 with that ringing sound. The window changed, no longer displaying a stat-block but rather **Corpse of Sanson Bhalny** followed by some basic information. His age, a bit of background info, his occupation as a White Fang troop, his highest level reached in life, and his method of death. I quickly removed his oufit and mask and donned it for myself, using Roimontagne to bury the body several feet down, even as Magic Eyes showed me... something.

A wisp of energy floated out of the corpse before it sank beneath the dirt, coalescing into a small ball above the puddle of blood that blended seamlessly with the crimson grass.

I examined it with curious, Magical eyes.

 ** _Unshining Soul Wisp (light brown)_**

 ** _Description: A weak soul that has been freed from its mortal coil. It is small and fragile, captured in infancy. Its corona is colored faintly brown, different from its greenish core. It is completely intact, but unstable and still locked within itself. The owner, Sanson Bhalmy, did not have his Aura unlocked, and died easily. It is unknown what power this soul may have manifested, given time and nurturing, but it may have been related to the element of Earth._**

 ** _Effects: Consuming this soul wisp will grant +80 Max AP and +1 Earth Affinity._**

I stared as I put it into my inventory, then looked at Blake, "I did what I had to. He would have called back to base and exposed us. I'm sorry, Blake. If it makes you feel better, I felt sick having to do it."

Blake's grim expression softened, "I'm sorry, Jaune. You're quite innocent, all things considered, and I didn't want to bring you into a lifestyle where you'd have to murder people."

I shook my head, "It's alright, I promise, no needless deaths, Blake. I'm a hero, y'know, it says it in my title, I'm here to do good and beat the bad guys." I chuckled at the almost childish statement, but smiled meaningfully at her.

Blake smiled back slightly, reassured for the most part. I put on Sanson's mask and began walking back to camp with her.

...

In the distance, as we approached, I noticed a trio of humans approaching from the other side. I frowned, as did Blake, telling me that this wasn't expected. Muttering a couple of choice words, I hit them all with Gamer's Sight and was surprised by the results.

 **Cinder Fall**  
 **Title: A Demon of Bravery  
Level: 89**

 **Mercury Black  
Title: The Quicksilver Butcher  
Level: 68**

 **Emerald Sustrai  
Title: The Jade Thief  
Level: 67**

Blake tensed a bit, and I gestured for her to stop. I approached slowly towards the tent, seeing an angry Adam, "Sir, I've returned from the patrol. The cat is back, and it appears we have visitors." I imitated Sanson's voice the best I could with my boost from Singing.

Adam snorted, "Send them in, I'll just have to make due." I saw him grip the handle of a katana and stick it into a rifle-like sheathe. It wasn't the fine craftsmanship I'd seen in Wilt and Blush, but it was functional. He'd have to do plenty of work to make sure his new weapon was up to snuff for his fighting style.

Blake entered just as I exited, _Jaune W: Be careful. The black-haired woman is nearly level 90 and her title literally calls her a demon :W_

 _Blake W: I noticed. Your leadership skill showed me. :W_

I blinked, Leadership? I checked my skills with a few brief thoughts and found it.

 **Leadership (Passive) Level: 20, Exp: 43.62%  
** **The power, authority, and responsibility of those who go beyond the norm to lead others to victory.**

 **Increases effects of Charisma.  
** **Increases followers stats by 20%  
** **Level 10: Allows Followers to receive part of Gamer's Sight's findings  
** **Level 20: Share EXP with followers regardless of level difference**

Ah, that made sense, _Jaune W: Right, proceed with caution. :W_

 _Blake W: I already was. :W_

"Come on, don't cause any trouble." I warned the three.

Cinder narrowed her eyes at me, but behind my mask, mine practically shined with suspicion. Her race was listed as **Human (Grimm-tainted)** and she had a patchy, almost completely unseeable backstory. I couldn't gather anything from it other than a typical child abuse story. It pained me to be so apathetic, but nobody who was good had 'demon' in their title.

I opened the tent for them, my eyes peeled for anything from the other two.

I could see scars on Emerald's exposed arms, some old, but some relatively fresh, no doubt caused by Cinder's abusive rule. She definitely had the look and attitude of a leader. I held my rifle steady, but relaxed, like the soldier across from me. We didn't aim at them.

Yet.

I was internally panicking, this was a case where my Luck had crafted an unlucky situation. This Cinder woman was dangerous, not only did she have high-level skills, high-one-hundreds for physical stats, she also had quintuple-digit HP, AP, and SP bars that were far above my own, even above Adam's, but her lowest was clearly in Aura. Even so, I could see that the first digit was 4, meaning she had forty-something THOUSAND AP.

Yowch.

I had skills, but none of them had the DPS to take her down before she'd tear me apart.

So I didn't attack, I waited like a good little soldier.

Luckily, while fortune favors the bold, fate favors the patient. Cinder explained her plan to arrange for organized attacks that would utilize the Grimm to sow chaos in Vale, weakening its defenses. Blood would have to be shed on both sides, but they would be able to seize power in droves where the kingdom's forces would be unable to grasp.

Adam grit his teeth, "So... let me get this straight." he began pacing back and forth, "You could have gone to anyone for help. You could have made a deal with a gang leader, paid of some huntsman that had strayed from their... righteous path." he seemed to pause briefly, then took in a breath. What was that about? Before I could think on it, he continued, "But instead... you choose to seek an audience with _me_."

Cinder waited a second for Adam to continue, but it was clear he was demanding an explanation, so she provided, "You're the one we need. Your skill. Your ability to lead those beneath you. You're an exceptionally valuable man, Adam, and we have put a lot of thought into-"

"Then you're clearly not thinking straight!" Adam interrupted aggressively, "If you truly understood me, then you would know that coming here was a mistake. The White Fang is not an organization for hire. We are a force, of revolution!"

I saw Mercury and Emerald share a look, Emerald raising her eyebrows and Mercury giving an 'I'm not impressed' expression. It seemed that Adam wouldn't budge, stubborn as a bull, which fit for hilarious reasons.

Cinder was not so quick to show judgement, or give up, "I believe that our plan will be beneficial for all parties involved." when Adam didn't respond with anything but just more pacing, she continued, "I have... an associate in Vale. He and I are working on a revolution of our own, but we can't do it without your forces. We need-"

Adam had had enough, "What you _need_ , is to _leave."_ he picked up his new rifle-ninjato and lifted it into view, the parts clacking slightly as he bolted the rifle, "You are asking my men to die for your cause. A _human_ cause." he grabbed the handle of his sword, ready to fire at a moment's notice.

"Boss, I think maybe-" I was cut off by Adam's snap anger.

"Do NOT speak out of line, Sans." I internally roared with laughter. Oh if this guy only knew, "Ignore him. My men dying for a human cause... that is _not_ a thought that I am willing to entertain." his tone and angered expression gave no room for argument.

It was clear to both me and Cinder that the conversation was over with, and she submitted, "Very well." she bowed respectfully, then she turned to leave, Mercury and Emerald standing up and leaving behind her.

I followed Adam as he watched them go, anger and a smirk covering his expression, "Boss, I think we should have-"

"What you think is of no concern, Sanson. Now unless you found anything else on your patrol, then get out of my sight.

Blake approached, having been shooed from the tent before the meeting began, "What was that about?"

Adam clicked his tongue, "Nothing. We need to finish preparing." he began to walk towards another tent, "The train will be here at dawn."

 _Jaune W: Cinder wanted to make a deal with Adam that would turn the White Fang into full-blown terrorists, sending Grimm at the kingdom to weaken their defenses and grab up power and resources. :W_

 _Blake W: I... I can't believe it. Did he accept? :W_

 _Jaune W: No, but from his wording, tone, and expression, he was heavily tempted by it. He disagreed because it was a cause led by humans. :W_

 _Blake W: I can't believe he... he fucking... :W_ Blake suddenly grabbed me and pulled me close, glaring at me, _W: Jaune... kill him. I want you to kill him. :W_

 _Jaune W: I can't just-:W_

 _Blake W: If you want Yang, her sister, Marbel, her parents, and everyone else in Vale to be safe, then you need to kill him before those three return and convince him to join their cause. :W_

I stared at Blake long and hard, and realized she was right. Adam would come around after one or two more attempts, especially if Cinder came back with more resources and more to offer him, sweetening up the deal. I lifted my mask and returned her determined look, _Jaune_ _W: Alright, I'll do it. :W_

Blake let me go and I lowered my mask, _Blake W: Come on, and follow my lead. :W_

I followed her to the supply tent, which was made of a different material and had some forging equipment in it. A burly man with bear ears was working on Adam's sword. Blake glared at me and slapped my arm, "Go on, tell him idiot." _Blake W: Tell him you found a vien of Dust :W_

I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly, "Uh, boss, I forgot to mention earlier because of that woman visiting, but I found a rocky thing in the forest and I swear there's a ton of Dust inside it!" I sounded like an excited, but slow-minded idiot.

Adam snorted, "And you're telling me this NOW? Why didn't you try to collect it?"

I gestured to my sweater-covered arms, "I'm too weak, boss. But you're the strongest one here, so I figured you could get it."

The taller man sounded frustrated, "Fucking hell Sanson just show me. I'll get it myself if you're going to be a pansy about it. We're trying to enact revolution and you're too weak to break some rocks?" he pushed me, gesturing for me to lead the way.

I got up, suppressed the urge to kill with willpower and Gamer's Mind, and made to lead the way.

God I just hoped this worked.

* * *

 _(About ten minutes later, a quarter-mile into the forest, Jaune POV)_

"Sanson how far did you walk?" Adam demanded, his hand on his sword and his head on a swivel, looking for any Grimm. I could see his HP dropping from the pain caused by Olmadonrun, but it was very slow due to his own HPR, which assuming it worked the same for everyone else as it did for me, would have a base of 17%. His HPR however, was reduced by his current level of exhaustion, though his skills were skill very sharp. He had endured hard training for a long time, that much was certain.

I only had one shot at this.

 **Gaster Blaster (Active) Level: 12, EXP: 20.00%, Cost: 8800 MP  
** **A spell used by an ancient wizard who had transcended the shackles of death, binding his soul to his dead body even after it withered away into a skeleton. This power was one of his greatest spells, a mighty beam of incinerating power projected from the mouth of a terrifying floating skull. It was regarded as one of the most dangerous and powerful magical abilities of its time.**

 **Base Damage: 5000%  
** **Range: 130m  
** **Radius of Beam: Up to 1 ft  
** **Number of Gaster Blasters: 3**

Don't fail me now, "It's just up ahead, I think." I made Roi and take some Fire Dust Crystals from my Inventory and pull it through the ground, forming a patch of brown, dirty stone up ahead, "Ah, I see it now."

Luckily, clever though he was, Adam was not the sharpest tool in the shed, "Move." he pushed past me and I pretended to stumble into a tree, walking faster until he knelt in front of the raised earth. He touched the red crystal, pushing down and running his finger over it, "Fire Dust, and it's legitimate." he rubbed his finger and his thumb together, watching tiny wisps of flame rise from the particles.

I took in a breath, summoned three groups of Gaster Blasters, then two Vorpal Swords, and spoke, "Sorry boss."

"What the-" the Dust detonated as he turned, sending an explosion of fire at his face. I had already changed into my combat gear via Outfits. To Adam's credit, he survived the explosion of fire, but it was just in time to see nine faces of death staring him down.

They had already breathed in, air turning to plasma within their hollow maws as the blasts had charged up. I grinned and aimed directly at his face, "Get dunked on."

He had a lot of aura, yes, and a lot of HP too, for sure.

Sadly, HP doesn't matter when you don't have a head.

 **QUESTS COMPLETE!**

 **You have succeeded the quest "Causing some cavities"!**

 **You have gained +20 Morality!  
**

 **Stealth's level increased by 4!**

 **You have gained the item "Remnant Arsenals 5.6mm Rifle (x75)"**

 **You have gained the item "Tent Spike (x2)"**

 **You have gained the item "Wilt and Blush"**

 **You have succeeded the quest "Violent Dentistry"!**

 **You have gained the Grimm Mask "Olmadonrun (Damaged)"**

 **You have gained the item "Withering Flames Longcoat"**

 **You have gained the item "Withering Flames Gloves"**

 **You have gained the item "Withering Flames Shirt"**

 **You have gained the item "Withering Flames Pants"**

 **You have gained the item "Withering Flames Shoes"**

 **You have gained the item "Burning Soul (infernal red)"**

 **You have gained the item "Skillbook: Charging Shine"**

 **Your level has increased by seven!**

Skillbook? The item my Sight identified it was was more akin to a relic. A bright red medallion with a whitish emboss of a man with a sun-like corona of Aura around him. Magic Eyes showed me a bit more information.

 **The medallion-like appearance of this item is due to its origins as a semblance harvested from a fallen soul.**

Well, that was certainly interesting. I equipped the **Experienced Scholar** title and used it.

 **You cannot normally use this skillbook! However, due to your high INT and WIS, as well as your boosts to Aura Channeling and Ease of Casting, you are able to use this skill despite not meeting the normal requirements.**

 **You have learned the skill "Charging Shine"! Due to being a Experienced Scholar, you learned enough of this skill from the book to achieve level 8!**

 **-/\\-**

 **Charging Shine (Active) Level: 8, Exp: 52.13%, Cost: 100 AP  
** **An ability held by those with the power to channel large amounts of Aura into single actions. By channeling a large amount of Aura into a weapon or spell, you can increase its effects.**

 **Overcharge Limit: +34% (20)  
** **This spell also costs an additional amount of Aura based on the Overcharge percentage and the cost of the skill it is used with.**

 **-/\\-**

I stared at the headless body, then examined the effects of the Burning Soul. Increasing STR, DEX, and VIT, a sizable little boost to my Max AP, and a +5 to Fire Affinity. I stood up and began crafting a new outfit, guided by a theory. With a wire brush, I cleaned the ash off the surprisingly intact mask Olmadonrun and donned the items left behind. After a minute or so, I used Alchemical Aura and claimed the race Bull Faunus, changing into that and equipping Wilt and Blush.

Sure enough, I was right.

 **Equipping the armor set "Withering Flames Clothes", changing your race to Bull Faunus, and equipping "Olmadonrun (Damaged)" and "Wilt and Blush" has granted you a Set Bonus!**

 **Set Bonus: Height altered to 6'5, hair color changed to Red and Brown, eye color changed to Bright Red, +30% effective STR, +15% mastery of "Charging Shine", +5 Fire Affinity.**

I felt the changes take place, then hummed in curiosity, _Jaune W: Blake, I've done it. Adam is dead. What's surprised me is that I have his equipment. Equipping it all has granted me a Set Bonus that makes me look more like Adam. I think I could sneakily take over the White Fang with this, all things considered. I could do good for the world by leading the White Fang back to the path of good. :W_

 _Jaune C: Yang, Marbel, I've killed the evil leader of the White Fang and took his stuff. :C_

 _Yang C: WHAT? :C_

 _Marbel C: Isn't he like super tough? :C_

 _Jaune C: Being super tough didn't stop me from obliterating his face with nine Gaster Blasters. :C_

 _Yang C: Wait hold on you took his stuff? Like... Jaune I can agree that the guy was a douchebag, Blake's been telling us all about the shit he does daily, but you freaking KILLED HIM? :C_

 _Jaune C: I know you probably don't agree, but Yang... I'm sorry but I don't think he'd listen to reason. He had a Grimm Mask on, one that reduced his Moral Sensitivity by 90%. That's a gigantic number, especially when we're talking about reductions. I'm immune to it, however, and a few other effects it imposes on the wearer. I promise, I can potentially do good with this outfit on. It's the clothes that make the man, as they say. :C_

I sighed, feeling the air turn to plasma in my mouth, saliva boiling on my tongue as I breathed in and snorted fire.

 _Blake C: Jaune... I don't think... no, I KNOW this is a bad idea. The White Fang will not hesitate to turn on you if they find out what you did. I don't want you to take that risk. :C_

I snorted fire again, turning on my camera and looking at Blake, then removing Olmadonrun from my face, showing my bright azure eyes as they changed back in an instant, though my hair didn't comply so easily. I looked at her as I forced her camera to turn on and her to look at me, seeing her nervous expression, _Jaune C: I'm sorry, but then I'll have to kill them too. I don't like having to kill, it sickens me. These people are sick and tired of the life they've been given, and were turned onto a dark path by Adam's influence. :C_ Vile bastard though he might have been, from what Blake had told me, he still managed to rally his people together for a single cause. I felt like in another time, in another life, things could have gone differently. We could have been allies.

Even friends.

But the headless corpse in front of me had damned that path forever. I snapped my fingers and a spark flew from them, dropping onto his corpse, _Jaune C: I hate that I had to do this, but he was a villain. As a hero, I have to defeat the villains, whether that means reforming them, or killing them. :C_

 _Marbel C: I guess that's alright, then. Hunters have to make tough choices sometimes, I understand, Jaune. :C_

 _Jaune C: I knew you would, Marbs, you're a smart cookie. Yang? :C_ I turned her camera on to look at me.

My be-... my girlfriend, _girlfriend,_ I had to remind myself. She was my girlfriend now, that was a fact I still had to assure myself was true. I digress, my girlfriend's expression was a tad uncomfortable, but accepting, _Yang C: I understand. Killing might be wrong, but sometimes it's the least wrong thing you can do. Just because I don't like it doesn't mean I can't agree with it. :C_ she gave me a small smile, _C: Just... keep the killing thing in the bad side. :C_

I thanked Charisma that I'd turned them to my side so easily, though maybe it had to do with the fact that my eyes stayed the same.

They say the eyes are the window to the soul, that's why Hunters had such beautiful, yet dangerous ones.

And why the Grimms' were cold, dark, and empty.

I smiled at her, putting the mask back on, _Jaune C: I'm glad I could get you all on my side for this. I'm going to go try to administrate things for the White Fang, learn and stifle their plans. It'll be tough, but together, Blake, you and I can make this movement peaceful again. :C_

I was about to bury the body when I noticed something. It was hard to see among the flames, but Magic Eyes gave me the visual clarity for it.

I turned off the cameras and grabbed it, hitting it with Gamer's Sight as I put it in my inventory.

 **Unknown Soul Shard (red): A shard of a soul that calls to you with a strange, indescribable power frequency.**

I could agree with the brief, unhelpful description. I could sense it when I had gotten closer, and was confused at what it was.

 **QUEST RECEIVED!**

 **Quest: A Hero's fallen light.  
** **Description: You have found a piece of a red-colored soul that holds a strange, indescribably power inside it. It's unknown what this power is, but you feel it is important.  
** **Objective: Collect all the shards of the shattered red soul and put them back together.**

 **Rewards: "Reconstructed Strange Red Soul", +100,000 EXP, +10% mastery of Mana Affinity, increase your knowledge of souls.**

 **Penalties: The "Strange Red Soul" is forever broken, Varying EXP for each shard collected, Varying boost to mastery of Mana Affinity, slightly increase your knowledge of souls.**

I accepted it, curious if nothing else. I tucked the soul shard into my inventory next to the other two souls. I'd look into crafting some sort of phylactery for them, but for now I had work to do.

Or more specifically, Adam had work to do.

* * *

 _(The next day, early morning, Jaune POV)_

I groaned internally. Having to conform to a schedule was _boring~._ Sadly, Adam didn't have a super-endurance that would allow him to go all night without sleeping, so I had to pretend to be asleep as I meditated and worked my Elementals underground, feeling the chamber with my Aura's perceptions. I didn't show any physical signs that I was awake until nearly dawn. It gave me plenty of time to meditate and improve Summon Elemental, as well as fire off a Gaster Blaster every couple of minutes. My level in Nature Affinity had grown enough that its boost to my APR had increased, which meant more AP per minute to use.

One volley of Gaster Blasters every two minutes, for a little over eight hours, while meditating and using my elementals? Compounded by the 25% EXP boost from the Intermediate Hero title?

EXP, EXP, gimme gimme EXP.

... okay that sounded fucking dumb. I would apologize to anyone who had to hear that.

Sighing and sitting up, I walked out of the tent, leaving a hastily scrawled note that I'd left with Blake on the mission. I followed my Party Tracking to her place of sleeping, opening the lone tent and seeing her packing a few extra magazines for the mission.

I smiled, "Hey Blake. You ready to go 'rob a train'?" I chuckled a bit, but she didn't respond in kind.

Instead, she turned to me with a serious look, "'Adam'... you know what will happen if they find out. Are you prepared to deal with that?"

I sighed and shook my head, "Honestly no. I'll have to shed the blood of people I could save. I'll do my best, but I think it's time 'Adam' started thinking with his head instead of his bloodlust." I smiled at her, "Come on, we need to at least stop the train."

Blake nodded. We had to craft layers of disguise, and for that we needed to act our parts until it was time for the curtain call.

It was only a matter of time, anyways, before we'd be able to do as we pleased.

...

It was just a few minutes after sunrise, and I could see the train's smoke in the distance.

Such powerful technology, able to take only a dozen or so pounds of Fire Dust and turn it into such motion. I was almost tempted to test my STR in stopping the train.

Sadly for my plans, my judgment told me that I'd most-likely end up as a nice big bull pancake if I tried that. I tended to listen to my judgment more. Blake and I looked over the cliff, planning to take the slope as a ramp down to the behemoth machine, hopefully ending up on top of the thing and not underneath it.

As I said before, being underneath it would most-likely mean death.

We quickly slid down the slope with expert balance, leaping into the air at the critical moment.

*BANG-skrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeee~*

Wilt sung like a metallic banshee as I anchored myself into place with it, sliding to a halt atop the train.

 **SDC Cargo Train: Currently transporting 300 crates of public-grade Dust Powder and Crystals, 50 AK-130 Security Droids, 1 AK Spider Droid, 65 staff members, and 100 passengers.**

 **The order of the cars of this train goes as such...**

I read the list of the cars and counted down the line, "We need to move ahead, there are a LOT of cars we don't need to mess with." I instructed, running against the screaming winds.

Then again... when it came to winds, I could scream back.

Blake was surprised when suddenly, the air around us calmed, azure energy tinting the air as I led the charge down a few cars. The going was easy, even if we'd initially landed near the car containing the security bots. We reached the first car full of Dust and I performed an iaido slash on the roof-mounted hatch. I'd learned the style while meditating, using Adam's soul as a focus as I fed it some Aura to keep it going. From what I'd seen, the style was quite simple, with a basic does-it-all attack, the **Quickdraw Strike** , a defensive parrying move called **Inchuyo** , and a crouching and standing posture respectively called **Iai-Goshi** and **Tachi-Ai** for its stances. Four basic moves, but it could be a deadly art if mastered, especially with the boosts it had.

I lifted the hatch and let Blake enter, then jumped down myself and let the hatch close on its own. We landed in a crouch, but when Gamer's Sight came up negative for anything with a level, I stood up again, "It's clear." I assured her, then sighed, looking at her, "I don't want to do this, but... the White Fang have expectations."

Blake sighed, "The White Fang is misguided, you can guide them back onto the right path, but first you have to sate their cries for blood. I hate that it has to be this way, but it's a little bad for a lot of good later... I hope."

I smiled reassuringly and patted her shoulder, "Don't worry, when this is all over you'll be a powerful huntress who'll set things right. Just do right by Faunus kind, I'll always have your back, Blake." I slid my mask up, revealing my eyes, which changed back to Azure when the mask no longer counted as being 'equipped'.

We stared into each other's eyes for several seconds, then we both nodded, I slid my mask back down, and opened a crate.

Oh... wow.

Dust storage canisters full of the stuff, crystals of a few different cuts, several in the six types I used, but I noticed another one present.

 _ **Energy Dust**_

 _ **Description: A bright yellow-white Dust tinged with a green or blue hue depending on the angle it's viewed from. It is Tier 1 Commonness and some even consider these trashy for their sheer abundance and vague. However, Hunters know the great value in them. The powder form of this dust is most-often used as a replacement for gunpowder in basic Dust Rounds, due to its explosive capabilities and release of large amounts of energy when detonated.**_

 _ **Effects: Restores 500 AP per crystal, unknown effect when used with Soulforge Restoration.**_

Huh. That was certainly interesting. I collected up a few dozen of them from the boxes, as well as more of my usual six elements. I turned to look at Blake, who was leaning back against a stack of crates, reading a book. I deadpanned, "Really?"

Blake didn't even look towards me, "Yes really. I have nothing to do but wait. We have to stop this portion of the train from reaching Vale or the mission is a failure. We can't steal the cars of Dust if they're still attached.

I nodded, then turned to face the door, only to see a massive robot positioned there, chittering as if through a speaker.

 **AK-Spyder, Artillery Security Droid**  
 **Title: No Spout too Great  
Level: 45**

It had thick plating, more than I could cut through with just Wilt, even after my enhancements. But... maybe...

Another idea, but first, "Blake get out of here, I'll hold it off." there's a saying I like.

When life gives you poison, use a Poison of Weakness to Poison on your target first, then do it again, THEN poison them, just to be sure.

So I charged up Charging Shine, using it to charge itself several times over as I dodged and flipped out of the way of its energy blasts. When I felt I'd done enough, I smirked and charged forward as the droid took a few moments to recharge its cannons. Those few moments were going to be its downfall.

I roared out as I slashed with Vorpal Sword around Wilt, slicing through two of the massive legs of the Spyder. I jumped on top of it, unloading almost a dozen Energy Arrows directly, almost inside, into its torso with one cast, creating a burst of light. With Crocea the Elemental, I grasped the armor and plunged my fist through it, tearing the behemoth to pieces.

When I'd 'killed' the bot, I took a few moments to feel out for any security cameras. I located two and simply fried their circuitry with Xibu. I had to take perspective into account. From the perspective of the security directors reviewing the footage, it would appear that Adam had torn through the steel with his bare hands, then the cameras had stopped working because they randomly caught on fire.

When all of that was finished, I looked at the loot I'd gotten.

 **Your level has increased by one!**

 **You gained the item "Spyder Artillery Energy Cannon (x2)"**

 **You gained the item "Blacksteel Bar (x9)"**

 **You gained the item "Dust-powered Circuitry (x14)"**

 **You gained 1000 Lien.**

Huh... I had been pretty close to level 49, so I guess this kill pushed me over. It was really good for my purposes. I got more materials, a level, some money, and a new weapon.

It was a good haul.

As I left the car and stepped out onto a flatbed, I saw Blake in the distance. I rushed closer, only to see her hold her hand out before I could jump over, "This is the opportunity I needed. Tell them I disappeared." she draw Gambol Shroud and, with a basic Far Strike, severed the tow cables. As the rest of the train continued chugging along, pulled ahead by the engine, the rearwards cars began grinding to a slow halt.

I sighed for the fifth time that day, but heard trucks in the far distance, so I did what I'd been doing since last night.

Faking it until I made it.

I collapsed to my knees, staring ahead as Blake became only a speck of white in the distance. I pinched my arm, as if in disbelief that I was even awake. The first thing the White Fang saw when they came to collect the loot was their leader checking to see if he was even still alive.

"Sir." Lieutenant Banesaw said as he approached, "Are you alright? We're here. Where is the cat?"

I stood up and shoved him back, "GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" I collapsed to my knees and proceeded to bang my fists on the floor of the flatbed, screaming inarticulately. In my faint peripheral vision, I noticed that the soldiers looked at each other, then at me, then back at each other, then back at me. They were clearly unused to their leader having an emotional fit. I spent a good minute or so just banging a hole into the steel floor, just for effect. With my chest heaving, I stood up, gritting my teeth and snorting, growling, "GET TO WORK!" I barked in command, then jumped down off the train, turning to the now-standing-again Banesaw, "She disappeared. I looked down, looked back up and she was gone. Next thing I knew, one of their droids had come out, severed the connection to the rest of the train, and we fought. I killed it, and now I'm going to kill all of them. I'm going after her." I had my hand held firmly on Wilt's handle, getting ready.

As I did a quick mental calculation, I realized that I was at a level where Sprint's minutely cost was now under my minutely SPR. I growled as Banesaw spoke, "Sir, I know she was dear to you, but you could compromise us with this. She might be on this part of the train."

I looked at him, "Rally the troops and send search parties, I'm going after that part." it would be relatively easy, all things considered, "Don't try to stop me." with that, I tore off at high speed, forging ahead with determination and anger.

Nobody did try to stop me, they were too busy following their boss' orders.

* * *

 _(A few hours later, Eagle Mountain Road, Jaune POV)_

Marbel looked miserable, but I reassured her about today's activities. She didn't have to fight if she didn't feel up to it, I wouldn't force her to do something she wasn't capable of.

However, with about twelve-hundred Soulforges in just five minutes, she was feeling much better, and looked considerably more fit. No wait, scratch that, she WAS considerably more fit now, lots of healing and vigorous exercises had done her wonders.

 **Level: 25 - 27**

 **Max HP: 570 - 900  
Max AP: 1100 - 1230  
Max SP: 440 - 1150**

 **Strength: 7 - 15  
** **Dexterity: 17 - 25  
** **Vitality: 12 - 20**

She had cut down on some useless fat she'd had, increased her muscle tone, and after not only Soulforges, but my other healing skill I'd discovered, she was ready for more training.

 **Rejuvenating Breath (Active) Level: 5, Exp: 26.35%, Cost: 100 AP  
** **Men have offered to die for the honor of a warrior's life, but true Men have lived through their wars with the determination to survive. Compressing the determination into a burst of healing-type Aura has proven to invigorate and rejuvenate nearly fallen allies with only a few breaths.**

 **Restores 10 AP to the target.  
** **Invigorates the target, temporarily clearing debuffs to their VIT and giving them +25% effective VIT  
** **Rejuvenates 10 HP per second for 10 seconds.  
** **Rejuvenates 25 SP per second for 10 seconds.**

It was a Ki-based skill, since I'd figured that the Elements tab had had a healing spell, why not Ki, literally the soul energy empowered and driven by lifeforce? The 'Warrior's Mana' as one of the skills described it. Well I'd been right, and it seemed to be great for in a pinch, but the 'rejuvenating' part was what made it ineffective compared to Soulforge or activating Aura. It didn't fully 'restore' the HP and SP, it just sort of temporarily boosted them with Ki, which was hard to describe but the points didn't fully 'feel' restored. Still, for the lack of strength for those restored health and stamina points, and the fact it relied on your ability to keep breathing, it was effective at helping you feel recovered even if you weren't.

That placebo effect was what let me help Marbel train. I smiled as I helped her position things right to adjust for the newer, slightly larger axe I'd given her. There were things to do if I was to move ahead with my plan of making a base of operations on this mountain, and whether Marbel realized it or not, her labors would help build our mutual dream of a kingdom of our own.

Just very small.

And on a mountain.

And with my girlfriend.

I still had to get used to that, just as I had to get used to using Iaijutsu. I'd decided to practice on the trees, not only with the new style, since Adam was expected to be proficient in it, but also with Soulforge, to restore the damage dealt. I blunted the blade to minimize how much I destroyed, but that also reduced the EXP I gained for the techniques, since they were hardly doing anything, even if I was getting good practice.

I came to one tree when I paused, staring at it long and hard.

Or more specifically, the ripe orbs hanging from it.

Oranges.

I felt memories coming back to me.

* * *

 _Orange juice, the taste made me feel better, even with my stuffy nose and scratchy throat._

 _I was sick, but dad came in with a scarlet drink he claimed would heal me right up. I drank it too, since my mother had told me to drink plenty of fluids._

 _After a nap, I felt right as rain, remembering the taste of strawberries and oranges._

 _When my mother had deemed I was healthy, I went to hang out with my friends, or rather the friends of Kira's brother._

 _There was her brother, Darek. He was strong, but afflicted with asthma._

 _The girl of the group, Lytare. She was aloof and didn't care about much._

 _And the smart guy, Viridios. He had a lab and gave us all cool stuff, he even gave me my first Scroll._

 _They were older than me, but accepted me as one of their own without issue, since I had been 'cool' enough._

 _We had been friends, once. I wondered what they thought now, about everything._

 _Darek couldn't be a Huntsman, his asthma alone took that opportunity away._

 _Lytare was good in a fight, but she..._

 _Ah, there's more of the memory._

 _I had been trying to train with my father, and Lytare had joined us. There was a huge Grimm that attacked, it was almost like a dragon, but snakier and breathing ice. Lytare had done her best to try to help my dad kill it, her short staff blowing plumes of flame at it, but it was all for naught._

 _The dragon batted my father away, froze Lytare's arm, and grabbed her with its teeth. My father had become so, SO angry, I had nearly gone blind when he began glowing like a blue star, and cut off the beast's head with what I now recognized to almost look like Sunbeam Zweihander. The beast had died, but it had taken Lytare's left shin with it._

 _Her arm had been amputated due to the ice killing the tissues, she'd lost the function of two limbs and yet, it seemed almost like she didn't even care. She didn't grow despaired or hateful, her odd apathy seemed to have done well in making her not care that she was crippled for life. Or maybe she understood something that nobody else did during that time._

 _I remembered a huge fight between my mom and dad that night, so bad and so loud that, as a distressed youth, I cried and ran from the house, seeking Viridios' home and, within it, him and his intelligence. I'd hoped he would know what to do in this situation._

 _He hadn't known what to do, but he'd done some exploring that day and, thinking on it, Lytare probably had a lot of Luck, because he had found some sort of 'ancient remains', which to me had looked like an arm of a robot made of something that looked like steel and coal, and clasped in its hand was a broken sword. He studied them day and night and had apparently come to a breakthrough, because before I'd left at 10 and a quarter, he'd outfitted Lytare with some sort of orange robot arm and leg. I don't know about the sword, but he must have done something with it._

 _My friends... I needed to know what had gone on with them, if they were even still alive._

 _I needed to know._

* * *

 **RECOVERED MEMORY CHUNK (5/7)**

 **+25 Closeness to Lytare Charon! (Total: +80)**

 **+80 Closeness to Darek Nyanter! (Total: +80)**

 **+80 Closeness to Viridios Libertas (Total: +80)**

 **You learned the alchemical crafting recipe "Healing Potion"!**

 **QUEST RECEIVED!**

 **Quest: Return of the King.  
** **Description: You have recalled a large amount of your past in the town of Coldwater, but you need to know about the present. You should return there and see what has happened in your absence.  
** **Objective: Return to Coldwater and check on your friends and family.**

 **Rewards: Assurance that your friends and family are alive and well. Possible discovery of any problems they have. Progress in the quest "This Over'arc'ing drama must be stopped!"**

 **Penalties: Haunted by not knowing what is going on there. Possible discovery of the results of unsolved problems. Possibly reversed progress in the quest "This Over'arc'ing drama must be stopped!"**

I sighed as I accepted the quest, also remembering a few other pieces of information, like how this tree was the only one that grew here, or anywhere that wasn't a farm within the nearest hundred miles. How it had gotten here, I nor Marbel, my dad, or either of her parents knew. All I knew was that it grew healthy, juicy, edible oranges. I focused Aura and charges into Roimontagne, shifting the tree's position gently. It wouldn't do to have it all the way out here, so I carefully began moving it.

...

It had taken about an hour, making the current time noon, but I'd done it. I not only had gathered up all the rocks in the area and put them into a huge pile, I'd also moved the orange tree to the massive clearing that sanctioned the Great Tree.

I looked at Marbel, who was chopping logs, then out to the treeline, _Jaune C: Blake, Yang, I need you to watch over Marbel and me for a while. I'm going to summon another elemental. Also Yang, there are oranges. There's been an orange tree on this mountain for god-knows-how-long, and it has good oranges. Marbel and I have eaten them before. :C_

 _Yang C: Holy crap why haven't you told me this before? Jaune as your girlfriend I demand to know when you discover orange delights. :C_

I chuckled softly, _Jaune C: Of course, babe. Of course, I've already discovered a golden delight... oh wait, that's just you. :C_

 _Blake C: You two are adorable. :C_ I could practically hear Blake laughing at Yang and me.

Wait, no I wasn't practically hearing it, I was _literally_ hearing it. I snapped my glance to the treeline to see Blake walking over, "I knew you were close, but I wasn't sure how much. I should pay more attention to my party tracker."

Blake smiled just a little bit, "Well given how I'm supposed to be a ninja, I suppose it's good that I was able to sneak up on you. I've been trying to enjoy the time I have now, but... I need you to promise you won't lead them to me."

I blinked, "The thought hadn't even crossed my mind, Blake. I've been trying to keep you as far away from them as possible. I'm not going to try to pull you back, I want you on MY side, not theirs." I had changed back to my normal outfit, and piled a bunch of peeled oranges into the summoning circle, just out of curiosity to see if the high-water fruit would count as a worthy sacrifice to create a Water Elemental.

It was worth a shot, after all, "You're sacrificing oranges? Is there a fruit elemental?" she was joking at my expense, and I had the humor to laugh. Honestly the thought was pretty comical.

After we'd had a little laugh, I kindly corrected her, "Oranges have a high water content. I figured it's worth a shot. If not, I'll use a Water Dust crystal. Now then, I think I'll start now. Don't worry, before you know it, Yang will show up to help." I looked around the clearing, then knelt on my summoning circle. About fifty oranges were being used, which should have been enough.

I focused on the oranges and the summoning circle, calling upon the same feeling I'd used for the last four elementals.

Soon enough, I felt that same sensation. I'd been pulling on the energy and it felt like something on the other side pulled back.

Then, the world went dark.

* * *

 _I felt myself come apart, melting into a puddle._

 _I soaked into the ground, drunk greedily by the grass and trees._

 _I flowed through them, giving them life and energy._

 _I felt myself expand from the sunlight, vaporized._

 _I leaked from holes in the leaves of trees, flying into the sky._

 _That's when I started to see it, more of the truth._

 _I fly through the sky, carried by wind and the air._

 _I'm brought to my brethren water vapors._

 _We reunite, turning into droplets._

 _We feed each other, giving life more and more to each other._

 _Suddenly, gravity takes its hold._

 _We're ripped from the sky as rain_

 _I thought I had seen more when I entered the sky._

 _I saw far more when I left it._

 _The rivers and streams that flow through the land._

 _The ponds and lakes that dot the land, havens for water._

 _The blue seas and oceans that cover a large portion of the world._

 _The frozen wastelands to the far north._

 _The icy caps of mountains._

 _The snow falling in the winter chill.  
_

 _All of it is water._

 _All plants and animals rely on it._

 _All life relies on water._

 _Rain provides cover from the hot sunlight._

 _It slakes the thirst of plants and animals._

 _It fills them all._

 _The juice of fruits and vegetables._

 _The blood of animals and Man._

 _It all flows because of my power._

 _Because of my support._

 _All of my support has the same purpose._

 _Blood._

 _I am the blood of the sky and the ground._

 _I am the blood of plants.  
_

 _I am the blood of animals._

 _I am life._

 _I am the rain and my name is Pluviteus._

 _I am... Pluviteus._

 _I feel myself break away from a whole._

 _But... I am merely a piece..._

 _A piece of an even MORE glorious whole._

 _I am a splinter of a tree._

 _It is close to its full strength, and I will give it further life._

 _As it grows strong, I too shall grow even strong._

 _I am Pluviteus._

 _I am water._

 _My life is infinite._

 _I am Jaune Arc._

 _I am human_

 _My soul is eternal._

 _I am... one._

* * *

 **Acquisition of a Basic Water Elemental has increased your Water Affinity by 10!**

 **Increasing your understanding of the world by gazing through the eyes of the elements has increased your WIS by 2!**

 **~LUCKY SPARK~! You gained 320% EXP for the action of summoning a Basic Water Elemental!**

 **Summon Elemental's level increased by 6!**

I slowly stirred, realizing that I could hear several things nearby.

The first I noticed was the sound of rainfall, followed by the sound of a fire crackling and then hushed conversation entered my ears.

"I'm not happy with this decision, but I'm glad you at least have conviction. It proves you're taking this seriously." the voice was familiar.

"When he wakes up, THEN I'll let you decide that I can leave. Not before, not after." that was Yang.

"Sir, I'm glad you were reasonable about this." Marbel's voice spoke next.

"And thank you for not being too judgmental. Jaune is a good man, I think he can do good for the world. He's done good for me." wow... that was really sweet of Blake to say. I'm glad I've inspired that opinion from her.

"Heh, I'm sure Jaune will appreciate you saying that, Blake." that voice... I knew it from somewhere.

"I won't be repeating myself, sadly." aw, Blake, why do you have to be so rude?

"Oh come ON Blake, don't act like that. If I can love him then you can at least act like you like him as a good friend." Yang apparently was quoting Blake's own words.

"It's not like he's going to know I said anything, he's unconscious summoning his elemental."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, kitkat." that snark. Holy shit, it came to me.

"Qrow." I said as I sat up fluidly, turning my head to the others and smiling, "It's nice to see you've come to visit."

Marbel gasped lightly, clenching her chest, "Goddamn, Jaune, warn a girl next time! With how little light there is that almost looked like an animation straight out of a horror game."

I chuckled a bit, "You're currently stronger than most average gym-goers and even faster to boot, AND you have three big tough fighters with you, AND you have everything in my Inventory to work with... and you're scared of what looked like something from a horror game? I think I need to give you some mental training, Marbs, help you deal with monsters that sit up." my tone was nothing but jokes and teasing.

Marbel blushed an angry, embarrassed red, spluttering out some minorly indignant response before just turning around.

I stood up and stretched out, "So Qrow, like I said, it's nice of you to come visit. Why are you visiting, though?"

Qrow chuckled and shrugged, "Just felt like seeing your ugly mug before I head out on a mission to Mistral. Basic extermination mission, hardly even worth my time with how easy it will be." he gave a carefree smirk to us all, "I should be back not too long after that."

"Good, good. I still wanted to ask about you giving me some training." I looked him up and down, "You're incredibly strong and even tougher and faster than that. I may not favor speed, but I'd like to increase my STR and VIT more with you, if possible."

Qrow looked me up and down, "You've got a decent physique, kid, but you could definitely use more work. I'll see what I can do, but don't expect anything regular or guaranteed."

"It's more than I could ask for anyways, I'm sure." I chuckled a bit, having picked up that this sort of thing wouldn't be a very certain prospect, but it was one worth investing some effort into. I couldn't help but smile, though, at the thought.

Training from a Huntsman who had earned a whopping level of 183, it was bound to teach me a lot, or at least train my skills up. Simply put, I needed more DPS, I already had enough defense with my skills, I needed some attack power.

I needed my skills to level up.

I smiled a little bit, knowing I had time to do that, it was nearly the end of March, soon to be April, which would mean that I had four months soon. Then three, then two, then one. Then I would be at Beacon, and thanks to my preparations, I'd be ready to take on all of its challenges. For now, though, "So it's raining outside, I'm assuming that's why you brought me in here?"

"Well we weren't going to let you get soaked in the rain!" Marbel said quickly, almost incredulously, "You might get sick. We don't want you to get sick, that's not what friends do."

"Or girlfriends, for that matter." Yang added firmly, "Are you alright, by the way? Summoning the elemental didn't do anything bad, did it?"

I shook my head, "No, no it didn't. I'm fine, thank you."

Qrow looked at me long and hard, then spoke up, "If you're fine, then I'd like to say something, a request if you would. In return for me taking my valuable time training up a runt like you." he channeled a bit of Aura into his foot and scuffed a mark on the floor, "Right here, make a summoning circle."

I raised one eyebrow, "I don't think it'll be such a good idea for me to summon a new elemental so soon. It involves splintering my so-"

The older man ran a hand through his hair, "Yeah yeah I know soul splinters and all that jazz, you told me this already, dumbass. I'm not requesting the summoning circle for you so I can watch you nap and suck your thumb for four hours." he chuckled teasingly.

"I do not suck my thumb, I haven't since I was five years old, and yes I remember what I did when I was five years old, my INT improves memory recollection." I countered promptly.

"Well whatever." he waved off my statement, "Point is it's not for you, it's for me. I want to summon an elemental."

My eyes nearly bugged out of my head, and the other three turned to him shocked. All four of us had operated on the unspoken rule that summoning elementals was just a thing that I did, completely unique. Qrow, however, had taken that silence and shattered it like glass, making us all realize that the rule wasn't actually in place, we had just assumed it was.

Thinking back to the books I'd read about summoning elementals, it had once been a technique for powerful fighters, and nothing implied they had any sort of Game-like semblance.

So in theory, I could do this. I considered my elementals my friends, their ignorance of the world born of their limited perception had allowed insight that I wouldn't have had, due to my human experiences and perceptions. They gave me power and reassurance, helped me feel stronger.

Thinking on it more now, I knew my friends would appreciate that strength. I snapped my fingers and Roi carved a summoning circle into the floor, "You need a sacrifice, and to focus your Aura on the element in question. I think since my soul is so malleable, I'm able to summon any elemental, but with you, Qrow..." I grit my teeth, knowing this would end poorly if I didn't go quickly, but I needed to know.

Fear of pain was no excuse for me anymore, especially since I knew that pain was weakness leaving me. I invited him to a new party, **The Elemental Test**

He accepted it and I used Gamer's Sight on him, Magic Eyes focused tightly on his Aura and bringing up new information.

"So I need an affinity, I'm assuming? I'm guessing you're checking that now." he said, scratching his cheek.

I nodded, "Yes, and it appears you have a strong Air Affinity, so you'll be summoning an Air Elemental." I kicked him from the party, which disbanded automatically since it had no members, and tossed him an Air Dust crystal.

He caught it and pulled out a feather, "This should make things work just fine."

I gave him a quick rundown, and after a minute or so of focusing on the summoning circle, I got to see what happened from an outside view. The summoning circle shined with red energy, then seemed to obliterate itself and the sacrifices as Qrow suddenly collapsed. Gamer's Sight told me he was in a state of deep meditation.

I gave a hum, "Huh, so that's what it looks like. Alright, that explains some things. Now then, girls, I think that since I'm sharing my soul secrets, I should share this one too. I'm going to teach you three how to meditate with the Soul of the World."

The three shared looks then stared at me, expectations in their eyes.

I happily obliged.

* * *

 _(Hours later, still in the cave, Jaune POV)_

The four of us stirred from meditation as I sent a message that Qrow was waking up. It invaded their perceptions and removed them from their meditative state.

During the four hours, Qrow had shifted to lay on his back, supine with his face up. He opened his eyes and they flicked around before he must have remembered where he was, at which point he sat up and groaned, clutching his head with one hand while fetching his flask with the other, "Fucking hell~." he groaned lowly, "At least it worked."

"I'm glad it worked. Care to show us your elemental?" I was curious, and lit several small, but bright fires around the cave to provide proper illumination.

The girls held their reactions to the meditation until Qrow performed his display.

He held out his hand, smoke and silver-red Aura rising from it. The smoke seemed to coalesce as we heard a crow's caw, and a bird began forming in his hand. Smoke curled into feathers and the red energy formed two beady eyes of the same wine-red color as Qrow's own. The silvery energy dimmed as the smoke was sucked into the shapes needed. It seemed hollow, just as Mystral was, its head and beak formed, as well as its wings, tail, and feet, but little more than tiny wisps filled the space of its torso, breast, and shoulders, yet your mind easily connected the nearly disembodied parts to form a bird.

It opened its beak, speaking with a voice that was heavy and husky like smoke, "I am Huginn, Air Elemental."

"Huginn, crow of legend in North Mistralian mythology, I think it fits you well, Qrow. Though, I have to say, it's a bit odd how it seems to be based on something pre-existing, instead of the random names I get. Like this one, Pluviteus. A portmanteau of Pluvia and Luteus, latin for Orange Rain." I opened the cave's door and summoned him... her... it?

It was hard to tell the gender of the creature that appeared from the water being sucked into the cave. Its body fluctuated, looking almost like whitewater from a hose. It formed a thin, river-like torso and two buff arms, with thick forearms and huge fingers. Its lower body simply turned into a dripping rivulet. It floated almost like a ghost, I realized, body hovering in the air, not touching the ground. Azure energy glowed atop it as its head formed, a slicked-back head of 'hair' made of orange seaweed. Its eyes opened up like two concave holes scooped out of its face, tiny stars of azure like glittering moonlight on the ocean waves. It opened its mouth, another concave hole that was wide like the maw of a beast. Overall, it looked about exactly like what I'd imagine a Water Elemental to look like.

"I am Pluviteus." she said, the voice feminine and fluctuating massively, sometimes sounding like waves crashing together, sometimes like the babbling of a calm brook, sometimes like the roar of a waterfall, and sometimes like the pattering of rain, "You and I... that is okay?"

I smiled, "That's fine, friend." I summoned the others with the resources I had available, letting Qrow and Huginn meet them, "And the same with the rest of you. I've always felt it but I don't think I've ever said it except to you, Crocea." my mirror gave me a smile, "Soon I'll get that last elemental, maybe tomorrow. Right now, I think it's time for Pluviteus and I to explore this new fact of power." I looked at the others, "It's rather late, nearly sunset, and Yang and Marbel both have class tomorrow. I'll be making more buildings tomorrow, and Blake, I think helping keep them clean is a fair price for having your own home." I smiled at her, "I might make new friends, have them join us, but know that you three are the best RPG party I've ever had." I smiled at them brightly and honestly.

All three of them smiled warmly, various shades of pink dusting their cheeks. I saw my Closeness to Marbel and Blake increased slightly. I smiled and opened the door wider, a bubble forming in the air where the rain didn't fall, merely slid off an invisible surface. I made a gesture to beckon Yang and Marbel over, "It'll be much dryer and faster riding in the Invisible Jet." I chuckled as azure energy coalesced into an almost torpedo-like shape. The two waved goodbye to Blake and Qrow and stepped out with me. I climbed into the car, Yang and Marbel sitting behind me, and I chuckled, "Krrshhh~. this is your captain speaking, please fasten your seatbelts and keep your arms and legs inside the invisible jet for the duration of the flight, thank you. Krrshhh~."

We all shared a hearty round of laughter as we flew through the sky on condensed winds.

...

I expanded the rainless bubble to cover the front door of the Mayston household, Yang and I waving goodbye to her.

When the door closed, we moved on, both smiling as Yang shifted closer to me, "I like Marbel, she's a good girl. Reminds me of Ruby." she rested her head on my shoulder, "Jaune... I think maybe..."

"I know what you're going to say, and there just isn't any way..." I let a pause take hold, before suddenly adding, "That I could leave Ruby out of this. She's a good girl too, and a good friend. I think I can trust her to do the right thing, and to treat this power responsibly." I didn't let my high of joy take away the fact that I was hesitant to approach the Rose/Xiao Long household. It was supposed to be the Rose/Xiao Long/Branwen household, but sadly there were no Branwens living there. I felt with my senses for life, danger, and bloodlust.

Only two life readings. No danger or bloodlust. Taiyang wasn't home.

I breathed a sigh I didn't realize I'd been holding in, my heart calming from its rapid pounding. It had been what, three or four days? I was sure that he would more than likely kill me outright if he found out about how Yang had gone against his wishes and came back to me, and that I'd gone ahead despite his threats and moved forwards in my relationship with her. He would blame me and probably beat me within an inch of my life, if not just kill me outright. I sighed softly, landing down, "Your father isn't here. You mind if I come in? I'd like to talk to Ruby personally about this." Yang gave me a soft nod, and I walked up to the door, knocking firmly three times as Yang stood next to me.

I heard a gasp behind the door, followed by Ruby opening it quickly, "Jaune, you're here! Is it true? Yang did he try to make you do dirty stuffs?"

I felt my teeth grating. The bastard had lied to Ruby about me? "No Ruby, we only went on a date, it was nice but then your dad ruined it and tried to burn me." I said, trying my best to keep the hate out of my words, but Taiyang had made me quite salty.

Yang nodded, "Nothing bad happened, sis. Dad was being a butt about me love life AGAIN." she sighed exasperated.

Ruby pouted, "Dangit dad. I guess you want to get in out of the rain?"

I chuckled, "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something. For being so cool, I have a present for you." my laughter increased as she gasped adorably, squealing in excitement. I patted her on the head, "In a minute, first we need to talk." I walked into the house and Ruby practically skipped after me, anxious to see her present. I sat on the loveseat and Yang sat next to me, and I gestured for Ruby to sit on the couch, "You're going to want to be sitting down for this."

Ruby nodded and plopped down on the couch, looking at me expectantly, "So where's the present?"

"First, I need you to promise that you won't tell anyone about this, not even your dad, okay?" I looked at her seriously.

The petite girl, for all of her childish energy and excitement, nodded in agreement, her expression turning serious, "Alright... I understand. This is pretty serious, huh?"

I nodded to her, "It will change your world." I began making the message, "Just read the tutorial, and be responsible." I sent the invite.

* * *

 _(Ruby's POV)_

I got serious. It was clear this wasn't just some early birthday gift or a 'hey thanks for being a cool friend' present like Cherry gave me sometimes, this was serious, as serious as things got, "Alright... I understand. This is pretty serious, huh?

Jaune nodded at me, "It will change your world... just read the tutorial, and be responsible." wait what? Change my world?

Tutorial?

Be responsible?

Suddenly, I saw blue rectangle floating in front of my face.

 **PARTY INVITE!**

 **You have been invited to Jaune Arc's party "Team Celeste"!**

 **You will be brought into The Game with this action.**

 **[Accept] [Decline]**

I stared at it, "Is this like final fantasy?"

Jaune made a 'so-so' gesture, "Kinda. It's like a lot of RPG games, all wrapped up into a big adventure, except the adventure is life itself." I smiled at that.

I accepted the invite. After several seconds of waiting, I realized that I felt like something was pressing down on my chest. I could hardly breath, struggling to take in a bit of air, like I was choking. The floor caught me as the room was suddenly spun around, though the soft carpet didn't alleviate the feeling in my core, which honestly felt like my soul was getting torn apart.

My Aura flared around me, glowing brightly as I heard screaming in the distance. I covered my ears but still heard it, which is when I realized that the screaming was ME. I felt like my heart was an orange, and it was suddenly and brutally peeled, then molten steel was poured into the cavity. I felt my Aura catch on fire.

No, literally, my Aura caught on fire.

I heard new screams, and Jaune and Yang picked me up and threw me into the sky. I felt like I was flying when I saw the messages.

 _ **It's time now.**_

 **NO!**

 _ **You can't stop it.**_

 **You have received the status effect "Bloodstained Grin"!**

 **NO NO NO NO NO!**

 _ **YOU CAN'T RESIST THIS YOU B-**_

 **I WON'T LET YOU!**

 **You have received the status effect "Safe Haven"!**

 _ **Nothing can stop me. Don't even try.**_

 **You have received the status effect "Crimson Devil"!**

 **YOU'RE AS EMPTY AND SOULLESS AS THE OTHERS! DIE CRETIN!**

 _ **You're as weak and pitiful as the others. I-ARGH!**_

 **Your status effect "Crimson Devil" has been removed!**

 **NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO**

 **Your status effect "Bloodstained Grin" has been removed!**

 **STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP**

 **STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!**

 **You have received the status effect "Goodnight, sweet princess."**

I felt my consciousness snap like a twig and everything went dark.

* * *

 _(Jaune's POV)_

I stood shocked. Something... something wasn't right.

This was far more than just a Soul Wracked by Chaos.

This was like chaos itself. I'd seen red windows, each with different text, arguing with each other, as if two different entities were trying to get into The Game. Yang and I had gotten Ruby to the kitchen, and I felt myself nearly get sick when Ruby's mostly unconscious body heaved itself. Yang aimed her sister's face into the sink, but neither of us were prepared for what came out.

A mushy paste, like partially digested cookies...

... and pure blood.

I saw Ruby's HP drop in chunks and hit her with all the Soulforges I could make. I didn't stop healing her for ten minutes straight, maybe longer.

I lost track of the time, I was distraught and angry at whatever the fuck had just happened. I was thankful I'd turned off inter-member messages or else Blake and Marbel would have seen all that too.

I focused as hard as I could, using every trick I had and even trying to break the game to force it to DO SOMETHING. Ruby was like a new little sister and I wasn't going to let her get hurt.

Suddenly, I saw a notification.

 **ERROR! ERROR ERROR ERROR!**

 **Ruby has received the permanent status effect "Blessed with Joy"**

 **ERROR!**

 **ERRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOORRRRRRRR!**

 **WARNING!**

 **DANGER!**

 **Keystone Fragment Compatibility has been compromised!**

 **Game shutdown imminent.**

 **Reboot timer value unknown.**

 **Darkness has set in.**

 **Alchemical Aura's interaction with blood has added a new race to "Beast's Blood"!**

 **You have unlocked the race "Dark Warrior"!**

I felt my own consciousness start to fade away.

In the distance, I heard Yang shouting, "Jaune! Jaune! Jaune please! Not you too!"

I smiled at her, I think, I wasn't sure.

Everything went dark.

One last message caught my eye before I was fully gone.

 _ **You shouldn't have done that.**_

* * *

 **Well, that's the chapter, then. I suppose we got a nice look into things, as well as hints towards something more sinister afoot.**

 **What is the mysterious italic entity? Why was it trying to give Ruby evil status effects? Who was the underlined entity? Why are they trying to protect Ruby? Are they even protecting Ruby or just trying to keep her alive for something? More will be revealed later.**

 **For now, this'll be it for now, I literally start college in an hour or so, and this chapter is probably way over my set limit, but it didn't seem to want to end.**

 **Well, now it has, all that's left is the omake.**

* * *

 _Omake: Deliver me unto evil, lead me into temptation._

* * *

Salem stared at the twitching form of Cinder Fall, then looked at her associate, "She's braindead, isn't she."

The woman stood under a shadowed overhang labeled 'plot identity protection', but she stared at the fallen villainess' form, "I'm pretty sure she's not brain ALIVE, and judging by the puddle she's making, she's still locked in that continuous orgasm."

"STILL?" the evil queen said, surprised, "We recovered her three days ago."

The shadowed woman shrugged, which was somehow perceived despite her complete shrouding in shadows, "I'm surprised she's still alive, given that she should have dehydrated by now, and you don't exactly have life support or IVs here. What kind of base is this? I'm pretty sure it's a fucking volcano."

"Shut up, you don't understand my artistic vision." Salem pouted and crossed her arms.

The hidden woman rolled her one visible eye, "Burning to death, it's pretty easy to understand, anyways what was she trying to do?"

Salem sighed, "Sexually dominate and mind control Jaune Arc, who is a major threat to our plans for... some reason."

"Looks like Cinder got the tables turned the fuck around on her, she's still making a blowjob face." the shadowed woman giggled in a sinister way, pointing out the lewd expression of the evil agent.

The evil queen facepalmed, "I'll deal with this, Jaune Arc will be no more when I am done with him."

"His balls will be no more, because if you follow the same pattern, they'll fall off from overexertion."

Salem rolled her eyes, "I'm not going to do THAT to him, he would never satisfy me."

The shadowed woman giggled, "I have never felt happiness since I was dumped at prom a thousand years ago~! I gave Ozzy my virginity and he gave me humiliation~!" she said in an imitation of the Grimm Queen, mocking her.

"I've never been to prom and I was NOT in a relationship with Ozpin! Why does everyone I kidnap say that?" she looked at a group of people who were bound, scared shitless, and malnourished, "You all don't think I was in a relationship with Ozpin, do you?"

The reactions of the group were mixed. Most of them had, rather than answer, release tortured screams and shrieks. The remainder seemed to answer in that tone that gave away they'd thought the opposite of the answer they were givin, "N-noooo~, of course not, y-you're too g-g-g-g-good f-f-for him." one man said.

Salem smirked, not catching the nervousness of the people, and looked at her hidden companion smugly.

A deadpan was perceivable, "Just go get your brains fucked out by, and I quote Cinder, 'the cock of the gods', and when you come back, don't tell me how it was. I don't want to be tempted. Being forced to stay in the dark is bad enough, being unable to go out and get some good sex while being forced to stay in the dark is worse."

Salem sighed, "Fine, I'll break him with my superior sexual skills, and then I'll kill him." she snapped her fingers and teleported.

The shadowed woman sighed, "Of course she can teleport. Every villain can teleport if they're important enough." she rolled her visible eye.

Cinder let out a low moan.

...

Salem appeared outside of Beacon, luckily out of anyone's view. She focused her evil equivalent of Aura and transformed herself, turning into a beautiful young woman with a voluptuous body that practically glowed with health, sexily tanned and smooth skin, and black hair. She walked towards the school and saw several students in the distance. She pretended to smile as she approached, but then saw the students drop their jaws and everything they were carrying. She was curious what their problem was, she'd transformed perfectly and there was nothing about her that resembled her original form except her red irises.

A draft suddenly informed her of the problem. She'd transformed away her dress.

She would not blush so easily, but dammit how was she so careless? She wasn't looking forward to having sex with the Arc THAT badly.

She jogged ahead, her large, heavy breasts bouncing around with every step. She just had to find the blonde hero wannabe and dominate him.

She would win this game of chess.

...

 _(Jaune POV)_

I was surprised at this development. This mysterious woman had approached me with an aroused expression, not wearing a single stitch of clothing, and had pulled me into the nearest broom closet, practically tearing my clothes off.

Now, granted, I didn't oppose this too much, but I wish these stupid notifications would stop appearing every goddamn time.

 **EROGE MODE ACTIVATED!**

 **Sex begin!**

I was given a list of options, which would compel my partner to do certain things or let me do certain things.

However, I saw a strange set of options in the 'special' section.

I'd seen a lot of strange options, **Cat in the cradle** when I was with Blake, **What the doctor ordered** when I was with the nurse, and of course my favorite, **Golden Sunrise** when I was with Yang.

Who knew Lightning Dust could do THAT?!

However, THESE options were just plain WEIRD.

 **Special:**

 **Let me see those pearly blacks.  
Fuck the magic outta you.  
In the asshole of hell.  
Stop hiding that pretty face.**  
 **Devil May Cry  
Win The Game.**

I began with a normal pace, seeing her own Pleasure Bar quickly rising. I pressed the first button.

The woman screamed as black energy flashed around her, and when she opened her eyes again, they were red, but the whites were now black!

I pressed the second one and saw her hair fade to white and her skin start getting paler.

The third one came and she bent over, begging me to take her from behind. I'd lost track of how much time had passed, and pressed myself into her rear, which was dark, but clean. Her pleasure bar flashed several times as I worked up the focus to hit the fourth button.

Suddenly, her skin turned pale white, a bit gray, and she looked back at me with a face I almost couldn't stand, dark crimson veins glowing around her eyes. I hid my distaste because DAMN the pleasure had already filled my pleasure bar, and the **Orgasm** button was now able to be pressed.

I pressed the fifth button and found myself choking her, and it was clearing she was into erotic asphyxiation. I roared and let myself release inside her, my bar emptying like my balls.

We both collapsed, panting, and out of curiosity, I pressed the final button, which had me more curious than anything.

My body's motions were uncontrolled as I grabbed her neck and head, and then with a move I swear was straight out of a Mortal Kombat game, I ripped her head and a decent length of her spine off.

 ***BEEP BEEP***

 **CONGRATULATIONS! You have defeated the final boss and won The Game!**

 **Your level has increased by one-hundred twenty-two!**

 **You have gained the Grimm Mask "The Queen of Darkness"!**

 **ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED!**

 **Yes I fucked the devil in the ass: Defeated Salem, Queen of Darkness, with an Erotic Victory!**

I stared at the messages for a long time, then slowly removed my dick from Salem's rear. I stood up, using Pluviteus to clean the fluids off my crotch, and put my clothes back on.

I used Roimontagne to lift the closet into the air and fly it away from the school.

Hours upon hours later, we landed in the backwoods behind the mountain range that Eagle Mountain rested in. I touched down on the peak of a mountain, floating on the winds.

And I set the closet on fire. I set it more on fire than I'd ever set anything on fire before. I actually nearly ran out of AP with the fire I was maintaining.

I burned the closet and, consequently, Salen's body for three days and three nights, leaving only ashes and dust behind.

When I was done, I flew back to Beacon and found the nurse from the infirmary.

We ran some tests.

"I'm sorry." Nurse Sakura said sadly, "You have Grimm AIDS."

I cursed my Luck, which clearly wasn't working like it should have.

"Well, I heal all ailments with a sleep, so... I'm going to sleep, please keep everyone off my dick while I'm out cold, I don't want to give them Grimm AIDS."

"How'd you even get Grimm AIDS?" Sakura asked.

I sighed, "I fucked a woman in the ass and it turned out she was a Grimm in disguise. She wasn't the Loch Ness monster, though, so she didn't ask for tree fiddy, but it was good up until I killed her for being a Grimm."

The nurse winced, "Ouch... was it at least good?"

I chuckled, "Yeah, but I got Grimm AIDS from it, so that's not so fun. I'm going to sleep now, goodnight."

Sakura giggled, "Goodnight."

...

 _(Back at the wasteland)_

The shadowed woman waited, "She should have been back by now. Why isn't she back? How long has it been? Hey tortured people, how long has it been?"

She didn't get a response, they had died of malnourishment and dehydration, "Well shit. Cinder, you any closer to being conscious?"

Cinder stirred, "Urgh... ugh... my head... what happened?"

The woman chuckled, "You were out for a full week after Arc fucked your brains out. I think he literally fucked Salem to death, she hasn't come back in three days."

Cinder shook her head, "Goddammit, well that's just fucking great. So much for literally all of our plans."

The hidden woman smiled, "So can I come out from the shadows now?"

Cinder went wide-eyed, "NO! It'll destroy everything!"

The woman scoffed, crossing her arms, "Are you calling me ugly?"

Cinder stood up, shaking her head, "No, no you don't understand it the way I do, you can't come out for a good reason. Just trust me."

The woman rolled her eye, shaking her head, "Fine, now what?"

The amber-eyed villainess looked around, "Wait and recover?"

The shadowed woman sighed, "I've been waiting all this time, and I don't even have anything to recover from."

Cinder sat in the dark throne, drinking from a bottle of wine that had been hiding behind it, "Whatever. Wanna drink?" she tossed a bottle over.

The shadowed woman smiled, "FINALLY something to do." she took the bottle.

With nothing to do, no queen to serve, the two women did what everyone did when their life had gone down the shitter.

Drank until they forgot everything.

* * *

 **Cutting it awfully close with that scene with the Eroge Mode. Oh well, hehe, it's just an Omake, it doesn't hold any real significance except for being entertaining.**

 **I'm rushing in this last little bit, so I'll just post Jaune's stats and end the chapter here.**

 **-/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Intermediate Hero  
** **Level: 49  
** **Class: Wizard v2  
** **Nickname: Mr. Player Man**

 **HP: 12,500/12,500  
** **AP: 35,150/35,150  
** **SP: 16,800/16,800**

 **Strength: 60 (+100%) = 120  
** **Dexterity: 53 (+100%) = 106  
** **Vitality: 70 (+100%) = 140  
** **Intelligence: 101 (+3) (+100%) = 208  
** **Wisdom: 98 (+3) (+100%) = 202  
** **Luck: 110  
** **Charisma: 77**

 **Stat Points: 108**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'11.5  
** **Weight: 195  
** **Build: Medium Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Bright Blonde / Bright Azure / Fair**

 **-/\\-**

 **Alright, that's everything for now. I'll probably come back and edit this soon enough, for now I'm shoving it out the door!**

 **See you all next time~!**

 **^w^**


	11. Red Sun over Paradise

**8/22 at 1:30 PM: Starting the new chapter after my first day of college. It wasn't as bad as expected. I have high hopes for this semester, ^w^**

 **Reviewer responses:**

 **TheBleakGamer:** Thanks for pointing that out, I forgot to change that part of it on my doc

 **Remzal Von Enilli:** No, he killed her with a mortal kombat fatality-like move while fucking her in the ass

 **ZenithTempest:** technically Adam is still alive... at least as alive as Jaune makes him. He's taken over Adam's identity. Also the harem is still up in the air. I'm considering it but I keep getting a mixed response. I might leave it up to a poll on my profile.

 **MysticSpider:** No, that is not Chara. Chara is just a video game character. I mean come ON man, it's not like Jaune's power can make things from video games become rea-... oooooohhhhhhhhhh~. (XD but no it's not Chara)

 **Guardian54:** Remember what you say here, sir. Remember it and be ashamed of it, and I will be ashamed of it too because I laughed out loud when I read it XD

 **GhostHornet:** No, Ruby is a human, but she is a Silver-Eyed Warrior. Dark Warrior is different. It will be explained in this chapter.

 **Dark Durian:** Well she had help from Jaune, mostly him artificially buffing her stats so she would be able to kill Grimm easier. She was level 7 and had ended up killing a few hundred Grimm with Jaune's help (mostly making them easier targets, though not really softening them up). My philosophy is that if you want to become a couple of levels above a Grimm that is, say, level 24, then you need to kill at least a few hundred of them. Marbel has killed that few hundred now, thanks to Jaune attracting more of them with Signal.

 **Saint of vice koncor:** No there was no hacking, it was problems caused by the powerful entity inside Ruby getting agitated at Jaune's semblance affecting its home (Ruby's soul). More on this will be explained in this chapter.

 **Ruby's Fan:** No, no I did not kill her. She is too precious to kill.

 **zen-aku the spirit of the wolf:** Me rushing to get an omake done before the start of class. My brain gets weird when it's rushed.

 **NexusBladeguard:** Oh man, I'm sorry about that, buddy. Here. *gives you a chibi Ruby, who applies an ice pack to your head, since she kinda doesn't understand medicine*

 **KizoAnimefan01:** Huh, I was going more for shock factor, not scariness. Maybe I should try more... read before sunset.

 **Reader8916:** Well, sir/madam, that is a hard question to answer. You see, most of the time, Jaune is just trying to be friendly. He has Yang and he doesn't want to make any other girls get the wrong idea, since he's taken. The problem with this is that he's very charming, despite that a lot of the time he doesn't want to be. When he sees that he's gained boosts in closeness, that's alright for him, but boosts in Flirtation when he's (from his perspective) not even flirting? That kinda weirds him out a bit.

 **The Smiling Crow:** Good eye, sir. Yes indeed it is, as I happen to really like that character's line, as I feel it's-... *has looked it up and realized what it was* okay scratch the previous statement about liking the line. I was thinking it was said by the Happy Mask Shop Owner, for some reason.

 **Brandstone:** Well buddy, you're in (possible) luck. I'm planning on MAYBE making this a harem story, but as of right now, Yang is in sole possession of Jaune's romantic affections. I might make hints towards things, but right now I'm mostly going to say "I'll leave it up to a vote"

 **ArtanisRose:** You, sir/madam, I like. *gives you a pat on the back* I hope this chapter was up to your expectations of (and sorry if I'm making a false assumption on this, but I feel like you'd probably use this word) epicness. If it didn't, go ahead and just point out what I did wrong.

 **Alright, that's enough for now. Like I said to Artanis specifically, but I'm extending it to all my readers, if something doesn't seem write, point it out in a review or a PM. If it's something small, tack it onto the end. Use your own judgment to determine whether the flaws you've found should be in a review or a PM.**

 **Now then, let's get to the chapter, shall we?**

 **Story Arc 2: Playing Prometheus**

 **Chapter 11: Red Sun over Paradise.**

* * *

 _(Rose/Xiao Long Household, Jaune POV)_

 **Your determination to restore things to the way they should be, combined with the purity of your heart and soul, has restored some functionality of The Game!**

That was the first thing I saw when I woke up, the second thing was a field of gold. As I awoke more, I realized I was laying in a bed. I wracked my brain and shot up, hearing a noise of complaint to my side as my chest heaved.

I checked everything, literally! My fingers flickered through the air as I activated my Aura to boost my DEX to move faster.

Nothing appeared to be wrong, the only sign of what had happened was that Ruby now had the permanent status **Blessed with Joy.**

I sighed, then sat up in bed, only to feel a warm, soft weight at my side. I looked and realized that Yang was cuddled up to me, a faint smile on her face, but tear stains on her cheeks. It was obvious that, after what happened earlier, she probably only barely managed to even cry herself to sleep. She tensed at the shifting, and I sighed and kissed her forehead, laying back down and hugging her back. I felt her relax after a few minutes, and then slowly disentangled myself from her arms, replacing my body with a pillow. She didn't seem entirely satisfied, but it was enough. Though I loved her, I still had more pressing urges to attend to.

I located the bathroom and relieved myself, washing my face with a bit of water and Pluviteus' influence. I checked the time on my scroll, finding it to be just after eleven. Sighing again, I acquired a warm, wet cloth and returned to Yang's side, gently cleaning her face. When the stains her gone, I gave her cheek a gentle kiss and stood up again.

I let my eyes fall half-lidded as I channeled all of my Ki skills, with the exception of Adamant Foil and Radiant Mane, since both of those let off an external glow, especially the latter, which practically turned every strand of hair on my body fluorescent. Though I had incredible energy flowing through my body, I still felt the gentle aura in the house. My background music was even a gentle tune, though having so many skills active added a subtle acoustic guitar playing in the background of the track.

The music bloomed slightly when I saw Ruby laying on the couch, motionless and softly breathing in her sleep, growing a tad more energetic. Despite this, I frowned. Her face had been cleaned up and her clothes changed to pajamas, obviously thanks to Yang's sisterly care. I slipped into 'caring brother' mode and acquired a glass of water, returning to her and adjusting her positioning so her back laid across my lap. I gently lifted her up, one hand supporting her head.

With gentle motions, I gradually fed her the water, seeing her teeth with still stained with the blood and vomit. I sighed and focused a little more, dispelling my Ki skills and just focusing Aura into her. I didn't know what exactly I'd be doing, but my Aura and, more importantly, my Semblance had so far given me solutions or at least quests for things before.

I held Ruby closer as I used Pluviteus' power to swish the water around her mouth and clean it out. When I was done with it, I channeled my focus through the elements, using Crocea to turn the faucet on, then Pluviteus to make the water flow through the air. A tiny, gently glowing river ran through the air and into the glass, another ball of water delivering the dirty water from Ruby's mouth to the sink.

The entire time, I'd been using Gamer's Sight on Ruby, trying to find something, ANYTHING that would tell me what was wrong. I don't know how long I looked, but I found it eventually. Three things that began to explain what was going on.

 **Permanent Status: Darkened Warrior (High)  
** **Description: The warriors of yore sometimes had to call upon dark powers to boost their own and gain the upper hand in their fights. This status represents that the afflicted as been infected by the Grimm in some way. From the High rank of this status, the afflicted has been infected by a powerful Grimm in a way that could be considered systemic. This status effect also inhibits the growth of followers of the light, and the more they follow the Light, the more inhibited the growth of their stats, Max HP, Max AP, and Max SP become. However, for followers of the darkness, this status boosts the growth of their stats, Max HP, and Max SP, but still inhibits their AP.**

 **Effect: Inhibits stat growth by 50%, Max HP growth by 75%, Max AP growth by 75%, and Max SP growth by 75%. (ERROR: STATUS PARTIALLY DISABLED)**

 **-/\\-**

 **Permanent Status: Silver Eyed Warrior (Low)  
Description: Legends tell of warriors of yore who had eyes of piercing silver, hardening into the very steel they wielded against the forces of darkness. With eyes said to be blessed by god himself, under whatever name he may have been given, they were forces not to be reckoned with. They were said to be able to stop armies of Grimm with a single hard stare.**

 **Effect: Boosts stat growth by 50%, (ERROR: STATUS MOSTLY DISABLED)**

 **-/\\-**

 **Permanent Status: Soul wracked by chaos (Med)  
Description: Trauma and/or loss of light in the afflicted's life has sent everlasting ripples through their soul. Inhibiting the growth of Lifeforce and Aura, this status can render even the greatest warriors into weaklings.**

 **Effect: Inhibits growth of Max HP, Max AP, and Max SP by 60%**

 **-/\\-**

I groaned internally, then slowly applied my elemental buffs to the unconscious girl. One by one, I saw the notifications inform me that her soul was practically weeping in agony, until I was done. It pained me to do it, because the whimpers of discomfort and pain she let out were heart-wrenchingly sad, but I knew it was for her own good.

When I applied the last buff, Mountain's Strength, I felt my consciousness fade.

* * *

 _I saw Ruby's petite form standing there, shivering in the wind. Ice formed around her as wind and water flared up from the circle that had formed around her. Next came fire, which incinerated the ice, followed by lightning and metal, both of which seemed to pull her shaking form apart, skin shifting like a collection of rose petals._

 _Finally, the earth came down and stilled her shivering. Six beams of light rose from the ground, coming together into a swirling rainbow that washed over her form._

 _I felt the temperature rise rapidly, and from the spectral downpour came two arms, clad in thick armor that seemed to have been forged from giant rose petals. It reached towards the center as crimson light flowed like blood through ethereal veins in the arms. Long, clawed fingers grasped the rainbow and pulled it apart like a curtain, revealing an angelic form with constrained wind for skin and rose petals woven into a robe, two wings spread from its back, appearing like white rose blossoms that had caught flame._

 _It opened its 'eyes', silver stars on its face that glowed with fire, and ice, and rage. It reached out for me, a melted mouth crying out in pleading as crimson energy filled its veins, wishing an agony to end._

 _I reached out towards it, azure arms too short to reach her, my fingers not long enough to grasp the splinter of red light that attempted to cross the gap._

 _It writhed as it moved slowly towards me, but then, as the mutated angel that was supposed to represent Ruby's soul screamed in agony, it shot back and my vision went dark again._

* * *

I awoke with a start, realizing I'd been holding Ruby close to my chest and she was now sitting in my lap. Our embrace was tight and close, and I felt a tear roll down my cheek.

 **QUEST RECEIVED!**

 **Quest: Cast the shadows out.  
** **Description: Ruby is affected by the status effect "Darkened Warrior (High)" and it is inhibiting her growth. Find a way to cure her before it takes over.  
Objective: Cure Ruby's status effect "Darkened Warrior (High)" without psychologically damaging her or letting her die.**

 **Rewards: Permanent maximum Closeness to Ruby and all that comes with it. Increased closeness to Taiyang Xiao Long. Increased closeness to Qrow Branwen. ?**

 **Penalties: Ruby is taken over by Grimm energies. Ruby turns evil to support the status effect. Death of Ruby Rose. Maximum Un-Closeness to Ruby Rose. Lose Yang's love. Maximum Un-Closeness to Yang Xiao Long. Maximum Un-Closeness to Taiyang Xiao Long. Maximum Un-Closeness to Qrow Branwen. ?**

I accepted in a heartbeat. I had to fix this. I was a hero, and saving their friends was what heroes did. It was practically one of the

I checked for anything else that had slipped out of my field of view and found a trio of windows.

 **You have 1 new message! (From: John Arc)**

 **+5 Closeness to John Arc! (Total: +5)**

 **+3 Closeness to Taiyang Xiao Long! (x40) (Total: +20)**

I... wait a second, three times forty, and assuming it worked both ways...

I had been at -100 Closeness to Taiyang before.

God... fucking... dammit.

I checked the message, finding it to be my father informing me that he had finally gone out drinking with Taiyang and was working on alleviating the problems between the two of us. Judging from the notifications, it was working fantastically. I allowed myself a small smile at that, then stored my scroll away again. Taking a few moments, I weighed the pros and cons of various plans in my head.

The imagery of Ruby's soul I'd seen in that vision heavily hinted that the Grimm infection was in her blood. The fact that Beast's Blood had updated to include Dark Warrior had cemented that fact. I recorded the information in my Journal, along with a few possible solutions. I could try to use Alchemical Aura creating some sort of purification essence to cure it. I could try using my elementals to extract her blood, sterilize it, and put it back in, though that would be far more dangerous.

The insurmountable obstacle was one simple, but obvious fact: Ruby, as a normal human being, needed her blood to be inside her body in order to live. She wasn't like me and could recover from decapitation because wounds don't matter. I was the only one who could do that, as The Gamer, and unless I could mark someone as my Co-op partner, I was screwed out of any simple option.

Wouldn't that be so easy? Make Ruby my co-op partner, let her have access to Gamer's Body, and one little night's rest would have her cured with no risks or complications.

Except I'm pretty sure I wasn't allowed to have anything important be easy, what with my luck.

I sighed and gently moved Ruby off of my lap, gathering AP together and casting Charging Shine several times over itself, letting the new power coalesce and thicken until my mental math told me I'd end up driving the AP cost over my maximum limit. When I reached that sweet spot, I channeled that power into Regeneration and cast it on Ruby. It didn't increase the HP and SP regeneration of it, but...

 **Status Effect: Regeneration**

 **Effect: +800 HP and SP regenerated per minute.  
Duration: 4444m (3 days, 2 hours, 4 minutes)**

It would keep her more than well-off in terms of both bars, leaving only AP to worry about.

I'd figure out a way to fix this. Ruby was Yang's precious little sister, and to me she already felt like a little sister, but I'd seen a couple of hints of maturity in her. I had a feeling she'd get into Beacon without any problems whatsoever.

For now, though, she needed to rest, and I needed to start getting ready.

I had work to do, as Jaune Arc, as Adam Taurus, and as a Huntsman.

* * *

 _(Eight'o'clock that day, Jaune's POV)_

I looked at Banesaw, having donned my disguise as Adam and moved into position. It was easy to pretend to be angry, with my Acting skill.

 **Acting (Passive) Level: 12, Exp: 63.32%  
** **The skill to take on a role in life not your own and play it well. Masters of acting have been known to be master manipulators.**

 **+130% role immersion (20)  
** **+52% character immersion (8)  
** **+65% voice alteration (10)  
** **+78% body language control (12)  
** **+91% emotion fabrication (14)  
** **+8% Master Convincingness (5)**

It was free training, too, just pretending to be Adam. I'd taken up his role as the leader of the White Fang, and now had to take up his responsibilities.

"Ugh, of course. She was always the best at hiding, sad truth, so it'll be next to impossible to find her. Keep looking, give it two more days, then call off the searches. If she doesn't come back, and she's trying to hide from us, then we aren't going to be able to find her." I groaned and looked over the maps.

Banesaw let out a long sigh, "This is a lot of effort for one girl, sir. It certainly is sounding like things between you two ran deeper than a mere combat partnership."

"We've been working together since the days of the peaceful White Fang, of course we're close. People just... get like that. I don't want to repeat myself, Lieutenant, make sure they find her. If not, then... we proceed as normal." I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose, "For right now... just leave me alone. I might head out looking myself. Don't expect me back until tomorrow if that happens." I didn't ask for any understanding or confirmation that he heard me, just as Adam wouldn't have.

It was endlessly helpful that Acting gave me a large boost into my 'role immersion', because that boost gave me insight into how the role should be played. That information was incredibly important, because otherwise I wouldn't have had a fucking clue how the leader of a terrorist- sorry, a 'revolutionary' organization would act around his subordinates, or treat them for that matter. So far it was working, Banesaw didn't seem to have any clues that I wasn't Adam Taurus, or at least if he did, he was smart enough to not say anything about it.

I don't know why exactly, if he could sense Aura like most could. Then again, while skilled and strong, he was at a lack of any fancy tricks like super speed or a sudden assault of lasers, magical arrows, or fireballs.

Still, though...

 **Banesaw  
** **Title: Risen from Darkness, with Teeth gleaming white  
Level: 63**

High physical stats, decent mental stats, he'd actually gone to a college before his identity as a faunus was revealed. Nearly got a PhD, if you could believe it. He was in his mid-thirties now, but still going strong thanks to Aura. Heavy facial scarring from an attack by a bomb loaded with acid and fire, though with no disfigurement of his eyes or nose. He was a snake faunus, boa constrictor to be specific, which explained his heavily muscled build.

I looked at him for a long time... he had abandoned all identity he had after the the chemicals he'd been assaulted with had basically sent him on a drug trip. He'd recovered, but not before killing three people with a chainsaw and getting locked up. A break had given him a chance to slip away. It was almost tragic, really.

He'd been assaulted unfairly, just from being a faunus. All of his previous friends had abandoned him, his university enrollment revoked even, and shit had just kept piling up on top of him until he'd caught word of the White Fang.

I nearly felt bad for him, nearly. I wouldn't kill him outright, he was forced into the White Fang by virtue of there being no other choice for him. His current position was due to the fact that he'd simply been very good at what he did and Adam had recognized that.

And now 'Adam' was making new plans for the man. He was beefy, some might even consider him tank-ish due to his high durability. I saw that as an opportunity.

As wonderful as being surrounded by pretty girls was (though my eyes were only ever truly on Yang), I could use someone who could tank hits. I was the next best thing, but most of my defenses and attacks were magical, while Banesaw was all physical. I hummed lowly as I looked at the tent flap, which lightly fluttered in the wind. I could use him, yes.

But would it be worth it? Would it be worth it to reveal most of my greatest secrets to an enemy? To someone who I wouldn't be sure if I could convince them to stand by me? If there was a problem, I still had the zeroth solution...

 _I could just kill him._

I didn't WANT to kill him, though. If I had to be honest, I'd like everyone to get their happy ending. Everyone.

Qrow reunites with his sister, and Yang with her mother.

Yang and I go steady, and go all the way, and she becomes a Huntress.

Marbel gets her kingdom and her Huntress license and becomes the queen she always dreamed of.

Blake earns respect from society as a faunus Huntress and moves the faunus far forwards towards equality.

Ruby gets cured of that Darkened Warrior status effect, becomes a Huntress, finds her knight in shining armor, and lives her life how she wants to.

The White Fang wins their fight and the faunus are given equal rights. They wouldn't have to fight anymore and they'd ensure safety and good life for their entire species.

My parents would get back together. There would be no more fighting and all of us could be a big happy family again.

Life would be okay...

...

...

...

... except that was fucking foolish.

* * *

 _(The next day, White Fang Alpha Camp, Jaune POV)_

"Sir, we still cannot find her. I swear, though, if you just give me a couple more days, we will. I swear on my life." came Banesaw's expected words. I knew exactly where Blake was, protected and hidden in the Arc household, or on Eagle Mountain keeping the fort clean. Still though, I was Adam Taurus right now, not Jaune Arc.

I let out a low sigh, though the sound quickly devolved into a growl, "Forget it. Call off the searches. We can't waste time and resources on this any longer. I think it's time I return to Mistral and-" I was cut off by the sounds of gunshots, struggles, and combat outside.

Banesaw and I exchanged looks, then charged out of the tent, "WHAT IS THIS?!" I shouted in demanding, glad my voice control let me avoid a crack when I saw the sight.

 **Cinder Fall  
Title: ?  
Level: ?**

 **Mercury Black  
Title: The Quicksilver Butcher  
Level: 68  
**

 **Emerald Sustrai  
Title: The Jade Thief  
Level: 67**

Cinder had returned... and slaughtered all of the White Fang troops in the camp, save for a few who had been spared simply because they had been knocked out.

Several things were not right here. Her level and title were no longer visible, meaning she was now at least above level ninety-nine. It had been only three days! I could only assume she had acquired some sort of artifact of power. I heard a siren call in my head, commanding me to kill her.

I couldn't. She had much higher stats now, I could only assume, and even if I unleased a quadruple barrage of five Gaster Blasters each, I was pretty sure I couldn't take her down in one hit.

She could probably take me down with one hit, though. Her physical stats had been in the high one-hundreds before, and were probably in the two-hundreds now.

I would shatter like glass under her fist.

"We could have gone to anyone for help." she said in mocking and I recalled Adam having said those exact words to her in their first meeting, "But we chose YOU, Adam Taurus." she threw her swords on the ground, confusing me briefly.

I was a bit shocked, "Because I'm a very valuable man." I said as if in revelation.

Cinder held my gaze, then stretched her arm out, an orange pattern on her crimson dress lighting up to bright gold as the swords caught fire, "Our plan will be beneficial for both of us." she smiled dangerously, then nearly snarled, "Or one of us." the emotion was reined in, the swords still burning, catching the grass alight as well.

Emerald and Mercury sat knelt behind Cinder, to either side. Both had cases, and I knew what was in them before they were even opened.

 **Storage Item: Safety Traveling Case  
Contents:**

 **Medium Air Dust Crystal (x1)  
** **Medium Fire Dust Crystal (x1)  
Medium Water Dust Crystal (x1)  
Medium Earth Dust Crystal (x1)  
Medium Poison Dust Crystal (x1)  
Medium Ice Dust Crystal (x1)  
Medium Metal Dust Crystal (x1)  
Medium Lightning Dust Crystal (x1)  
** **Dust Storage Canister: 1kg Light Dust (x2)**

 **Storage Item: Safety Traveling Case  
Contents:**

 **320,000 Lien**

I stared at the items offered to me, but Cinder spoke before I had more than a few seconds to consider it, "So, which will it be?" she'd been expecting the slower-minded Adam Taurus, not me. I had much more thought processing power AND a higher degree of decision-making skills.

Sadly, it didn't help a lot.

She could kill me and end the White Fang in all but memory if I declined, and that I couldn't allow. I didn't want to die.

And... I GUESS I could turn the White Fang around. I hadn't started on that yet, but I was going to be working on it in the coming days.

Still, this was a lose-lose for me, even if I didn't want it to be. I had no choice, "Fine. You leave me no choice." I sheathed Wilt and pointed at her, "But while this is compensation for a change of cause, I still expect compensation for the men you've killed, and the uniforms and weapons you've ruined."

"All in due time, Adam. All~ in due time~." she drew the words out like honey, walking forward and cupping my cheek. The warmth was intense, almost burning hot.

I grabbed her slender wrist and pushed her away, "No touching." I said simply, walking over to Emerald and Mercury and grabbing the cases, snatching them up and closing them. I took them both in one hand and pointed in the general direction of Vale, "Now leave, your human face is starting to sicken me. Send a faunus representative next time. Since you're going to be gathering some men for me, it should be easy to find one." I handed the cases to Banesaw, "I'll keep up my end of the bargain if you keep up yours."

Cinder bowed, smiling. She was either ignorant enough to believe I would keep my end of the bargain fairly, or confident enough that she could enforce her rule that I wouldn't be a problem.

 _Soooomethiiiiing_ told me that if she was ignorant, she wouldn't have reached past level one-hundred.

The trio left the camp, leaving me to deal with the dead and, in some cases, charred bodies.

When they were out of sight, Banesaw spoke up, "Sir, surely you aren't serious about this."

I sighed and rubbed my face a little, "I have to be serious, Bane, she'll kill us if I'm not. She can conjure fire with her mind, that's not a good person to have pissed off at you."

Banesaw sighed, "So... now we're under the thumb of a human."

I smirked slightly, "Not quite. I actually just had an idea. It's risky, but something tells me she doesn't have anyone's interests in heart except for her own. If we are trying to reform the kingdom's rule, then I think it's safe to say she would rather burn it all down and wipe the slate clean. We can't let that happen. We let the kingdom die, then the faunus will be stuck footing the bill for its reparations." my smirk had devolved into a snarl, before quickly turning back, "But what do you do to counter a destroyer?"

The man looked at me curiously, then set the cases down, "A protector... sir, you can't mean..."

I nodded, "Oh yes. That bitch is trying to fuck us, so we need to act like real men and fuck her right back. Brutal raping if possible, and that's why I'm talking about making a deal with the Hunters."

Banesaw shook his head, leading the conversation inside, "Sir, they would tear us apart."

I sighed, "Bane, we can trust those goody two-shoes Hunters to do one thing: Whatever they need to make the kingdoms safe. They had a lot of authority, as well. We bribe them with some peace, amass forces from Cinder's efforts, and give them information on who their _real_ target is." I chuckled darkly, "We get them off our backs, get that fiery bitch thrown under the bus, and we get a massive step towards our freedom. Think about it, Bane, you could become a doctor." I smiled reassuringly at him, giving off a somewhat more friendly, almost brotherly vibe.

The man stared at me, then reached up to remove his mask, "I don't know if they'd let me into an institution like THIS, sir." he revealed his face to me. Vivid green eyes, short-cut black hair, and scarring over his mouth, revealing some of his teeth due to how the skin had been forced back by the burns.

I subtly equipped a pair of red contacts and removed my mask as well, looking into his eyes, "They'll have to, Bane. You and I will be heroes of society." I chuckled lowly, "Heroes don't get denied."

Bane sighed and put his mask back on, "You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become a villain, sir. We are far too old to be heroes."

I chuckled a bit more jokingly, letting an actual smile through, "Then we should embrace our inner children, Bane." my laugh was empty, hollow even.

The two of us shared a moment of morbid laughter, looking around at the dead bodies of the soldiers under us. I let the laughter die off, and Banesaw filled the silence, "We should bury them, and wait for the new ones to arrive."

I nodded, "Agreed." I almost began using Roimontagne to suck the bodies deep into the dirt, when I heard the low *k-chunk* of metal and saw Banesaw getting a pair of shovels.

I sighed, letting my hands fall from Wilt and Blush, and began working.

...

I patted the dirt down, having manipulated how much my shovel lifted from the ground with Roimontagne to lighten the work. It wasn't that hard, but it was tedious.

I didn't complain, of course, I didn't have the heart to. After days of being in the White Fang and listening to this group talk and work together, I'd realized that a lot of them had more sympathetic reasons to join than simply wanting to kill humans and force the government to give them what they wanted. Sadly, Adam's rule had changed those goals for the worse.

The new Adam would be different. I swore I would make it so.

 **QUEST RECEIVED!**

 **Quest: Some much-needed polish.  
Description: As the new leader of the White Fang, and with somewhat plausible deniability, you (as Adam Taurus) can turn the White Fang back on the path to good.  
Objective: Restore the White Fang to its old days of non-violence.**

 **Rewards: Maximum Closeness to Faction: White Fang (as Adam Taurus). +500 Closeness to Faction: Vale City (as Adam Taurus). Maximum Closeness to Blake Belladonna (as Jaune Arc). Maximum Closeness to Banesaw (as Adam Taurus). Possible sympathy from Banesaw (as Jaune Arc), possible alliance with Banesaw (as Jaune Arc). +40 Morality**

 **Penalties: Possibly get usurped as the White Fang Leader (as Adam Taurus). -900 Closeness to Faction: Vale City (as Adam Taurus). Maximum Un-Closeness to Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, Marbel Mayston, Ruby Rose, and possible others (as Jaune Arc). Maximum Un-Closeness to Banesaw (as Adam Taurus).**

I accepted it, "All this time I've been thinking with my heart, Bane. I guess it took losing Blake to see that my heart was in my chest, not my head." I sighed as I held the end of the shovel with both hands.

The raven-haired man shook his head, "Your heart and determination are what brought our people to our side, sir. Never lose that heart."

I shook my head, "Blake Belladonna stole my heart away and took it with her when she left. I'm going to think with my head now, Bane, but my empty chest cavity still pulsates with the passion for releasing my people from this living hell." I clenched my fist in front of my face.

I heard a hum of surprise, "I never took you for a poet, sir."

I let my hands fall to my sides, "Blake was more into that shit, but now that she's gone, I need to pick up the slack." I looked at Banesaw and smiled lightly, "Heh, I need to do some reading, think things through. I'm going to Mistral to talk with The Bard." I had had a chance to look through Adam's scroll, which held full-blown dossiers about two 'generals' that he had, one operating as 'The Bard' in Mistral in South Mistral, the other operating as 'The Troop' in Vacuo.

The Bard was a gull faunus woman known to the rumor mill as 'The Angel of Death' due to her love of using her ability to fly as a weapon all on its own. The Troop was a dolphin faunus who had been clipped of his back fin at a young age and had skin so smooth and waterproof it was said he was attacked with a molotov cocktail and the liquid fell off of his body before he was burned. It was improbable, but Adam had somehow found two people who were both joyously close to insane, _and_ very skilled at their jobs. They had been appointed by Adam as recruiters and face-breakers. The level of their skills and their general attitudes were as far as their similarities went.

The Troop, named Naranja Tamas, kept a small group with him, about ten men including himself. He was jovial off the job but kept things professional when on duty. The Bard, Sierra Elise, had a huge group with her. She was a hardass, but took to her missions with the glee of a schoolgirl. Adam had specifically mentioned _'Don't let her get ahold of my scroll'_ in her notes, as well as _'Keep caution, don't know if she'll turn on me'._ Naranja had the notes _'Laugh with him',_ and _'Keep track of his movements and purchases'_

Looking over all of it again, I had decided to visit The Bard first, "She is dangerous, I do not understand why you keep her around. Even being a continent away concerns me with her.

I rubbed my face, "She attracts a LOT of sympathizers, something The Troop can't do. He keeps an extremely low profile, which is how he's able to keep his base of operations in an active warehouse. So many measures taken to ensure nobody finds out that it would take nothing less than his own semblance to find the hiding spots. Said semblance was something I found to be awfully similar to Gamer's Sight, but reading further I felt the description diverged from it. He had extremely keen sight, hearing, and sense of smell. It was listed that he fired a guy for drinking on the job... and had smelled the alcohol from across a parking lot.

Given that the scent wouldn't have traveled very far without the wind, I was pretty sure that meant his actual semblance was more akin to projecting his senses outside of his body. He could smell from a mile away, possibly, by attaching his sense of smell to a streetlight.

Alternatively, Sierra's semblance seemed to be the ability to create small amounts of subspace. She had a scythe disguised as a long walking cane, the blade of which was on a mechanism held inside a tiny pocket dimension. It was insanely powerful, but limited. It was reported she once made a single room to hide several people in for a surprise attack, but less than a few minutes later, she passed out due to Aura Exhaustion (a trait she had) and the people died because the room collapsed with them in it. The report said 'It's best to say they stopped existing'.

For all his lack of INT and WIS, it certainly seemed that the thirty-ish points he'd had were almost completely expressed in his bookkeeping and recording of his agents.

Banesaw didn't like her, which would make things easy. I could claim I was going to visit her, but in actuality just do it over Adam's scroll. Things were looking up for this situation.

I'd save time doing minimal work for the White Fang, and spend that saved time doing more important things. I ran out of the camp and towards Vale City. However, when the crimson flora had all but vanished from my sight, leaving only rich greenery, I removed my mask and colored contacts, then checked on everyone.

That involved stopping one thing.

 _Adam: Okay Ruby, Yang, please stop clogging the Text Chat with emoticons_

 _Adam: Wait what the hell?_

I looked at my profile, realizing that my listed name had changed to Adam Taurus. I looked around and found the notification.

 **SYSTEM UPDATE: Sufficient mastery of Acting and immersing yourself in a character's role has added the feature "Name Change"!**

I hummed, then changed back, but not before seeing the latest message _Blake: Is the game haunted?_

 _Jaune: No, I just unlocked the ability to change my name. It automatically changed to Adam, which I guess makes sense because it's the only one I have besides default. I don't know why that would be important as a feature, but... it gives me an idea. There's a guy here, he's got a pretty sympathetic backstory as I've read, and I think I might be able to turn him to our side._

 _Marbel C: Jaune you can't save every goddamn person you meet. You lagged our Minecraft server back in the day because your ranch was absurdly huge. :C_

 _Jaune C: Marbs, this isn't going to 'lag the game' or whatever, this is real life. Look what do I keep saying? I'm a Hero, and heroes save people, and I think this guy could be worth saving. He's super high level even though he doesn't even know his semblance yet. If I can-:C_

 _Blake C: What guy? :C_

 _Jaune C: Lieutenant Banesaw. :C_

 _Blake C: Don't. Do not let him in. He's accepted his life as a murderous terrorist fully. He might seem civil but if he knew the truth, he'd turn on you faster than you could blink. I know, I saw him once cleave a man in half for telling Adam he wanted to quit. I know people can change, but... don't let him into the Game, it won't ever be worth it. :C_

 _Jaune C: Fine, fine. I guess I was being a little too excited. :C_

 _Yang C: Plus he'd totally ruin the vibes we have going on. :C_

 _Marbel C: Yeah, and what would his purpose even be? :C_

 _Jaune C: Tank? :C_

 _Marbel C: PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT! Good one, Jaune. You're the Tank, buddy, and in a pinch so is Yang. :C_

 _Blake C: Just get out of there or, better yet, kill Banesaw too. Psychos like him and Adam deserve a one-way trip straight to hell. :C_

 _Jaune C: Blake don't be so murder-y, I let you onto Team Celeste for a reason. Don't betray that reason. :C_

 _Blake C: A-alright... I just. I'm sorry, I'm still adjusting to having actual friends, and being connected with people, and... and being an opponent of the White Fang. :C_

 _Ruby C: It's okay, Blakey! Jauney is doing what he can to make sure they don't get to hurt anyone! Right Jaune? :C_

I turned on my camera and smiled at them all, washing my hair clean of the illusory dye, _C: Right, Ruby. Don't worry, Blake. I'll put a stop to all of this. The White Fang will either be a force for good, or be no more when I'm done with it. :C_ I gave them a determined look, _C: Now Ruby, Yang, I know you're really excited about all the cool things you can do with The Game, but please don't abuse the text chat functions or I'll have to take them away from you. :C_

 _Ruby C: Nuuuuuuuu! Don't! Please~! :C_

 _Jaune C: Then stop it with the smilies and stuff. :C_

 _Ruby C: Got it, smilies have stopped! :C_

 _Jaune C: And remember, don't tell your dad. :C_

 _Yang C: We both get THAT very clearly :C_

I smiled at them both, _C: Nice. Now then, I think I'm going to do something I should have done a while ago. I'm gonna summon my Lightning Elemental. :C_

 _Yang C: You need protection? I think Uncle Qrow's available, if you can contact him. He wasn't here today. :C_

 _Ruby C: He was off on a super secret mission that he couldn't tell us about! He's like a super spy and it's SO cool! I wonder what he did? :C_

 _Jaune C: I have as much clue as you do, Rubes. I'm going to take what I have and go get that elemental, alright? After that... I think my level grinding is sufficient, I'm probably going to meditate for a long-ass time and use my elementals. I have five of them, soon to be six, but I only have 12 charges to distribute among them. That's going to become only 2 levels each, and that's not good enough. :C_

 _Ruby C: Yowza. Grind those skills, Jaune, you can do it! :C_

 _Marbel C: We're gonna cheer you on for it, break your concentration and make something funny happen. :C_

 _Blake C: I refuse to partake in this. :C_

 _Yang C: You can do it~! I believe in you~! :C_

I chuckled, _Jaune C: Alright, alright, I'm going. I just need to get ready and changed :C_ I changed to my Normal outfit and began Sprinting towards Eagle Mountain, grinning slightly.

This... was going to be pretty alright.

* * *

 _(An hour later, Eagle Mountain, Jaune POV)_

I hummed lowly. I hadn't yet summoned my Lightning Elemental for a simple reason: I wanted to explore the mountain and, more important, the rocky cliffs that ran up towards the peaks. I'd noticed earlier that they were formed in such a way that made flat surfaces on top of some of the walls.

With Power Jump, I easily leaped up the height of one of the rocky walls and landed on the pathway it made. I smiled and used Magic Eyes to further examine everything I could see from up here. I could see the trees down below, maybe about thirty feet. I could see the cave and where the doorway was. I could see a few ponds dotting the area, and I even could see, up ahead, a secluded pond. Humming curiously, I ran towards the pond.

Suddenly, however, I felt my toes catch on something and nearly got sent ass-over-head tumbling from getting tripped. I caught myself in a roll with Amazing Grace and my flexibility boost from Dancing, and smoothed out the stone with Roimontagne. However, I noticed something on the ground.

It was a large circle burnt into the stone, dark gray and looking fresh. However, Magic Eyes told Gamer's Sight something quite interesting, and Gamer's Sight then relayed that juicy information to me.

 **Magic Rune Circle: This symbol is permanent burnt into the stone, reaching down approximately 63 inches. The magic patterns inside it appear to be of both Earth and Lightning element. The wizard who did this must have been extremely powerful. Despite how ancient this is, it still looks fresh as the day it was made. A powerful resonance seems to call out from it.**

My eyes widened at that last line, and I touched the center of the circle. I felt a sensation like oppressive chains being wrapped around my mind's hand as I reached into it. If I was right, then...

Bingo.

I pulled, clawing the stone apart with Roimontagne and saturating the air with my Aura as I carefully extracted the loose soul that had been stuck in the earth.

I examined it and touched the surface, and...

* * *

 _I saw azure light at my feet, unknown to my eyes, yet my mind knew it was me. I saw a body of orange and yellow positioned in the center of where the circle was. Down below, I saw green and gray, and a few colored figures fighting off black silhouettes._

 _I realized that the yellow and orange figure was me, or rather him, the man whose soul this was. The figures down below, they were his friends, one that was dark gray and blue with a sword and shield, one a vivid green-yellow and holding an axe, one a purple-red and holding daggers. They were adventurers, fighting what appeared to be Grimm with spears._

 _The wizard was gathering his Aura together to cast a very powerful spell, when suddenly a stream of black soared through the air, impaling his chest. I winced as he fell and all of his gathered Aura crashed down onto him with a mighty lightning bolt._

 _The lightning burnt the earth black and the man's body fell, his soul sinking into the stone as if being sucked into it. I saw the other colored figures dying off at the same time, before the vision faded to nothing._

* * *

I gasped as I came to my senses, looking at the soul in my hands.

 **Damned Soul (yellow and orange): A soul of a fallen hero. Doomed to eternal misfortune, it was cursed by accident to never pass to the afterlife. It's corona is colored unnaturally from its core, which is light green. It shines with yellow and orange light, emanating feelings of a bond to nature. It is mostly intact, due to having been trapped for the most part. It seems like you can see some parts of what this soul saw, if the vision from the rune near its cursed location is anything to go by.**

 **Effects: Consuming this soul will grant +3000 Max AP, +2 INT, +1 WIS, +7 Earth Affinity, and +8 Lightning Affinity**

I hummed, then put the soul in my inventory. I would have to see more on that later. For now, I went to the pond, seeing clear, calm waters.

Nothing out of the ordinary, as far as I could tell, except... hold on a second.

I dived down into the water, using Pluviteus to make sure I didn't drown. I swam down to the bottom, which seemed to be a cupped shape. There was bright blue peaking out. I used Roimontagne and unearthed it. My eyes widened a bit.

 **Giant Water Dust Crystal (30 lbs)**

I rose to the surface, landing on the back of the pond and staring down at it, forcing the water to settle. It was almost beautiful, and I used Roimontagne to reinforce that beauty by hardening and slightly expanding the walls of the pond, turning messy formations of soft, waterlogged dirt into smooth, clean stone walls. I smiled and chuckled a little, then continued my walk.

I went around the perimeter while thinking about the vision I'd seen. I had seen the black figures start to retreat down into another area, and that area was the cave that I currently was using as a base of operations. If there wasn't a connecting tunnel, then... maybe there had been one in the past!

What was down there? I was curious, but what held my attention more was the fact that I needed a Lightning Elemental. It would be a relatively straight shot from the cave down into any subterranean caverns, after all. I didn't have to worry TOO much.

Settling into the Celeste Cave, as I just now decided to name it, I made a summoning circle and brought out a few Lightning Dust Crystals. This was it, my final elemental. I hoped it would be just as successful as the last for.

I focused my Aura into the circle, and just like before, I felt something pulling back.

Suddenly, my consciousness vanished, and I was out like a light.

* * *

 _Darkness_

 _Darkness_

 _Darkness_

 _Redness_

 _WHITENESS_

 _Darkness_

 _Darkness_

 _Darkness_

 _Darkness is all I know, until that energy brings me the light._

 _I burn like fire for moments at a time._

 _I only know life briefly as the energy flows through me._

 _Then, suddenly, life blooms through me like an explosion._

 _The energy flows INTO me!_

 _Into my SOUL!_

 _I feel my soul swell in size as countless years take place._

 _Each year passes in an instant, before I know it I stand up._

 _I stand from the mud and reach out into the world._

 _I feel my energy grow as I do._

 _I feel... feelings._

 _Taste, touch, sound, sight, smell._

 _I begin to identify._

 _This energy, it is what lets me grow._

 _What lets me change._

 _What lets me evolve._

 _It is still present, in the creatures around me._

 _Big or small, animal or plant, they too have it._

 _However, they merely adopted it._

 _I was born with this energy._

 _I was molded by it._

 _Suddenly, my perception explodes._

 _It spreads to all of mankind and all the sky._

 _Through all of nature and the seas._

 _Through the ground and the core of the earth._

 _I am the blood of the storm and the signals in bodies._

 _I am energy and I am in all life._

 _I fuel muscles and wires to make motion and light._

 _I make heat and wind, used to power any device._

 _Used to power the original device as well._

 _Used to power life itself._

 _I realize now as I see through all things._

 _I am lightning_

 _I am what lets things grow._

 _I am the energy that inflates the souls of mankind._

 _I am the energy that makes storms so deadly._

 _The sky weeps millions of tears and strikes down with anger._

 _I am that lightning too, pushing the sky aside._

 _The sky bellows in protest as thunder._

 _I am the lightning in dynamos and generators._

 _Powering technology held so dearly by mankind._

 _I am lightning and I can be captured._

 _But if I am given an exit..._

 _I am gone in an instant..._

 _I am lightning and my name is Juristimunja._

 _I am... Juristimunja._

 _I feel myself break away from a whole._

 _But... I am merely a piece..._

 _A piece of an even MORE glorious whole._

 _I am a splinter of a tree._

 _It is fully colored now, and I will help it grow even more powerful._

 _As it grows stronger, I too shall grow even stronger._

 _I am Juristimunja._

 _I am lightning._

 _My energy is infinite._

 _I am Jaune Arc._

 _I am human_

 _My soul is eternal._

 _I am... one._

* * *

 _I felt my perception return to my body, but everything was dark. I stood in the middle of infinite darkness, awash in only the light at my feet._

 _I looked down to see a circle with near-infinite detail, with six points reaching out. Each one was marked with patterns both unique to them, yet still so common. It was hard to look at. It HURT to look at. I looked at the center of it, which was glowing with pure white light._

 _I was compelled, I knelt down and touched the symbols with my hands. Instantly, I felt like my soul was being torn apart. I could sense splinters burgeoning out from its surface. I saw the arms of the circle start to glow with all the colors of the rainbow, and I noticed that the patterns... they all made sense suddenly. I was slightly shocked, trying to think of why, but my brain felt like it was completely opaque to my will to think and understand. Veiled completely in darkness._

 _I saw one arm start to light up with purple energy. Metal. From the smaller circle at the end of it came metal. It coalesced together and formed Crocea the Elemental. He looked at me with that familiar face. A perfect mirror of myself, except in almost complete silvery coloration. He was slightly colored, his hoodie tinted black, his skin tinted with a peachy tone, his hair tinted gold, but his eyes were perfect, vivid lights, glowing azure with what I could only assume was incandescence._

 _Next, the arm to his right lit up red. Fire. At the end, flames rose from the circle and Xiburichu formed. A short man, skin like a smooth sheet of orange flames stitched into a perfect human shape._ _A corona of golden fire around his orange form, his eyes glowing azure just like mine, their color brought out all the more by the redness surrounding them. He was bald, but for a few wisps of reddish-gold fire._

 _Next, the arm across from him lit up, glowing with green energy. Air. A miniature tornado rose from the circle at the end, and Mystral coalesced from it. She was small, her body no more than two feet long. Her form was faint, hollow in the center, like she was made of glass that was only painted on the edges of each face. Blue wisps of wind, some tinged gold, some tinged purple, coalesced together, swirling and forming a small blue dragon with darker scales dotted among the normal ones covering its lean body. Between two frosty horns was a mane of lavender clouds. Her wings were tinged yellow, lightning faintly arcing between bones of wispy clouding._

 _Then, back across the star, the arm next to Xiburichu's lit up with orange energy. Earth. Pebbles and rocks and huge chunks of stone rose up from the circle at the end, coalescing into Roimontagne. He was the tallest of us, about 6'8", with a rough, crown-like carving on his forehead that had a tiny diamond and two tiny sapphires set into it, arranged in a small triangular pattern. His eyes glowed as two azure crystals. His body rose up under his bald head, all of it very rocky and rough. His lower body simply melded into the ground, like a slime beast made of rocks. He was buff and very stocky, which went well with his great stature and greater strength._

 _Across from him, the arm between Crocea and Mystral began glowing with blue energy. Water. Droplets came from he circle at the end, then a wide river flowed directly upwards and outwards, forming Pluviteus. It was impossible to tell the gender of the creature that appeared from the water being sucked into the cave. Its body fluctuated, looking almost whitewater from a hose. It formed a thin, river-like torso and two buff arms, with thick forearms and huge hands and fingers. Its lower body simply turned bottlenecked into a thin rivulet, which dripped as it floated almost like a ghost, body hovering in the air and not touching the ground directly. Azure energy glowed atop it as its head formed, a slicked-back head of 'hair' made of orange seaweed. Its eyes opened up like two concave holes scooped out of its face, tiny stars of azure like glittering moonlight on the ocean waves. It opened its mouth, another concave hole that was wide like the maw of a beast._

 _Finally, I looked towards the last arm, unlit and colored a dull, lifeless gray. The other elementals all looked towards it too, and began speaking in a chaotic cacophony of clangs and rasps, of crackles and gouts, of gusts and whistles, of clunks and crunches, and of waves and babbles. I felt like the noise was invading my head, threatening to drive me insane._

 _Then, they all went silent as the yellow energy filling the last arm reached the end. From it, there was a crackling, then a small burst of thunder as lightning struck upwards from the ground. A new figure stood there, the figure of Juristimunja. It was the simplest of my elementals, two long, thin whitish-yellow bolts for legs. Two long, thin, whitish-yellow bolts for arms. Its torso was a long, slightly thicker bolt of azurish-yellow lightning, with a heart shape in the middle. Its head was a ball of lightning with a few thick arcs wriggling at the back, coming together like a long ponytail. Three azure eyes opened up on its face, one on the left and right and one in the middle. A thin, smiling mouth formed below the eyes. When she was fully formed, her 'heart' started beating, sending small pulsations through her limbs, making them swell and contract slightly._

 _She was about 6'5", I measured, and featureless but for her somewhat feminine figure. She looked directly at me, her thin smile now emitting giggles as she made a motion to cover her mouth. Her_ _giggles were like static shocks and the buzzing of electric currents, "I am Juristimunja. You and I, we were meant to be."_

 _"Meant to be?" I was confused. I was more confused than anything in my life. I felt like every single point of my WIS had been drained away, preventing me from understanding anything._

 _... wait..._

 _That was it!_

 _Suddenly, as soon as that thought passed through my head, I felt the swallowing blackness covering my mind crack in the center. I was so close to... SOMETHING... and so I did as any wise fool would do..._

 _"Please... help me to understand." I begged of them all._

 _They all raised their hands as far upwards as they could go. Just as I'd seen with Yang and Ruby, six beams of light, all the colors of the rainbow, shot out of the elements. All the colors of light coalesced into a rainbow above me, and then washed over my form. It banished the darkness in my mind and let it see the light._

 _It washed over and colored my soul, and_ _let me see the truth._

* * *

 _Light, so much light._

 _The light divides._

 _The blood of the earth, metal._

 _The willpower of nature, fire._

 _The breath of the storm, air._

 _The flesh of the earth, earth._

 _The flesh of the storm, water._

 _The blood of the storm, lightning._

 _The rainbow shines over all of the world._

 _I see darkness as metal, but feel the blood of the miners approaching._

 _I see the earth torn apart but for a goal to find metal and crystals._

 _I feel their sweat fall and mix with the dust, and they drink._

 _I feel the fire raging to melt the metal, making it come undone._

 _Beaten into strength._

 _The beginning of something new._

 _I feel lightning flow through metal and crystals and nerves._

 _I feel the air whip and blow and be pushed aside by everything._

 _It persist, though._

 _It enacts its will._

 _Fire and heat fill the sky as the sun shines._

 _As mountains explode as volcanoes._

 _The water cools and soothes the volcanoes' raging._

 _It soothes and forms earth._

 _The earth holds everything up and together._

 _The sand at the bottom of the sea._

 _The dirt under the trees._

 _The stone that makes the mountains._

 _And the snow atop the mountains is but frozen water._

 _The water melts in the sunlight and flows down, making rivers._

 _The rivers flow and feed themselves to the plants along the way._

 _The plants form from the elements too._

 _But they lack two things._

 _Ironic, really._

 _That the master's inception and termination in this quest..._

 _Was of both things lacked by nature and granted to mankind._

 _Metal and Lightning._

 _Endurance and Energy._

 _Filling up human souls and giving them what they needed._

 _To not just be natural, but to go beyond._

 _To imagine._

 _To create new things._

 _To be..._ UN _natural_

 _And in the wake of such success..._

 _The elements of metal and lightning..._

 _They were fed unto nature to make it grow too._

 _To make the cycle better._

 _To make things become greater through the circle of life._

 _With a stable structure, not prone to squish._

 _The hexagon of life._

 _Purple, Metal._

 _Red, Fire._

 _Green, Air._

 _Orange, Earth._

 _Blue, Water._

 _Yellow, Lightning._

 _These six colors, the rainbow._

 _The rainbow that blesses life._

 _And now that rainbow is in your hands, master._

 _You now wield the reins over all the elements._

 _I am Crocea Mors and I am Metal._

 _I am Xiburichu and I am Fire._

 _I am Mystral and I am Air._

 _I am Roimontagne and I am Earth._

 _I am Pluviteus and I am Water._

 _I am Juristimunja and I am Lightning._

 _You and us._

 _We and you._

 _We are all one._

 _I am Jaune Arc and I am Human._

 _My endurance is infinite._

 _My willpower is infinite._

 _My breath is infinite._

 _My strength is infinite._

 _My life is infinite._

 _My energy is infinite._

 _I am colored completely._

 _My soul is eternal._

 _And it is colored with all the powers of the earth._

 _I am Jaune Arc._

 _I am Crocea Mors._

 _I am Xiburichu._

 _I am Mystral._

 _I am Roimontagne.  
_

 _I am Pluviteus._

 _I am Juristimunja._

 _I am... one._

* * *

 **Acquisition of a Basic Lightning Elemental has increased your Lightning Affinity by 10!**

 **Increasing your understanding of the world through the eyes of the elements has increased your WIS by 2!**

 **Summon Elemental's level increased by 4!**

 **By summoning an elemental for each of the six elements, you have earned the title "Wizard of the Elements"**

 **Understanding the patterns of mana and the elements has granted you the skill "Runecraft"!**

I barely opened my eyes, my mind aching as it processed everything around me into feelings. There were blind spots, of course, but even for Gamer's Mind, it was a more than a little difficult.

My WIS was only 100, not 101 like I'd expected. I hummed softly, looking around as I opened my eyes, checking the stats on the new title.

 **Wizard of the Elements: Granted for summoning an elemental for all six elements. Grow your power and continue deepening your connection with nature. Effect: Doubles boosts granted by elemental buffs. +100% Ease of Casting elemental skills. Can imbue neutral Mana spells with one element.**

I chuckled softly, then sat up. I was one WIS point short of the boosts I'd get. I was quite the stubborn player when it came to games that gave you stat points AND allowed you to 'exercise' your stats. However, as all six of my elemental friends informed me, I need to take the final step myself.

So I put a point in WIS.

 **By raising WIS above 100, you have achieved new heights!**

 **Raising WIS above 100 has granted you the skill "Magic Doodle"!**

 **Raising WIS above 100 has granted you the skill "Pathfinder"!**

 **Raising WIS above 100 has granted you the skill "Wizard's Stream"!**

 **Raising INT and WIS to great heights has granted you the class "Wizard v3"!**

 **Raising INT and WIS to incredible heights and proving yourself worthy of power has granted you the item "Platinum Amulet"!**

I tilted my head slightly at that last message. I didn't quite understand it. Why would I...

Wait a second...

 ** _Platinum Amulet  
_** ** _Description: A masterpiece necklace with the Double Crescents symbol of the Arc family engraved on a small, intricately-decorated platinum medallion. The medallion is hung on a necklace of decorated ebony wood beads. It gleams with great magical power._**

 ** _Effects: +25% magic damage, +50% ease of casting, +5 INT and WIS when worn. Boosts Aura by 20%  
_**

 ** _Tier: Conditional complimentary starter item v4 (INT and WIS)_**

Huh... I guess that changed, then. I had had a theory that if I'd completed the prologue by raising my stats above the threshold, then I'd be given a fourth-tier starter item. Sadly, unlocking the Charisma stat had denied me from confirming that theory. Now, I suppose, since I had over one-hundred in the stats of the item I'd been granted, then I was eligible for the game to-

 **Congratulations on getting over 100 in INT and WIS! Since those stats were your primary stats in your starting build, The Game has granted you the 4th version of the item you would have gained during the prologue!**

Huh... I stood up and looked into my inventory. I removed the amulet and looked at it. The medallion, as the description had stated, was engraved with small patterns that I recognized to be the patterns of the elements. Above the crescents was Metal, below them was Lightning. I noticed that the pattern, oddly enough, continued through the beads. The four elements fire, water, earth, and air were on the front, back, and left and right sides of the beads, while metal was on the top and lightning was on the bottom. Odd. Then again, I'd hypothesized that the Arc Family had something of a hereditary passing-on of Metal and Lightning affinities. Metal for the knight and paladin motifs many past Arcs shared, and Lightning for the incredible size of their auras.

Funny enough, I had ended up with the stat build to gain a huge amount of Aura without even thinking about it most of the time.

I checked the skills, finding that Magic Doodle, oddly, allowed me to combine two elementals into a Dual Elemental, controlling some... new element? It was hard to figure without actually doing it. Pathfinder hinted that other people had information-based semblances, like what I'd read about The Troop and his high level of sensory power. Wizard's Stream was the WIS equivalent of Wizard's Pool, granting me increased APR instead of Max AP, just like WIS increased my APR instead of my Max AP.

Overall, despite the simplicity of the skills at base, the implications were incredible. I might be able to combine three elementals, or four, or five, or all six of them into one... Megazord Elemental thingy. For Pathfinder, I could gain some sort of extrasensory perception, or telepathy, or be able to read people's emotions more accurately, or even get a minimap! THAT would be useful. For Wizard's Stream... if I could increase my Max AP by using AP with Wizard's Pool, then I could increased my APR by regenerating AP with this.

It would be like APR itself was a skill.

I grinned. This all had been amazing. Even if I was still lacking DPS, I had more tools to work with, and more APR to fuel my actions.

Wizard v3 had increased the APR boost from 100% to 150%, driving my minutely APR to over twelve thousand. Runecraft let me make runes that were aligned to elements and increased their power. The latter would be useful when combined with the skill I'd stolen from Cinder's dress.

 **Dust Weaving (Passive) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00%  
** **An age-old technique involving imbuing threads of cloth with Dust and weaving them into clothing. While it can be used by anyone, it is best made by those who understand the patterns of the elements. Effectiveness and power of woven Dust increases with skill level.**

 **Allows imbuing of dust into threads.  
** **Allows weaving of Dust into clothing and some armors.**

I smiled. I had some work to do. I'd been using normal, un-magical clothing for too long, and it was time for an upgrade.

...

Well... I was glad I tried this on a normal hoodie, instead of my more stylish ones. Just because I had the dexterity and the precision to weave clothing didn't mean I had much of the skill. Luckily I had a Tailoring trade in my list of Crafting Trades, so I hadn't done TOO badly.

Still...

 _ **Fiery Hoodie.  
Description: A black hoodie with flame patterns along the cuffs, tail, shoulders, and the mouth of the hood. It has been woven with Dust to enhance its abilities.**_

 _ **Defense: 1  
+10% effectiveness with Fire magic.**_

The patterns weren't the best, but that was to be expected. I got a level out of that craft, though, so I had a good feeling about training this skill up. Still, since I couldn't get anything better at the moment, I just equipped my Ferromagnet hoodie, which had been woven with, as the name somewhat hinted, lightning and metal Dust. I put on my armor and equipped Crocea Mors to my side. Humming, I took out two Dust crystals.

Ice and Poison Dust, those were the two I'd received from case Cinder had delivered, as well as two canisters of Light dust. I quirked my mouth as I thought about the implications of these two. What would I gain from using them with Soulforge? Could I manipulate my elementals to make a Poison or Ice elemental? I still hadn't used Magic Doodle, so I didn't know the effects of it. I hummed as I thought about what could make what. It could be useful, in some cases.

I decided to start with what seemed obvious, summoning each of my elementals in kind.

First thing first, I combined Roimontagne and Xiburichu. The latter seemed to phase into the former's body. Suddenly, flames burst from the cracks between the stones of Roimontagne's body, and his crystal eyes both shattered into a dozen pieces. His form melted into lava, huge chunks of volcanic stone forming amidst the glowing orange molten stone. The new form stood about 6'3 and had two dozen glowing shards of azure crystal for eyes. I whistled lowly at the handiwork, then moved to the next to.

Pluviteus swallowed Mystral whole, then a mist rose from the surface of his skin. Suddenly, his form expanded and hardened into chunks of ice in a rough, but intimidating dragon-like shape, a longer, snakier kind than a normal drake, like Mystral. I believe it was called a wyrm. The glowing stars and sparks of their eyes spread into large glowing lights held behind a thin, clear layer of ice. A pair of sleek wings formed from snow and slush on its back, and four wicked icicle claws tipped each toe of its four legs.

The next process was simple, Juristimunja simply hugged Crocea Mors and phased into him. Small spikes formed along his arms as his body came undone, reddening a bit from the heat. Two concave dishes formed, filling with azure lightning for his eyes as his teeth sharpened and his clothes vanished, replaced by a smooth, flawless skin of steel. His legs shortened as he began floating a few inches off the ground. His skin melted away from his chest, revealing magnetic rings of a ribcage formed around his spine. He laughed like thunder booming through a metal tube.

Roirichu, Pluvistral, and Crocea Munja, as I named them for simplicity's sake. They echoed with power. Lava, ice, and magnets, it was impressive.

I split them apart again, trying a few other combinations. Crocea Richu was a short, muscular man made of molten steel, and seemed to be better at forging things. Roimonstral was a fat dragon carved of sandstone, and was better at manipulating, of course, sand. Pluvimunja seemed to simply be a sleeker-bodied Pluviteus filled with bolts of lightning in place of bones. Though the exact effects were unclear, she was capable of making steam and directing lightning bolts through streams of water, as well as make miniature versions of herself.

After that, I changed up my strategy, going for a 'one for all'.

Crocea Munja was a magnetic elemental, Crocea Richu seemed to be a smithing elemental, so I moved on. Crocea Pluvis looked almost the same except for a sludgy rust covering every inch of his body, dripping off of him occasionally. Crocea Myst was much the same, except with dry rust covering his body like flaky scales, some of them chipping off his skin with every motion. Finally there was Crocea Montagne, who seemed to be some sort of 'ore' elemental, with a golem-like body riddled with gold, iron, copper, tin, and aluminum. He seemed to be incredibly strong, which wasn't too surprising. His eyes were like jewelry, azure crystals set into bright silver sockets. I smiled. Crocea had a couple of good combinations.

Roirichu and Crocea Richu had already been seen, so I moved to Xibuviteus, who formed a body of bubbling water and steam. His head and heart were glowing with fire and water, and scalding steam curled into a thick body. It could find some use, but it wasn't the most effective. Xibustral seemed to form a long, serpentine dragon out of smoke and fire, fire as its eyes and smoke as its scales... looking at it, he almost seemed to be an explosion held into the shape of a dragon. Finally, Xibumunja formed the semi-defined figure of a woman with a wiry, but muscled frame. Everywhere she touched was like a welding torch turned up to 500%, slagging stone and turning wood to smoke in seconds.

Roimontagne and Pluviteus came together to form Roimonviteus, who appeared to be an actual slime-beast made up mostly of mud, but I found that he could also control concrete to some degree. Roimunja seemed to be made of a lot more crystals, which formed rough spikes on his arms and arced with electricity from his shoulders down to his fingertips. He seemed to be able to control crystals to a better degree than Roimontagne alone could.

Roimonstral, Xibustral, Crocea Myst, and Pluvistral had already been seen, so the only combo left for her was Mystimunja, who turned into a tiger-sized dragon with a tiger's tail and legs, which confused me a bit. Her body hummed with a quiet rumble, every movement's sound exaggerated a hundredfold, maybe a thousand-fold. She seemed to be some sort of... thunder tiger, I guess. I thought back on what had been revealed to me in the 'joint' summoning reveal.

Each of my elementals had been influenced by my surroundings and experiences about at the times that I summoned them.

Crocea Mors, the Yellow Death. He was named after the sword wielded by the Arc Warriors who had proved themselves worthy of the title of hero. I had wanted to prove myself by unlocking my Aura on my own.

Xiburichu, the Western Sunrise. He was named as such because I summoned him when Yang and I were still in the early stages of our friendship. She was of Vacuan blood and her name meant Sun, so the name of my Elemental had been influenced thusly.

Mystral, the Cold Wind of the East. She was different, a bit odd in fact. I had used a skill to boost the 'air' sacrifice for her summoning. It was during that brief, confusing period of time when I'd first met Blake, who Gamer's Sight told me she was of Mistralian blood, and I was thinking heavily about Yang and I in a relationship. The skill I'd used, Azure Dragon's Chilly Breath, was used by the Azure Dragon of the East, who supposedly helped build the whole kingdom back up from the brink of destruction. He had moved from Vacuo, AKA Yang, to Mistral, AKA Blake. Thinking on it properly, I realized that, if only for a few brief moments, I had thought about replacing Yang with Blake. My head had calmed and thankfully I hadn't done such a foolish and disgusting act. Yang was too precious to be replaced.

Roimontagne, the King's Mountain. He was named as such because of Eagle Mountain, and my past being the 'king' of a 'kingdom' on top of said mountain. Of course when I was eleven and twelve, that was all just pretend, but I'd remembered it before summoning him. He was the king of the mountain because of my dream to be the king of the mountain.

Pluviteus, the Orange Rain. I had found the old orange tree Marbel and I liked to eat from when we'd gone camping here with our parents. Much simpler than my other elementals, she had formed like she had because of both my sacrifice of oranges and the fact that it had begun to rain during my meditative state forming her.

Juristimunja, the Storm of True Lightning. She had been the final piece to the puzzle, my last elemental to complete the set and bring me to a higher state of balance and harmony. Through her, I had learned more about the truth of nature and the way the six elements made up the world. Magic Doodle helped me mimic those combinations of the elements, if only by a small amount.

I grinned. Not only all of this, but my levels for Mana Affinity and Nature Affinity had received a huge boost from my 'balance' of having all six possible elementals. My APR was now over a quarter of my AP ever minute, and that was before the boost from Wizard v3. I was currently raking in almost 17k Aura every minute because of these boosts.

Naturally, I decided to put them to good use.

...

A stiff breeze blew past my ears as I carved the tunnel down into the bowels of the mountain. When I'd gone down about half a kilometer, I sensed dangerous presences at the end of the range. I was tempted just dig straight down, but Minecraft had taught me that that wasn't a good idea. Lava or massive drops aside, if I made a sheer drop, I'd need to fly to get back up. The problem was that, from what I'd seen in the vision, the Grimm that the adventuring party had fought all had wings.

Suddenly, however, I was interrupted by a message.

 _Marbel W: Hey Jaune, where are you? I thought you'd be training, but um... I need some help. :W_

 _Jaune W: Where are-... wait, you're incredibly close. Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in school? :W_

 _Marbel W: Someone thought a good April Fool's prank would be to drop smoke bombs in the ventilation shaft. Not only is the school closed until they clear everything out, it also stirred up a ton of spiders and rats, so exterminators are coming in. It'll be until Monday before they're done. Are you inside the mountain? :W_

 _Jaune W: Yeah. Hey, wanna come help me kill subterranean Grimm? :W_

 _Marbel W: What do I get if I do that? :W_

 _Jaune W: I'll get you a new scooter and some new clothes or something, plus it's EXP. Anything for EXP. :W_

 _Marbel W: Anything for EXP... dammit Jaune! Exploiting my weaknesses... *grumble grumble* :W_

 _Jaune W: Hehehe, come on, get your short ass down here and watch me dig with my Elementals. :W_

 _Marbel W: Fine, fine. I'm coming. :W_

I ceased my tunneling and looked up, focusing my Aura to light up the cave with Xiburichu.

A few minutes later, I saw Marbel in the distance, sliding down the stone path on a sheet of metal. I winced slightly, but it was just common steel, nothing to cry over. I slowed her down with Mystral and Crocea, smiling and giving her a small hug when we were level, "Hey Marbs." I chuckled as I continued tunneling.

"Hey Jaune. So where're the Grimm?" she asked as she looked at the end of the tunnel.

I checked my senses again, "About four hundred more meters down. Don't worry, we'll get there in no time." I smiled at her and redoubled my digging efforts.

Marbel hummed softly, "So hey, uh... I have a question. I studied a whole bunch and did some meditation like you taught us, but... I think it'd be really useful if I had something more than just quick movements and stabby stab." she gestured to her dagger.

I chuckled, "Yeah, stabby stab is useful but it gets old. What were you thinking?"

As I looked down at her, she seemed to shrink in shyness, "Um... actually, my idea was that maybe... s-since you see to have all of the elementals... and you're kind of an expert on this... maybe you can help me get an elemental? Maybe also help Blake and Yang and Ruby too?" she seemed to shrink back a little more, and her tone suggested that the four girls had talked about this among themselves.

I sighed softly as I looked at her, "Having an elemental isn't just something anyone can do. I trust you know that?" she nodded, "Alright. I'll see about maybe doing that after we clear out this place of the Grimm. For now, here." I boosted Regeneration fifteen times over and cast it on her, giving her what looked like 6378 minutes of the buff, which translated to about 106.3 hours of being buffed, or almost four and a half days. I waited for my Aura to regenerate, finding it returning after just a couple of minutes. I smirked.

My stacked buffs were OP.

Speaking of buffs, I also took the time to cast the other five buffs on Marbel, as well as all six on myself. I had found that the EXP gained for re-upping a buff on someone was reduced by a percentage proportionate to the time left in the buff. Re-upping it after only a few seconds would mean I'd get almost nothing for it, but re-upping it when there were only a few seconds left would mean I'd get almost the whole amount for it.

It sucked, because that meant I couldn't level them up by spamming them, I had to actually properly buff someone. Still, they were useful irregardless, and topping off the timers didn't hurt.

I resumed tunneling, going faster this time. I twisted the tunnel around subtly, making sure that when we reached the cavern, it would be at ground level.

...

"So this is really cool. I'm guessing you're gonna put in stairs or something?" Marbel spoke up over the rumble of stone turning to gravel and sinking into the walls to make room for us and for air.

I nodded, "Probably at some point, dunno. Hold on, we're close." I reached into the walls with Crocea and Roi and pulled out iron and coal. I fused the two together to make steel and create a large door at the end of the tunnel. I smiled and opened it, revealing a cavern beyond, "Here we are. After you, princess." I gestured playfully towards the door.

Marbel rolled her eyes, "The princess commands the knight to lead the charge." she pointed towards the blackness and I nodded, accepting my role. I kept my Aura activated, glowing azure around me, and led on.

The cavern was quiet, almost dangerously so. My Aura provided a large amount of light, but not a lot. It was very soft and quite faint, but it reached out what I could assume was one millimeter for every one Max AP I had, so that made for...

 **AP: 37,543/39,200**

39.2 meters. I could see more past that, thanks to Magic Eyes, but it was a little tough. I felt metals nearby, a significant amount of them. It seemed that Eagle Mountain was rich with ore.

However, I sensed a disturbance above and backflipped out of the way, just in time for the ceiling to collapse and something to fall in.

I hit it with Gamer's Sight and groaned a bit.

 **Parantheron Metallurgist  
Title: The Claws that Crush Stone  
Level: 38**

It had a high DEX and relatively high WIS. As its name implied, it had the ability to use metals. To what extent could be seen by its appearance. A few little plates of copper had formed on its fur, and its fangs were triple their normal size and covered with sharpened nickel. I looked at Marbel, getting a nod that she saw some of the information I did due to Leadership. I summoned Vorpal Sword and summoned a hand of stone from the ground to come up and grab it. It wriggled and tried to escape, but the more it struggled, the more the stone dug into its flesh. I nodded to Marbel, and she jabbed her dagger up into its head a few times, killing it and earning herself a couple of levels.

I covered her in a layer of forcefully stilled, silenced air, then I breathed in and let out a battlecry, using Mystral to make the sound carry.

I detected a massive rise in bloodlust, and soon, from one of the passageways poured forth the enemy.

 **Vulcyrie  
** **Title: Dark Warrior of the Mountain  
** **Level: 26**

 **Vulcyrie Spireus  
** **Title: Cloaked Lancer of the Mountain  
** **Level: 48**

 **Vulcyrie Shieldus  
** **Title: Shadowed Defender of the Mountain  
** **Level: 48**

 **Vulcyrie Cinderus  
** **Title: Blackened Wizard of the Volcano  
** **Level: 49**

They were tall and humanoid, standing closer to seven feet tall than six feet. Their bodies were covered with black feathers and four wings sprouted from each of their backs. The ones designated as Spireus wielded crude spears, made of stone shafts and rough metal heads. The Shieldus had, as their name implied, shields attached to their arms, each almost three feet across and surprisingly smooth in their circular shape. The Cinderus had glowing hands and feet, and I understood why when I deflected a bolt of fire away from Marbel's face.

A battery of Spireus charged us, and I dipped out of the way of their thrusts, getting caught in the side by a lucky shot, even despite having Stone Skin and Adamant Foil active. They might be wielding crude weapons, but they had a lot of Strength and a significant amount of numbers. I was glad I buffed Marbel like I had, otherwise she'd be having more difficulty.

A cry of pain cut through my thoughts, and I looked to see that the superior speed of the Vulcyries had ended up with Marbel getting hit. They hadn't impaled her on their spears, but there was a mark forming on her arm due to her weaker Aura trying to defend her. I growled and focused HARD, then clapped my hands and sent a wave of Aura at all of our opponents, shattering their spears and shields in their hands. I reared my sword back and plunged it up to the hilt in the head of the Vulcyrie that had hit my friend.

No Grimm would get away with that. I swore that now.

I needed more speed and more strength, so I decided to do what I had been wondering about.

I activated Beast's Blood and transformed into a Dark Warrior.

Blinding brightness filled my eyes as my Aura glowed around me, changing to a dull red color. The Vulcyries backed away from me, but I could hardly notice that through the chattering of my teeth as it felt like liquid ice had flooded through my veins. I felt my skin turn pale, my eyes ache, and my hair become thinner. Gray locks, crimson eyes, and nearly vampiric-white skin greeted me when I looked at myself in my profile. I saw a brief notification, something about the Grimm, but I tossed it aside as I felt my anger fuel my own STR, DEX, and VIT. What they could fight with after being disarmed was almost useless as I began countering the Cinderus' fire with my own much more powerful fire. Fireballs flew from the tip of Crocea Mors as I swung it, followed by a hail of Energy Arrows backed by Mana Barrage. In seconds I saw the EXP fly in as the crowd was thinned. I turned to find Marbel and assess her condition. She was still in the fight as far as anyone could be concerned, but her Aura was draining as she did Power Strikes in order to deal significant damage to our foes.

I felt something pulsate throughout my arm and saw that Energy Arrow had leveled up again.

 **Energy Arrow (Active) Level: 30, Exp: 20.00% Cost: 5 AP (10)  
** **A skill that attacks by emitting Aura as a concentrated line of energy. Attack power increases with INT and Mana Affinity. Pierces targets.**

 **Base Power: 55% (40)  
** **Range: 108m (50)  
** **Maximum Number of Arrows per Cast: 13 (1)  
** **Automatic Arrows**

I hummed in curiosity. Automatic Arrows? I resumed fire and found that they were forming much quicker than before, and seemed to be much easier to cast. My mind buzzed with thought as I continued lighting up the cave brighter to maintain visibility.

 _The fields are flooded with lightning and FIRE AND PAIN!_

 _Arrows are falling from the SKY LIKE RAIN!_

 _My sword is drenched with blood and gore so thick!_

 _The smell of ashes and bodies would make lesser men sick!_

Music rose from Mystral's power as I sliced through both the specialized Grimm and the lessers, whose levels I noticed were rising rapidly, and some began breaking shapes out of the stone with their claws, forming spears and shields, while some others began rubbing their hands together and stamping their feet.

My distraction was repaid by a flaming foot to the face as a particularly well-leveled Vulcyrie Cinderus pushed me down onto my back. I didn't dare let it press forward, and used Roimontagne to force the stone under my body to shift and raise up, lifting me to my feet like an experimenting table.

 _Let out your loudest roaring battlecry!_

 _Send them to meet with the devil tonight!_

 _See the fear fill up their eyes!_

 _Make them dine with the devil tonight!_

Metal colored the streaks of Aura that flew through the air, Energy Arrows punching through dozens of Grimm in a single volley. Next, lightning made several of them seize up. I pushed through and made Xiburichu focus the flames away from me as I cast Fireball from both hands, one boosted by Mana Barrage, the other casting them at a normal rate. I turned their precious fire against them, scorching feathers off and exposing crimson skin underneath.

 _You have to stay strong and win this fight!_

 _Just know that they'll dance with the devil tonight!_

 _Heroes cannot waste strength being remembered in gold,_

 _when death always approaches in this world so cold!_

I saw levels trickle in as I killed ten, twenty, fifty, a hundred, I wasn't sure how many of these humanoid Grimm fell to my blade and my spells, but after some time, I was running out of Aura, I was about halfway up on HP, and Marbel was worse for wear.

I heard a screech, and the Vulcyries all stopped and backed far away. I looked at Marbel and myself.

 **Jaune Arc  
Title: Wizard of the Elements  
Level: 55**

 **Marbel Mayston  
Title: A Blooming Rook  
Level: 40**

She looked at me, "Jaune... I'm scared... I need to dump points if I'm gonna get through this."

I nodded, recovering slowly as I sensed a far more dangerous presence approaching quickly, "Go ahead. It's either that or we die. No respawns, sadly... so just... do what you have to."

She nodded and opened her profile as I held her a little closer. I was much stronger, faster, and tougher in this state, but I felt my Aura locked back. Despite that firm lock, I felt the chains that had been holding it back rattling ever more violently.

From the shadows came a new creature, and my mind briefly thought, "A new challenger approaches." I said with a chuckle.

Marbel took in a deep breath as she applied her points.

 **HP: 1100 - 7200  
AP: 1350 - 6000  
SP: 1600 - 9000**

 **Strength: 23 - 30  
** **Dexterity: 30 - 40  
** **Vitality: 26 - 40  
** **Intelligence: 26 - 30  
** **Wisdom: 25 - 50  
** **Luck: 43 - 50**

I hummed, then chuckled lowly as I saw the newest enemy come into the chamber. It screeched at me.

 **Vulcyrie Mantleus  
** **Title: Damned Master of the Mountain  
** **Level: 78**

 _When the kings of darkness come down from their thrones._

 _The heroes cannot fight this battle alone!_

 _United under one cause, they must stand together,_

 _So they can go down in history forever!_

It was a common-ish tactic. Have a class that evolves into a more specialized state, but the further prestige of the class gave it the abilities of all three prestige states. The abomination that stood about thirty feet from us was massive. It stood a solid ten feet tall, its body thicker and more muscular than the lesser Vulcyries. Its spear was a good few inches thick, reaching twelve feet in length with a steel head about a foot in length. Its massive, four-foot-wide circular shield had a few Fire Dust crystals embedded in it. This thing had a little over fifty in both INT and WIS, and if this creature showed the same power levels gained from INT as both I and Marbel had, then there was significant power in the bright red glow wreathing its wrists and ankles. The final detail that was a bit odd to both of us was that it was wearing a weathered, torn dark gray-blue cloak.

I hummed when I heard a pinging sound. I snapped my head towards Marbel to see her looking at a new window.

 **Marbel has increased her Wisdom and Luck to new heights. Due to the magnitude of her understanding of life and her increased level of fate, she has unlocked her Semblance!**

 **Due to progressing in her life's path, Marbel has unlocked the title "The White Rook of the Flowering Kingdom"!**

I grinned a bit, then looked at the huge Vulcyrie. It was strong, incredibly so, but it had a weakness to it. Though it had probably lived for hundreds of years, it had sustained wounds in that time. I saw two of its four wings were drooping uselessly. Crippled out of its main ability, it had probably lost no less than ten levels to such a tragedy on its part.

I looked at the other Vulcyries, who had stood down to the screech of the Mantleus, I realized that, in whatever instinctual drive these Grimm had, the leader of them was challenging us to a fight. Of course, I wouldn't play fair at all, _Jaune W: Marbs, what's your semblance? :W_

 _Marbel W: Look. :W_ with that, she showed me the window.

 **Semblance: The Rook Mistress (Passive & Active) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00%  
The Rook, a soldier of great utility and excellent range. With this power you can perform a high-powered charge to strike enemies head-on with the courage of lions and the ferocity of cavalry. Expands to encompass more rank and power as skill level increases.**

 **Passively increases Movement Speed moving forwards by 50%  
Passively increases Movement Speed moving backwards by 100%  
Passively increases Movement Speed while side-running by 75%**

 **Grants the ability "Rook Lunge": Boosts Movement Speed by 500% and Momentum Damage by 500% when performed.**

I hummed, then smirked. I looked at the Vulcyrie Mantleus, "So you're so smart, eh? What's two plus two?" I asked, mocking it. Really I was curious if it even understo-

*KRRK, KRRK, KRRK, KRRK*

I blinked in surprise. It had carved four furrows in the ground, pointing at them with its spear, before pointing the spear at us. I chuckled and called up Roimontagne's power. I focused and, with a surprising bit of resistance, the spear shattered, and Crocea Mors lifted the large spearhead and turned it. The Mantleus reacted quickly, intense flames melting the spearhead before it could strike. It threw its shield towards me, followed immediately by a screaming bolt of flames. I caught the shield and Auto-Looted it, slapping the flames away. I formed Pluvistral and spread ice towards the Vulcyrie, "Marbel, hit it with the Rook Lunge!" I commanded as I dragged it to its knees with my willpower.

In the bright lights, I could see clearly as Marbel's form slightly blurred, driving her dagger into the chest of the trapped beast. She pulled it out and stabbed it repeatedly, pushing herself to move with all forty points of her DEX stat. I commanded her to pull back as I lunged forward in her place.

At that moment, it broke through the ice and smashed two giant chunks into the side of my head. I saw it fighting out of the ice as I regained my senses, only to get knocked back by a flaming punch. I shook my head, focusing harder. I couldn't believe this. I unequipped my hoodie to prevent it from being damaged and activated Metal Skin and Stone Skin.

Regardless, my HP was low again.

 _In the moment of truth when they just might die._

 _They need to release the beast inside!_

This power, right now in this form, Dark Warrior, I was being nerfed dangerously. I coughed lightly, then punched at the beast before me, only to get swept up and disemboweled, my internal organs dissolving into white mist as Gamer's Body did its job. I grabbed its face as I conjured up my willpower.

 _Burn away the black of night._

 _And wash them all away with the LIIIIIIGHT~!_

I felt those chains that had been holding me back shudder, then lurch violent. I felt my insides wrench, and then...

 **By raising Aura to level 99, you have earned the skill "Aurora"!**

I felt my body fill with renewed strength. I grabbed the face of the Mantleus as my Aura suddenly shone outwards like a star, lighting up the entire cavern in azure. I shoved my hand into the beast's chest and used that as an anchor my grip as I PULLED.

With a sickening crack, crunch, and SPLORT, I ripped the head off of the Mantleus. I kicked the headless body's stomach as I held the head tightly in my enhanced fist. I let out a shaking breath and looked down at the dissolving body.

 **Overwhelmed by the light inside, the status effect "Dark Warrior" has been dispelled by Aurora!**

I grinned and looked as several items formed from the body. The Vulcyries all stood silent and motionless. I looked at Marbel with a smile, "We did it, buddy." we really had. I had prestiged Aura, found a way to dispel Dark Warrior, and gained some loot.

 **You gained 262,000 Lien!**

 **You gained the item "Gefreyja"**

 **You gained the Grimm Mask "** **Geirskögul"**

 **You gained the item "Emberon Ingot"**

 **You gained the item "Skillbook: Dust Alloy"**

What now? "Holy shit." I grinned, "We did it AND I just got a pretty powerful skillbook." I snagged it and the pile of Lien with Auto-Loot, then looked at the the remaining items left behind and the mask held in my hand. The Vulcyrie's around us didn't move, so I took the time to gather up the Lien and loot from the fallen Vulcyries. It was mostly ingots of metal, clumps of somewhere around ten-thousand lien each, a few Fire, Earth, and Metal Dust crystals. A few copies of their stone and metal spears and their stone shields. I found a good several pairs of flaming gloves and flaming boots, and I even found a rare item which was called the Vulcyrie Quadro-Glider. It was like a hang glider, but made of the Grimm's wings and could adjust with the second pair of wings, so I'd say that it was far cooler. I chuckled and prepared to react in case any of the oddly docile Grimm decided to stop being docile. I collected the rest of the loot, then I looked at Marbel and at the Vulcyries. None of them had moved and Marbel hadn't dared try to test it.

I picked up the Emberon ingot, and a quick Gamer's Sight told me that it was essentially element-infused iron. With that mystery solved, I stuffed it next to the other metals and picked up the cloak. It was apparently saturated with imprints of dark spiritual energy from the Mantleus after decades, maybe over a century of being worn. Whatever it was, exactly, was hard to tell, but I knew that I would be the only one able to handle it. With that in mind, I put on the mask, shortly followed by the cloak.

 **Equipped Grimm Mask "** **Geirskögul"**

 **You have received the status effect "Mountain's Cradle"!  
** **You have received the status effect "Hellfire Hands"  
** **You have received the status effect "** **Cinderous Steps"  
** **You have received the status effect** **"Valhalla's Diplomat"  
** **You have received the status effect** **"Flight of the Mountain-People"**

I found my body shifting and changing. First, I felt the world shift slightly, and the ground seemed become further away. I checked and saw that my height had changed to 6'4", and my STR gained a new boost. My wrists and ankles became wreathed in red energy. I felt... it was hard to describe, but a look at the last two effects cleared up my confusion.

 **"Valhalla's Diplomat" increases effectiveness with Spears and Shields by 100%, decrease effectiveness with all other weapons by 90% (Partially disabled by Gamer's Body: effectiveness with all other weapons decreased by 50%)**

 **"Flight of the Mountain-People" increases Jumping Height by 500%, reduces Fall Speed by 75%**

My musculature had shifted in an odd way, and I could only guess that it had become optimized for the usage of a spear and shield. I jumped in the air and found myself falling far slower than normal. It was hard to tell immediately, but I figured that I could do some interesting things related to gravity with this effect. With everything accounted for, I equipped Gefreyja.

 **ERR-FIX!**

 **/?!\**

 **You have received the status effect "Dark Aura Invasion (Low)"!**

I felt my Aura become... subdued, in a way. It was difficult to describe, but... something was happening.

Marbel was staring at me fearfully, saying something that was hard to hear. The ground became a lot further away, and I unequipped my armor and shirt to look at what was happening.

Black skin spread down from my neck, coloring the light tan that I had acquired. Tentatively, I unequipped the rest of my clothing to see the corruption spreading.

 **The status effect "Dark Aura Invasion" has intensified from Low to Med!**

I called up Aurora to dispel the status effect, but even as the glow blossomed outward like a shining star, the azure color slowly turned into a dull fiery red.

 **Allowing the powers of the Grimm to be imprinted on your Aura has created the skill "Skotomorphosis"**

I shook my head, feeling like lightning flooded through, what I realized now, were the weak currents that were my nerve endings. It spread up into my head as I felt my skin break, bony spikes breaking free. I felt my back split open and, under the cloak, I saw four wings erupt.

 **The status effect "Dark Aura Invasion" has intensified from Med to High!**

Shaking my head to try to clear it, I felt a pressure building up at the base of my neck and behind my nose, as if I had a sneeze stuck in my head and a crick in my neck at the same time. I rolled my shoulders and my head and then felt something shifting in my chest.

 **The status effect "Dark Aura Invasion" has intensified from High to MAX!**

A bird-like caw erupted from my mouth, and I felt Gamer's Mind slam into my perceptions.

 **Reading the imprints on your soul from your past, you have received the skill "Baleful Warrior"!**

I blinked, then opened up the skill descriptions.

 **-/\\-**

 **Skotomorphosis (Active) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00%, Cost: Special  
** **An ability only usable by those who have been, through some means, tainted by the Grimm. Casting aside their humanity, they can assume the lethal forms of the Grimm. More advanced mutations are available at higher levels.**

 **Allows for the mutation of body parts into forms designed to make one a better killer, at the cost of increasing one's corruption.  
** **Imposes the status effect 'Dark Spirit Invasion' if the user does not already possess that status effect.  
** **Cannot be cured by normal means.**

 **Presets: Vulcyrie Mantleus**

 **-/\\-**

 **Baleful Warrior (Passive) Level: 2, Exp: 0.00%  
** **An ability inherent to those who have lost their humanity and drawn upon the murderous powers of the Grimm. Mimicking the nature of Aura to boost the body, this ability increases physical traits by a percentage equal to one's corruption. In addition, it grants additional boosts and causes additional changes as a result of slaughtering of human beings.**

 **Can see your Corruption  
** **Humans killed: 2**

 **-/\\-**

I grit my... beak? I checked my profile and found that, indeed, I had taken on the form of the Vulcyrie Mantleus. I was curious now.

"I'm literally a Grimm."

Suddenly, a new voice spoke up, "You are new master!"

I looked around, "What the- who said that?" _Jaune W: Marbs do you hear someone else talking? :W_

 _Marbel W: Right now I'm trying to even in the midst of how odd this is. You're still... you're still human in there, right Jaune? :W_

 _Jaune W: Yes, yes I am. I felt like my head was going to explode, but I guess Gamer's Mind prevented me from losing my humanity. I'm a Grimm on the outside, but I'm a human on the inside. :W_

I saw one of the Vulcyrie's step forward, "I did, master." he knelt before me.

I felt a new sensation bubbling up inside me, and I recognized it instantly. Hype was building up inside me over the implications of this. I hadn't lost any Max AP, hadn't lost any APR, and could control these Grimm? That was easy to abuse.

But I didn't abuse it. This was more like a privilege, and when you abuse a privilege, you lose it. So I didn't, "Brave, I like it. You all will follow me now. Going against my direct commands will result in death. Master does not like disobedience. I am the Chief of this tribe and my word is law." I received confirmation, "How many of us remain?" I threw in an 'us' instead of 'you' to give them a sense that I was with them, one of them.

"Only four and four and two fours of us, master, maybe three more." another spoke up.

I did some mental calculations, four and four and two... it seemed that they knew how to count to four, but not past it. Ten fours, that was roughly forty, a max of forty-three. I hummed lowly, then counted them all out, "Is everyone here?"

"We warriors all came, fight intruders, younglings came too, learn from battle." their simplistic speech patterns were a little hard to follow, but it was excusable.

They WERE Grimm after all, "Then only this remains. All wounded come to me. You are not allowed to continue."

Following my orders without question or complaint, eighteen of the assorted warriors came forward.

I looked at Marbel, then smiled, _Jaune W: Don't worry, I can fix this by sleeping. I'll fix this later. Right now I'm hijacking the Grimm. :W_ I commanded them to kneel before Marbel, _W: Kill them. They're wounded, and they follow all of my orders. I can kill the rest easily if they protest. :W_

Marbel looked at me, _Marbel W: Dude, give me a few before you give me more kills, I just... I need to recover from this. :W_

I nodded to her, then looked at the wounded warriors, "Kneel before the small human. It will relieve you of duty. Others return home." I ordered, and the other twenty-five Vulcyries left. I noticed that among them, there were nineteen normal ones, three Shieldus, two Cinderus, and one Spireus. Only this was left from nearly three hundred Grimm before? "Also, tell other friends new master is in control. Tell them to not disturb the humans on the surface, or any humans that look like Master's human form."

I watched them all leave, then turned to Marbel, _Jaune W: You okay? :W_

 _Marbel W: Are YOU okay? You're speaking only in squawking noises, if you're even speaking. I can't understand anything you try to say outside of this thing. :W  
_

 _Jaune W: I'm okay, Marbs. Trust me, I'll find a way to fix this, I promise. :W_

 _Marbel W: I hope so. I don't think Yang will be too keen on dating a Grimm. :W_

The Vulcyries continued to kneel before her, and after a few more minutes, Marbel was fully recovered. She raised her arm and grabbed the unprotesting 'warriors' by their heads. One by one, she sliced through their tough flesh and killed them all. It was a bit brutal to look at, and I swear she was gagging by the fifth one. Luckily, it wasn't until the last one fell that she collapsed to her knees and her breakfast furiously evacuated from her shaking body. I gently reached out to her and gave her a gentle touch, casting Soulforge on her to help sooth her nerves.

I saw a slight wave of light run up my hand and wrist, coloring the feathers a slightly lighter shade of black. I hummed at the oddity, then began mass-casting Soulforge on myself. With every burst of energy, I shrank, thinned, and generally just reversed in my transformation. It took a good few, maybe several hundred of them to 'cure' the effect, and I'd had to unequip Gefreyja and Geirskögul, but I reversed the process entirely until **Dark Aura Invasion** was completely cured. I hummed lightly, thinking over the change while giving Marbel a few more Soulforges. She turned to me and her face lit up red, "Uhhhhh... Jaune?"

"Yeah? Don't worry, I'm fine, Marbs. I'm perfectly healthy, properly sized, fit for action." I smiled reassuringly.

I was a little confused when the little brunette only blushed more, "I wouldn't say 'properly' sized... I'd say 'above average' sized..."

"What are you talking abou-" I froze in place when I suddenly felt a breeze run between my legs.

My _bare_ legs.

I spun around and quickly hit the button to put on my normal outfit, "OH GOD I'M SO SORRY!" I felt Gamer's Mind quell the embarrassment I felt. Fucking Grimm powers and the changes they made... now I had accidentally shown my younger, female, friend-of-several-years my dick. Even if it was completely by accident, I was still very, VERY uncomfortable with that, "Uh... I'm afraid to ask, but how much did you see?"

Marbel coughed into her hand, "Every inch." she said a little bluntly, "Look it's fine, okay? I'm guessing the Game gave you... THAT...?"

"Uh, no, it slightly increased... um... max size... as a joke, because apparently I was being mean to it. This all was... like it was before." I felt Gamer's Mind complain at me, "CAN WE PLEASE CHANGE THE SUBJECT?"

"Er, right... uh... the thing about that is that the alternative is talking about the Grimm. I'd rather NOT, so um... yeah... Yang is going to be either ecstatic or terrified." she giggled jokingly, and I laughed lightly to try to ease my tension.

That was a habit I had, I laughed when I was nervous or embarrassed. It wasn't the best, but it wasn't the worst, "Ahahahaha, yeah probably... I GUESS I could say I'm proud of it, but I mean... I don't want to brag, or anything. I'd rather let it speak for itself." I was glad Marbel had as much Closeness and Respect for me as she did, as well as the history we had together, because she laughed too, and we slowly let it just become a joke.

"Heehee, yeah, I guess it's for the best, Yang is a LOT of woman, so you need to be a LOT of man to handle her." Marbel giggled as we trekked back into the tunnel and I used Roimontagne to give us an express elevator lift up to the top of the tunnel and back into the normal cave.

I saw my Closeness with **Faction: Eagle Mountain Grimm** boost up by a few hundred more than it had when I assumed the in-faction title of **Master of the Vulcyries** , "Well I just hope she can take it. My CHA is pretty high, so is my VIT, so if I hit a growth spurt, then~..." I let myself trail off, chuckling.

Marbel blushed a bit more, but kept up with the joking atmosphere we'd created, "Then your growth will spurt."

I let out a sound of joking disgust, "Oaaahhhhhhh~, you did NOT just go there."

A smirk played across her lips, "YOU haven't gone 'there', so I went there for you." her laughter turned more playful.

I gave her a scrutinizing look, "You better not have touched my girlfriend, Marbs. I know she gives you a ride on her motorcycle since your scooter is slow, but that isn't an invitation to feel her up."

Marbel shook her head and waved her arms, "Oh GOD no! No no no no no no! I don't like girls like that, straight as an arrow and clean as a whistle, Jaune."

"Your jokes hint that the latter claim isn't as true as you'd want me to believe." I wiggled my eyebrows at her as we came out into the cave.

"Hey, YOU'RE the one who came to me without any pants on." she said with a snicker, shrugging as we both relaxed fully when sunlight hit our faces. Now that things were calm, I took the time to check the skill I'd been most curious about.

 **-/\\-**

 **Aurora (Passive & Active) (prestiged from Aura) Level: 10, Exp: 0.00%**

 **Aura is the manifestation of one's soul. However, after a combination of expanding and training one's aura, the user has taken the final step to break their Aura free to be expressed to an incredible degree. Now that their Aura is too large and powerful to be wholly contained by their mortal frame, the user has turned into something much more than just a man. With the light inside released and burning like a star, they have the strength to throw back the shadows of the night. This skill enhances the user's Aura, giving them the power they need to face the horrors that await them in the darkness.**

 **Passively increases STR by 75%. (60)  
** **Passively increases DEX by 75%. (60)  
** **Passively increases VIT by 75%. (60)  
** **Passively increases INT by 75%. (60)  
** **Passively increases WIS by 75%. (60)**

 **Additional 60+18% increase to STR when activated.  
** **Additional 60+18% increase to DEX when activated.  
** **Additional 60+18% increase to VIT when activated.  
** **HP and SP regeneration speed increased by 200+36% when activated.**

 **The effect of the user's Aura may be enhanced by spending more MP.  
** **The sheer power of this expression Aura can dispel some negative status effects.**

 **-/\\-**

I stared at the skill. It seemed that my problem with my Aura before was that I hadn't... well... I hadn't PUSHED it. I had figured that summoning my last elemental would have done the trick, but I suppose there was a reason that Summon Elemental was under its own folder, separate from Aura. The two worked well together, but now I supposed that things were a little different. I had had good reason to use Charging Shine, but if Aurora's second-last effect was to be believed, I could now very accurately pour my Aura into enhancing my spells, and free of charge as well.

"Well I'm sorry but I kinda turned into a Grimm. I was trying to keep track of my changes." I excused, crossing my arms over my chest, "Now then, in case you might not have noticed, you're now the second-highest level person in the party. If you want to keep your stat points, then I suggest you start training again. I got enough stuff together to give you new tools." I took out the all-metal axe I'd given her to chop logs with, then piled more metal onto the simple woodsman's axe, turning its shape into a large greataxe and making it weigh a couple hundred pounds. I handed it to her and set up logs on the stump she'd been using before.

Her arms shook as she lifted the tool up, now more a weapon than anything else, and I shifted the weight of it to be more balanced. Her struggle lessened as I squeezed about fifty pounds from the mass of the thing. Still, she was now lifting about two hundred and fifty pounds of metal, "Geez, Arty, you're killin' me here." she grunted as she lifted the axe and brought it down, splitting the first of many logs.

"You gotta push yourself if you want to improve. You wanna be a Huntress, you gotta get stronger, and faster, and tougher, and smarter, and wiser, and you might need to get luckier, and hey, working out will improve your figure too. Also, don't think I didn't see the way you sneakily doubled your CHA. It wasn't too sneaky, since I can keep track of all the changes you girls go through with surprising accuracy. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." I chuckled softly, "Now then, I'm gonna go into. No Grimm should interrupt you. I commanded the Vulcyries to tell all the Grimm to not disturb us. I'll have to pass on that they need to stop bothering Yang, Ruby, and Blake too." I hummed softly as I began planning and running back towards town. I stopped, though, and had an idea.

I equipped Geirskögul and began Sprinting at top speed, piling on every buff I had. When I reached a point I felt was appropriate, I did a Power Jump and began soaring through the air. True to my theory, I rose up normally, but began falling at a very slow rate, only a quarter of gravity's pull. With this power, I also managed to carry myself easily on the wind, doing a Superman pose as I flew through the air. I was tempted to use Skotomorphosis and change myself, but it would turn me into a full Grimm if I didn't counter it with near-constant Soulforges, since it transformed my body with the status of Dark Aura Invasion. Pushing the thought aside, I began flying towards my destinations and getting ready to make some purchases.

* * *

 _(That night, Eagle Mountain, Jaune POV)_

I sighed softly. I told the girls that I needed some time. I told them to do what they needed to do to grow, but in the meantime, I was going to meditate with the powers of either Wizard v3, or Monk v3, the latter which I'd also unlocked by raising my WIS to 100. The plan was as simple as my plan for Run: just take some time solely to grind those skills. The big difference was that I would be doing this for about two weeks instead of about two days like last time, and .

I'd asked Yang if she could make me some fresh food every once in a while, storing it in the inventory so I could eat it whenever convenient. It was necessary that I didn't die of starvation. She accepted with a smile. She didn't mind my busy lifestyle, she was quite busy with Signal as it was, what with finals around the corner and her INT and WIS being put to the test.

Blake relayed information to me from my father, leaving messages for me in the form of texts that I'd read on my food breaks. She also would be moving fully to Eagle Mountain where the White Fang wouldn't find her, and I'd start constructing a fortress with Roimontagne that she could live in. We had over a million Lien, so she would get her physical training from moving furniture and decorating the fortress, and pay me back by killing Grimm to get more Lien, and keeping the place clean.

Marbel would continue her training just outside where she could get me if she needed it. I would stop every few days to give her a hyper-extended Regeneration, then resume my meditation. Her goal was just to go as far as she could manage and let the cooling, healing power of Water Magic sooth her muscles before heading home. When I was done and hopefully had made great headway with Summon Elemental, Elemental Aura, all of my Ki Skills, my various magic attacks, Soulforge on the plants I'd hit, and as a result Natural Bond and Green Thumb, and especially a skill I'd gained from a book at the library.

 **Awaken Aura (Active) Level: 12, EXP: 0.00%, Cost: 1780 AP  
** **The skill that began the Age of Enlightenment. Tired of using various other methods to attempt to manifest souls, the ancient monks studied and discovered a simpler and easier way to draw out the lights of others. Using the fire of your own soul, you can ignite the soul of another. Through the granting of this power and trust unto another individual, you may banish the veil of shadows that hides the light within, releasing a soul kept locked away by mortal flesh and worldly woes, so that another may use this power to shield their heart and bear their burdens.**

 **Effect: Awakens the Aura of another living being**

I had once, using house rules, had my Paladin in D&D pray in all of the areas around his church. It had taken several in-game weeks of repetition, with spending almost the entire day praying away in various areas, but I'd essentially sanctified all of the area around my church, giving a holy perimeter that acted as a deterrent for evil and demons. Sadly, the paladin had died at the end of that campaign, but another party member, a mere Rogue (played by Marbel) who had been touched and shocked by my Paladin's dedication, took up the mantle of his work. He lost some of his Rogue abilities, but in the end he became a Paladin himself. The flavor text for the epilogue of that campaign mentioned that due to the respect my Paladin's god had for his dedication and his project, the Rogue had been granted some of his power and an increased Sanctify range. After decades of prayer and worship, the elf had sanctified the entire forest and grown stronger than even the original Paladin.

Now, of course, that was just a game, but _so was my life now_. My plan was simple, I'd create an invisible bubble of dryness around myself to keep the rain off of me, start with one patch of grass I'd mass-awaken, and start branching out from there. Every few minutes I'd awaken the Aura of another tuft of grass, and if I was correct in my theory, I'd end up with an area that would be considered 'sanctified' by the time the two weeks was up. It wouldn't be very big, but it would be a start. It would take probably a month of dedicated Awakening just to 'light up' the clearing itself. I could try to do more, but without more Wisdom, more Max AP, more APR, a lower cost to Awaken Aura, or any of a number of things that could give me some type of advantage, even if just a small one, I'd have to do some hardcore horticulture.

Thankfully, my interruption came right as I was about to start. I'd taken time to awaken the Aura of some tufts of grass, which I found covered a three-by-three inch square of grass at a time. However, what my interruption WAS was more surprising that anything.

 **Vulcyrie Spireus  
** **Title: Cloaked Lancer of the Mountain  
** **Level: 48**

 **Hit Points: 10000/10000  
** **Stamina Points: 15000/15000**

 **Strength: 74  
** **Dexterity: 72  
** **Vitality: 55  
** **Intelligence: 26  
** **Wisdom: 30  
** **Luck: 15**

It cawed at me several times, and I caught on as it gestured to its face. I cast Skotomorphosis and changed into the Mantleus. It happened faster this time, due to me casting it with want. As the transformation fully took hold, I made sense of its words, "Master. There were other humans here. Others want know if we should kill them."

"No, do not harm those three humans. Even if they kill other friends, I make sure they no kill us brothers and sisters." I commanded, adopting their speech patterns, "You late to come ask this, why?"

"We go to fight them, we die, just as many of us did to Master's human form and little other human." it answered solemnly, "We know better than walk into death. Master invaded our home before he become master. We did not know he plan that. Old Master was very old, but very strong. New master is even stronger, have false power like human, like real, but not."

I raised an eyebrow, "False power? How do you figure that?"

"Master's power is like their light, but not. Comes from dark, from world around, flow into Master a lot, very strong, we all impressed. New Master extremely strong, stronger than all of us." it knelt before me, a light *shunk* of its spear poking into the ground being audible in the silence that followed.

I was... honestly a little surprised. I heard a notification and saw that a sub-objective of the quest **Summon Fire from Shadow** was completed. Apparently, I now knew the source of the mysterious dark soul power of the Grimm. The world around them. I cleared my throat, "Rise. Master must ask, how do human's light come in?"

"It doesn't, human's light come from inside soul. Master's fake light does too, but comes from outside as well. Master truly is good fake." he nodded and almost seemed to smile at me.

"Very well. How friends hold this energy?"

"Ah, we not have much holding of soul energy. It flow in lots but stop flowing if we tire energy. Fire brothers can go long time. Master have large holding space, very good for fight long time."

I noticed the second objective become completed, and pushed on, "How do fire brothers use the fire?"

"They push fire from world through body. It hard to keep going long time, they say, but they all good at it now, Old Master made them do it lots even when no humans to fight." he sounded perplexed as he thought about that, clearly having no grasp of the concept of training.

"Interesting, much like Master does now, but can do it with all elements." I showed him fire, wind, water, metal, lightning, and earth all on my six fingertips, keeping my thumbs out of the display, "How they get good at doing it?"

"Master truly is strong. Fire friends got good by doing it lots. Did it lots to rocks to shinerocks and glitterrocks. Lost fire friend to glitterrock exploding once. He lost all limbs and head."

I looked at the last objective, and decided that since I was on a roll, it was worth a shot, "Master wants to know. Why not all friends have energy power? Like the younglings?"

He shrugged, "Don't know. Some learn, some don't. It all made of potential." he said simply, forcing me to think it over.

It was made of potential, of the potential that they had to become powerful. Potential was what COULD be, not what simple was. It meant that to some degree, it was based on chance due to the fact that they could turn into one of three things. That meant...

Wait...

Wait a fucking second...

...

...

...

SON OF A BITCH!

It was based on LUCK? I remembered seeing that the average of the Vulcyrie Cinderus had been about twenty, while the Shieldus and Spireus had been closer to fourteen and fifteen

IT WAS BASED ON LUCK!

I facepalmed, "Of course." I thought back to when Marbel had increased her Luck in her stat boosting. Raising her WIS and LUK had increased her understanding of her fate and unlocked her semblance. It was a show of her POTENTIAL!

Goddammit, Luck, you're useful to a degree, but you just mess up my mood! I can't believe it, "I see..." I wish I didn't, but I did.

Sure enough, the last sub-objective was completed, shortly followed by.

 **QUEST COMPLETE!**

 **Quest "Summon Fire from Shadow" has been succeeded!**

 **You have been rewarded +5 WIS!**

 **Your Closeness to The Grimm has increased!**

 **Completing the objectives by asking Grimm about them has increased your WIS by 1 and your CHA by 3!**

 **Completing this quest as a Vulcyrie Mantleus has given you +5 Fire Affinity!**

 **You have advanced in this questline according to your success.**

 **-/\\-**

 **(To Jaune) QUEST RECEIVED!**

I moved the window to the side, looking at my subordinate as he spoke, "Master... I request something. I wish to have this fake power like you do. May you help me do this?"

I hummed in thought, then looked at the quest I'd received

 **Quest: Chilled Fingers relying on a Spark**

 **Description: The Odd Vulcyrie Spireus has requested help in acquiring a soul. Help it shed the corruption of the Grimm and create new light.**

 **Objective: Purify the Odd Vulcyrie Spireus.  
-Give it an identity  
-Clear away the 'it'  
-Teach it about life  
-Teach it about light  
-Teach it about humanity  
-Help it understand its skills  
-Give it friendship  
-Help it unlock its dark soul power  
-Reduce its corruption to a low percentage  
-Awaken the soul that will eventually form within it**

 **Reward for completion: +20% mastery of Awaken Aura, +10% master of Mana Affinity, +3 Fire Affinity, +5 CHA. Increased closeness with The Grimm. ?**

 **Penalty for failure: -10% master of Mana Affinity, Permanently increased hatred from The Grimm. Death of the Odd Vulcyrie Spireus. Resets progress in this questline until a new subject can be found. Lose an unknown percentage of Max AP**

I hummed, then accepted the quest. It wasn't just my compulsion to complete all quests I received, but also a desire to see more. This was extremely interesting now. The Game was making the proposition to me that I could turn a Grimm into a human through a series of steps. I was determined to see this through, just to know if it would actually work.

I nodded, "I will help you. First, I need to teach you." I started to change myself back with heavily overcharged Soulforges, "You need to become not just a brother, but become your own person. If you wish to claim the powers of man, then you must claim the identity of man." I informed, staying about halfway changed, still able to communicate.

It seemed to struggle with that, "I need... to be like humans. Humans have the light, so I need to be like a Human to have the light. I see... I understand..." I saw its WIS increase by 1, "Then I must start... I am... a man. I am a man and I am a... I am..." it struggled a bit, but I had clarified that it was male, "I am in need of identity."

I cleared my throat, "For humans, identities are given as names. Every man, woman, and child has a name. You need a name for yourself if you are to unlock Aura, which is the light they wield."

"This is more struggle than I looked forward to." he admitted, "I am... I am the name of... no... my name is... my name is..." he let out a low sound of struggle as I could tell the tiny hamsters running the wheels in his head were going to burst a blood vessel if they had to work any harder, "I cannot think like this. I will make a name for myself and tell you about it later. Master will be able to wait, yes?"

I nodded, "Do not hurt yourself trying to make a name, brother. Leave and think, but do not return to me for 14 suns, understand?"

He knelt before me again as I shrank further, "Understood, Master. I will return to the village now." I watched as he flew up and kept my line of sight on him until he crested the mountain and descended. I could only assume that meant that he had come from a cave entrance leading out the back of the mountain. I'd have to check on that eventually. For now, I put all of that aside, equipped Wizard v3 for the APR boost, and began to meditate.

I let my consciousness explode outwards into the world as I tucked in for two full weeks of meditation.

When I awoke, I hoped things would be better.

...

...

...

Yeah right. Luck or not, things weren't meant to get better unless I played a part in them.

* * *

 **Well, I think that's a good spot to end the chapter, don't you?**

 **Oh boy, Jaune has interacted with the plot that was revealed in Volume 3, but we're not going to be seeing any effects of that just yet. He's preparing to do some hardcore soul-grinding, regardless of what the White Fang need from him. Banesaw will just have to pick up the slack, won't he?**

 **He's also summoned his final elemental and learned more of some sort of 'truth'. In addition, he has a new version of Wizard to use and reached a new benchmark in WIS. Things are looking up for him, aren't they?**

 **Hahaha.**

 **A dungeon-like area was right under his nose the entire time! And he cleared it with the now over-leveled Marbel, who has discovered her semblance and gained a new title! Speaking of titles, Jaune gained a useful one this time, however for his grinding session, he'll still be using Intermediate Hero. +25% to EXP gains? To ALL Exp gains? As Jaune has said before, "EXP, EXP, gimme please, EXP."**

 **Leave your reviews on the chapter below, telling what you liked and what you didn't as well as speculations on the future and on what might happen with some of the plotlines that had been opened up.**

 **Unfortunately, that's all there is for now, folks, except for the omake. Let's look at the omake, shall we?**

* * *

 _Omake: Blonde Power!_

* * *

Taiyang was joyous. He hadn't had this much fun since the last time he saw either of his wives. Normally thinking those thoughts would kill his mood faster than his fist crashing into a Beowolf, but there was one major factor preventing that.

He was shit-faced drunk.

His old Beacon buddy, John Arc, had extended the hand of friendship, as well as an olive branch to him on Jaune's behalf. Truth be told, he didn't have anything against the boy personally, but nobody was good enough to date his daughter.

Not even gods were. As long as he was in charge, Yang and Ruby would both remain innocent kissless virgins until the day they died. Men in their lives would make trouble, and trouble made bad things happen.

He was trouble enough nearly getting both his wives pregnant at the same time. Summer had told him something about her eyes making certain things not work. After confirming that it didn't inhibit or disable the function of his penis, he didn't care. He'd fuck the silver right out of those eyes.

He had almost busted a gut laughing when he first saw the tiny baby Yang open her eyes. Purple. She had purple eyes.

He had blue eyes, Raven had red eyes. Yang Xiao Long, the product of the two sexiest people he knew, was so completely joined from their mutual efforts that her eyes had come out as the mixture of both of their colors. As he grew up, he found that Yang took a lot of her looks from Raven, but a pleasing amount of her personality, including her humor and ideals, from him. Plus she was blonde, that automatically made her awesome.

Sadly, she had been cursed with the Xiao Long genes of being very well endowed... okay it wasn't a curse when it had given him the biggest dick in Beacon back in his day, but it was a curse because his innocent little angel had the body of a succubus!

That was bad, those had 'suck' in their names!

"Dude, DUDE! HEY! TAI!" he was slapped upside the head and launched upwards. After bashing his head on the ceiling, he fell down onto the floor, feeling like some air had been blown at him, "TAI!"

"WHAT JOHN?!"

"Oh good you're actually conscious. I was afraid you passed out over your booze like old times." despite having drained an entire bottle of vodka and some good ol' Jack Daniels, John Arc still seemed to be stone-cold sober, "Come on, I just saw this guy leaving and he was talking about how guys with blonde hair and blue eyes were the best people in the world. Sounds like he's speaking our language!"

"Oh hell yeah, BLONDE POWER!" Taiyang pumped his fist, shattering the bar for twenty feet around. Casually dropping twenty thousand lien on bartender's cracked hand, he followed his fellow Huntsman outside.

The two left the bar and walked out into the cool night air. John looked around, seeing only some scrawny black-haired guy getting beaten, "Huh... crap, we lost him!" he snapped his fingers, "Hey, wanna go pull a prank on lil' Glyn?"

"Dude, she'll kill us."

John waved a hand and blew a raspberry, "Pfffffffft~, according to my son's semblance, we'd have gigantic-ass Vitality scores, so whatever she'd hit us with, we could tank it."

"Vitality scores?" Taiyang blinked with every syllable he spoke, as if trying to make sure he said anything at all correctly

"Oh yeah something like that. It means we have a lot of health and stamina."

"Hehehehe, I can attest to the stamina. I once made love to Raven for so long, she passed out halfway through. Then again she had a hair-trigger for pleasure. I hope Yang didn't inherit that." he mused, walking down the street with his fellow blonde.

"Pfffffffffffffft, I hope she did! That'd be awesome, I swear Jaune would drive her crazy with that. It's not just my alcohol tolerance that's heavyweight, bro."

"Dude we both know that I had and still have the biggest dick to be found among the men of Beacon Class of '92." it was true. He'd been willing to let them all measure up against him. He was bigger when soft than most men got when hard. It was just the Xiao Long genes.

"True, but you're the shortest in height." John stuck out his tongue at the shorter man. Of course, Taiyang wasn't very short at all, standing about 6'2, but by some unbelievable chance, John, Ozpin, Ironwood, and Oobleck had all ended up as 6'6+ giants. Even Glynda was now, if he remembered correctly from his last visit, about 6'5.

"Actually not anymore, Qrow ended up only 6'0." Taiyang chuckled as the two turned a corner, a sign marking it as a Huntsman's Free-travel street, and they took off. Even if he was shit-faced drunk, he could still muster the focus to run at a few hundred miles per hour.

"Shit, man, he's so smol." John chuckled as the two made their way to the airship docks. Once there, just a few minutes later, he showed his ID to a terminal officer, "Official Huntsman Business. We need the first flight to Beacon you can get."

The person behind the counter bowed their head, "O-of course sir, there's a ship that's idle right now, you can take that one." the woman sat down and passed on the message.

Taiyang chuckled as the two made their way towards the airship. Once out of earshot, "Nice. Yeah it's pretty important business, we're going on a panty raid~."

"Hey, panties are important business, they hide the succulent fruit of life. However, I prefer boobs, personally." John brushed his knuckles on his shirt, smirking lightly.

Taiyang laughed, "Hah, ass man here. I dunno, call me an animal, but there's just some primal urge I feel to enjoy ass." they sat down and buckled up, "Y'know?"

"Yeah, I know. Man... I can't believe you got BOTH of them to marry you. How'd that happen?" the knight pulled out a flask and began drinking.

"Oh it was really emotional. It had taken a long time, but they'd both fallen in love with me, and I couldn't choose which one to go for, so I looked up if it was illegal and found that it was actually encouraged, since there's a deficit of males in the world. Of course there are rules in place and I won't bother you with the details, but it was all within the law and consented to by all parties involved." he smiled as he pulled out his reading glasses and began cleaning them with his shirt.

"Wow, that's pretty slick. Sadly, Juni was the only woman who caught my heart. Heh, love is pretty confusing, y'know? Suddenly your life doesn't matter as much as it did, and you're trying to keep another person happy more than yourself. You don't understand, and it's impossible to try. Suddenly someone else matters more to you than yourself, and you'll do anything to keep them with you. They're riveted into your life, and if they're removed, then it takes part of your life away too. Y'know?"

Taiyang stared ahead, then signed, "I know. Summer died when Ruby was four years old. You know the Grand Incursion of '05?"

"Oh shit, man, year I know. Word is they announced that all the repairs were completed just last year." John ran a hand through his hair, messing it up just a little, but he didn't mind, "She was in the city when it happened?"

"No, worse. She went after the source."

"THE SOURCE? You mean the fucking Dark Rift?"

"Yeah. And she closed it."

"ALONE? It usually takes five fucking people to do that!"

"Usually. Not with her. She was... she was amazing." Taiyang smiled, but his eyes were filled with sadness.

John couldn't stand it, and pulled his fellow blonde in for a bro-hug, "Dude, don't worry, okay? Tonight, we're supposed to have fun. Assuming Glynda doesn't knock us out and ship us home, after this let's go back and get so drunk we can't even remember what sobriety is."

Taiyang smiled a bit, "Alright, that settles it then. We'll do that... what if Glynda DOES knock us out and ship us home?"

"Then we go out tomorrow night!" John broke the bro-hug and held up his hand for a fistbump.

Taiyang returned the bump with a smile, "Alright, fair enough." he wiped away a few tears that had nearly escaped, and his expression turned more joyful, "Alright, I think we're almost there. I hope you've developed a better landing strategy than 'tank the fall'."

"Come on, tanking the fall is my specialty." John smirked as he brought out his shield, "Of course I have more tricks than that now."

Taiyang smirked and stood up, his aura forming into a pair of draconic wings on his back, "Well show me, then." he jumped from the airship and began gliding down with his wings.

John smirked back and jumped, now in full platemail. Conjuring up his semblance, he didn't so much as shift his armor as merely _pull_ it, forcing his downward momentum to slow. Still, he landed on the ground with a six-foot wide crater forming around him on impact. Taiyang didn't seem to have much better luck, in fact from where he could see, the man had formed an even larger crater. Doing a 'Huntsman Skipper' over, the knight performed several very quick lunges over to his fellow blonde, "Well, I'd show you but you weren't looking, ass."

"Ass MAN, thank you. I'm too drunk to be concerned with comparing craters, John." the shorter blonde excused in a posh tone, "Now then, shouldn't we be getting to the raiding of panties?"

"Of course, dear brethren-in-armaments, we should." John returned in his own posh tone.

The two laughed raucously as they made their way to the building that housed the professors' dorms. Once inside, they stopped laughing and started sneaking, with Taiyang humming the Mission Impossible theme song to amplify their stealth abilities.

After a few minutes, they found the door marked Goodwitch on the top floor, then grinned. It was dangerous in there, but they had a mission, and it wasn't going to be impossible, just like the movie Taiyang was humming.

"Xiao Long will you stop that infernal humming?" they both froze as John formed a lockpick out of the finger of his gauntlet. They slowly turned their heads to see a very awake, very annoyed Glynda Goodwitch standing just a foot to their left

"SHIT SHE'S SEEN US!" Taiyang nearly screamed as he jumped up and tried to fly away.

Unfortunately, despite his furiously flapping wings, he didn't move an inch, caught in a purple glow.

"What were you doing trying to break into my dormitory?" the deputy headmistress demanded of the two, lifting the knight as well.

"Um... to... enteerrr~." John drew out the last word in an attempt to buy more time.

Unfortunately, the witch was too experienced to fall for such a trick, and immediately replied, "For the purpose of?"

"We were going to give you a surprise~?" John attempted, looking awkward. Now that he thought about it, he might have cursed his son with awkwardness.

"What surprise? You know I don't like surprises."

"You'd like this one. A surprise threesome with the two best dudes from the class of '92! Blonde power threesome!" Taiyang said with a bright grin, put an arm around John's shoulder and hiccuping.

Glynda sighed, getting strong hints as to the source of this behavior, "As much as sexual misconduct would delight my _delicate_ palate-"

"That's not the _only_ part of you that'll be delighted." the martial master said with a lecherous grin.

"Shut up. Just shut up." she could feel a migraine coming on, "John never officially filed for divorce so this would be classed as adultery. Not only that, but I do not do drunken bouts of... 'wild fun', as you would so eloquently put it."

"Wha- I'm not drunk! *hic* How dare you!" the still shit-faced blonde countered.

Of course, it was ineffective, "Riiiiiiiiiight... I'm going to knock you out and ship you home now." the witch cocked her wrist, prepared to deliver the precise blow that would deliver the two men swiftly into unconsciousness.

"No wait wait wait!" John spoke up finally, "Please don't do that. Just send us back to the city, please. We promise we won't bother you again tonight, just let us go get more drunk so we can forget our problems for a while."

The witch sighed, then dropped them, "Alright, fine. Leave, NOW." she pointed down the hall.

The two men fled down the hall.

...

John helped the stumbling, drunken Taiyang off the boat to Patch. "You shouldn't have drank to the music."

"How the hell was I supposed to know that Lil' Jon was gonna come on?" the shorter blond grumbled, clenching his stomach. Luckily they had been next to a trash can, as the knight forced his head down right as a thick stream of vomit escaped his lips like dragonfire.

The knight sighed and patted his old friend on the back, "You gonna leave my son alone to date your daughter?"

"Sure whatever, I already got my ass chewed out by Qrow over i-BLUUUUHHHH!" his words died as another blast of vomit was nearly projected out of his mouth with the force of a fire hose. Luckily the trashcan withstood the blast, but it would die a martyr, remembered forever by all of trashcankind.

John rubbed Taiyang's back as he released the rest of his stomach's contents, "Gross. I didn't know you or Qrow were into that sort of thing." he watched as the violent stream thoroughly finished off the trashcan. It had been noble, and produced countless bags of trash in its life. Hopefully its family would be able to go on without it.

The two slowly trudged through the streets of Patch City, making their way to the city limits and, from there, onwards to the Rose/Xiao Long household.

After a while, John spoke up, "So is the reason why you live two miles out from Patch City the same that I'm thinking it is?"

Taiyang chuckled lowly, "Yeah, so nobody would hear Raven's and Summer's screams of ecstasy. Trust me, I kept track of how many flocks of birds have been disturbed by us... okay well I lost track, but it was in the triple digits before things started going to shit."

"Heh, nice. So tell me, will either of your precious daughters freak out if I bring you home drunk?"

"They shouldn't. They've seen me drunk. I'm not an angry drunk, I'm a sad drunk." Taiyang said in a mumble as they made their way through the forest.

John chuckled, then nearly froze as he saw Jaune running from the house in the distance, "Dammit." he swore under his breath.

"What?" Taiyang looked up, however he was too late to see the young Arc leaving his home, "What's wrong?"

"Oh, uh, just stepped in a bit of shit, I think." the knight lied, hurrying up a bit, "Come on, before you throw up again." he practically picked up the shorter man and carried him the rest of the way.

Before they knew it, they'd reached the enclosed front porch. Fishing Taiyang's key out of his own pocket, John unlocked the door, then turned to the shit-faced man next to him, "The door's open."

Taiyang ceased trying to find his keys, "Huh? Are you a wizard~?" he asked in awe at the open portal in front of him.

"Sure, let's go with that. Also I'm responsible." with a precise flick, the taller blonde launched the keys into bowl on the table near the door, "Come on, get inside."

The slouched martial master nodded and trudged inside, "Noooooo~... blossom why did you have to fall asleep watching a movie? You left the disc on, it'll get scratched~." the man whined as his fellow blonde closed the door.

John sighed as he started to walk away. He hoped his son hadn't left traces of his presence behind, or things might end up going bad all over again.

As the scent of the wooden house faded from his nose, the veteran smelled something vile. Looking down, he checked his shoes

"GODDAMMIT! THESE WERE NEW SHOES!" he shouted angrily to the sky.

Maybe he should find his son and get some levels, so he could boost his stats.

He wanted to ask how much that Luck stat worked.

* * *

 **Sudden ending to the omake? Yeah, but it's funny (at least I'd like to think so)**

 **So yeah, a dungeon run ended with Jaune boosted and Marbel now as the second-highest leveled person in the party.**

 **As for scaling, let's give a rough estimate. If Jaune wanted to achieve a certain level, he'd have to kill about 100-200 Grimm of that exact level. If he wants to get ~5 levels above that, he has to kill about about 150-200 more Grimm of that same level. For example, he was level 49, his enemies were mostly leveled 47-50, he helped kill about 260-ish of them, with most of the EXP from that, and ended up at level 55. However, he then went to finish off the level 78 Mantleus and got 3 levels just from that, putting him at 58.**

 **For now, I got this out in a week and I'm happy with that. I'm currently in the swing of college, so chapters will probably end up coming out mostly on Mondays, but I'll try to take less than a week and a half with each new one. This isn't a guarantee, but it's a word I'll hold myself to as much as I can.**

 **Now then, let's get this thing ended with the obligatory info drop.**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Intermediate Hero  
** **Level: 58  
** **Class: Wizard v3  
** **Nickname: Mr. Player Man**

 **HP: 16,600/16,600  
** **AP: 48,000/48,000  
** **SP: 23,000/23,000**

 **Strength: 60 (+175%) = 165  
** **Dexterity: 53 (+175%) = 145.75  
** **Vitality: 70 (+175%) = 192.5  
** **Intelligence: 101 (+5) (+175%) = 291.5  
** **Wisdom: 107 (+5) (+175%) = 308  
** **Luck: 110  
** **Charisma: 80**

 **Stat Points: 152**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'11.5  
** **Weight: 195  
** **Build: Medium Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Bright Blonde / Bright Azure / Light Tan**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Alright, there we go, everything's done for now!**

 **Phew, this chapter came out to over 26k words, way more than my goal. I actually find this to be a biiiiit of a mistake. I think I should try to type my goal of 12k-18k words, maybe 13k-20k for a bit more room, and get the chapters out faster, rather than make them longer and take more time getting them out.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed it, and whether you did or not, leave a review. Go ahead and tell me what was good, and what wasn't. All criticism is welcome.**

 **Now then, if you'll all excuse me, I need to work on some college things, as well as the next chapter.**

 **See ya later~!**

 **^w^**


	12. A Place in the Sun

**8/29/16: Alright, starting ASAP after paying bills.**

 **8/31/16: Going back and doing reviewer responses, current word count before doing it: 7.8k words**

 **9/7/16: Hoping to get this done before the weekend, I'm on a good roll right now, TBCH. Wordcount update: ~16k**

 **9/10/16: Finally done with the chapter and the final wordcount is 22.7k**

 **chad001:** yeah. As it's been stated multiple times, Luck increases "Fate". This can change your destiny to be something much greater than what it could be. Hell Marbel could, possibly (it's not happening because it doesn't fit my plans), dump all of her points into Luck and acquire one of the Maiden's powers. It's random what you get, and Jaune is bound to get good shit if he's optimistic and kind with Luck.

 **Remzal Von Enilli, ViktornovaMK2, and Ander warrior:** The quest with the Grimm will reveal some new informations. Salem is still a Grimm, she doesn't have any Aura, at least not in this story. However, her origin is different. Dark Warrior works differently for Jaune than it does for Ruby, because of Gamer's Body and Gamer's Mind. Common symptoms of it are pale skin, dark hair, and suppressed growth (for good people).

 **-names:** Yang was the one who cleaned Ruby up from looking like she just vomited blood and cookies. She also changed her into her pajamas and got her nice and comfy set up on the couch. She only slept because she cried herself to sleep, holding onto Jaune closely. She has come to see him as a source of stability and help, so she was hoping he'd have an idea. Also, about Summer's death and leaving it open... yes, I totally meant to do that. It wasn't because I forgot to mention that they found the withered husk of her body that was left behind... totally didn't forget that at AAAALLLLLLLLLLL

 **CrimsonSylvan:** Alright, I have a confession to make, sir. One, I use some of the skills from TGWP's stat benchmark skills list. Of course I won't use them all, or maybe even a quarter of all of them (because there's a LOT) but I have doctored a couple (Incredible Strength renamed from Heroic Strength, Amazing Grace and Iron Body are the same, and honestly I know I'd take a couple. Also, creating the skill is more than just giving it a name. I have to consider the skill's power level in comparison to other skills, I have to consider how powerful the skill is supposed to be for its level. Its progression, its leveling rate, and most importantly its usefulness. Jaune may not have the most use for a sizable amount of the functions of Alchemical Aura, but it's a gateway skill that allows him to do more.

 **Nexus Bladeguard:** Hah! I was hoping someone would notice that, to be honest. Also about Jaune's cause... yeah~. His strongest beliefs are in forgiveness, redemption, and second chances, and he believes that everyone is entitled to one... except the Grimm, for the most part (the one he's converting is willingly doing it, so he's okay with it)

 **Guardian54:** hehe, another vague concept I got from another story I was inspired by. I think my biggest advantage in writing a Gamer fic is that I've read a lot of them (about a dozen maybe, with most having Jaune as The Gamer) and I've received some pieces of inspiration from all of them. Aura construct weapons, some skill concepts, and the sense of scaling from TGWP. There's more parts too, but it's mostly in the background. I've always had my own ideas about his sisters, and am one of the people who support Full Big Bro Jaune all the way (meaning all his sisters are younger than him). I've also had my own ideas about Aura and Semblances and stuff too. I've also gotten some inspiration from some Ruby Gamer stories too. Will I ever fully copy something? I already have with Amazing Grace, but the story itself (and trust me, there IS a story, people) will remain entirely my own. Any similarities to other stories are just coincidences.

 **LuckyLynx741:** Well, he'll get three skills that will help him socially. I won't spoil anything, but the initials of them are MotH, LotF, and BotL.

 **kewllewk:** I'm glad we're past a lot of the old stuff. The Grimm is still open to everything, and you totally didn't give me an idea *shifty eyes*. Right now, Jaune is kinda preaching to himself "I have to be loyal, I have to be loyal, I have to be loyal." because a loyal man is what Yang deserves. Yang is only as open to a 3+ relationship as she can be convinced of. She has her loyalty-trust issues because of losing said two mothers, but it only ever comes out when her relationship feels threatened. She isn't a hyper-clingy psycho like some girls, but she's a bit more suspicious and clingy than what would be completely healthy.

 **MysticSpider:** Or the Chaos Emeralds... SURPRISE! Suddenly we're referring to Sonic the Hedgehog! XD But not really, though. As for turquoise... *horrific realization* I've been calling Jaune's eyes and aura color 'azure' all this time... they're supposed to be cyan! I thought azure was the same-ish color as cyan! Shit! *frantic scribbling*

 **DUD3 RANDOM:** He is. Jaune transformed into a Bull Faunus when he used the Beast's Blood skill with Adam's blood. I think I forgot to mention that, maybe...

 **Nerfhearder69:** Though your name is glorious, your reasoning is not as much. Indeed he should (and will!) focus more on his physical stats. However, the reason he's been trailing behind on that is because the Wizard class is only usable when the total of his INT+WIS is greater than the total of his DEX+LUK. As of this pre-chapter author's notes, that is 218 vs 163. He has a lot of buffer space now, of course, and his time meditating has given him the focus and clarity of mind he needed to see to that. Another good bit of his regret over the Luck Dump of chapter 4 is that it made him unable to use Wizard. Now, however, he's over it and has accepted things, of course, and has moved onto bigger and better things.

 **I just want to take a moment to say "THANK YOU" to everyone who has supported me with your favorites, follows, and kind/funny/amazed reviews. Whenever I get the email that I've received a review, my heart swells with joy (and a bit of adrenaline). I love all of you and I'll continue doing my best to provide you with the best chapters I can give.**

 **Story Arc 2: Playing Prometheus**

 **Chapter 12: A Place in the Sun.**

* * *

 _(Two weeks later, Eagle Mountain, Jaune POV)_

 **Summon Elemental: Level 44 - 86**

 **Elemental Aura: 18 - 37**

 **-/\\-**

 **Ki Body: Level 26 - 50**

 **Ki Breathing: Level 31 - 71**

 **Power Stomp: 14 - 52**

 **Skull Bash: 11 - 50**

 **Crushing Grip: 6 - 48**

 **Stampede: 31 - 60**

 **Power Jump: 26 - 50**

 **Load Bearer: 11 - 45**

 **Heavy Hauler: 21 - 50**

 **Hardened Chest: 21 - 48**

 **Reinforced Bones: 9 - 51**

 **Adamant Foil: 10 - 48**

 **Radiant Mane: 10 - 50**

 **-/\\-**

 **Mana Shield: 11 - 40**

 **Stone Skin: 22 - 50**

 **Metal Skin: 25 - 50**

 **Beast's Blood: 4 - 11**

 **-/\\-**

 **Awaken Aura: 12 - 56**

 **Soul-forge Restoration: 36 - 61**

 **Rejuvenating Breath: 5 - 42**

 **-/\\-**

 **Mana Barrage: 36 - 61**

 **Energy Bolt: 41 - 86**

 **Energy Arrow: 30 - 70**

 **Cannonball: 21 - 66**

 **Fireball: 10 - 31**

 **Water Gun: 24 - 48**

 **Wind Burst: 36 - 51**

 **Volt Orb: 33 - 60**

 **Stone Shot: 21 - 51**

 **Vorpal Sword: 26 - 41**

 **Gaster Blaster: 20 - 40**

 **Physical Resistance: 20 - 25**

 **Magic Resistance: 12 - 20**

 **-/\\-**

 **Incredible Strength: 11 - 20**

 **Amazing Grace: 6 - 10**

 **Iron Body: 25 - 30**

 **Mana Affinity: 40 - 50**

 **Wizard's Pool: 6 - 18**

 **Battlemage: 10 - 20**

 **Nature Affinity: 46 - 60**

 **Magic Doodle: 1 - 14**

 **Wizard's Stream: 1 - 16**

 **Aurora: 10 - 16**

 **-/\\-**

 **Meditating with the elements and Qing Long's Azure Dragon Style has taught you the skill "Azure Dragon's Three Claws"**

 **Meditating with the elements and Qing Long's Azure Dragon Style has taught you the skill "Azure Dragon's Teardrop Scales"**

 **Meditating with the elements and Qing Long's Azure Dragon Style has taught you the skill "Azure Dragon's Sweeping Stride"**

 **Meditating with the elements and Qing Long's Azure Dragon Style has taught you the skill "Azure Dragon's Scathing Eyes"**

 **Meditating with the elements and Qing Long's Azure Dragon Style has taught you the skill "Azure Dragon's Winged Flight"**

 **Meditating with the elements and Qing Long's Azure Dragon Style has taught you the skill "Azure Dragon's Shocking Steps"**

 **Meditating with the elements and Qing Long's Azure Dragon Style has taught you the skill "Azure Dragon's Chilled Armament"**

 **-/\\-**

 **Max HP: 16,600 - 17,400  
** **Max AP: 48,000 - 62,500  
Max SP: 23,000 - 24,100**

 **STR: 60 - 64  
** **DEX: 53 - 56  
** **VIT: 70 - 76**

 **-/\\-**

 **INT: 101 - 105  
** **WIS: 107 - 110**

 **Stat Points: 152 - 145**

 **-/\\-**

 **You have received the recurring status effect "Natural Growth"!**

 **The interaction of increases in testosterone, growth hormones, and Gamer's Body has increased your STR and DEX by 4, and your VIT by 2!**

 **Your height has increased by 0.5 inches! (x3)**

 **Your penis size has increased by 0.5 inches!**

 **-/\\-**

I sighed and ignored the last section of my profile, where the information of that last notification was. Instead, I focused on my new height of 6'1" and the fact that I'd spent a few stat points to boost my INT and WIS. I had been close to the next boost in base APR, and I could use a little more base AP gain from INT, so I just threw down a few points. My physical stats had risen as a result of not only my growth, but also the effects of Ki and the elemental effects boosting my body for so long. Ironically I'd gotten stronger, faster, and tougher while sitting mostly still for two whole weeks. My legs weren't stiff, but I had the desire to stretch them out anyways.

For the first time in half a month, I stood up. I saw Marbel off to the side jump in surprise and spin around, only to relax and wipe her sweaty brow, "Holy shit, Jaune, you nearly made me piss myself!" she exclaimed indignantly.

I smirked and walked over, ruffling her hair a little, "Hey come on, I told you all that it'd be two weeks. Don't tell me you three lost track of the days?"

"No, at least Yang didn't. She's actually been counting them on her calendar. So, how'd you do?"

I told her all the details about my boosts in levels, and even realized that all of the EXP I'd gotten from my skills leveling up at brought me pretty close to my next level. I checked my scroll and found that it was nearly noon on a friday. I looked at Marbel with my eyebrow raised, "Shouldn't you be in school?" I asked flatly.

"Is it so bad that I wanted to visit my best friend and be here in case he woke up?"

"Well it is when it's taking you out of school." I said with a deadpanned look, "Anyways, since you're already here, is Blake up yet?"

"I already told her what I told you. No matter what, I'd be here for when you woke up. I'm surprised your legs still work when you haven't even stood up for two whole weeks."

I shrugged, "Gamer's Body, they weren't even stiff. Let's see, I'm also six-one now, and fifteen pounds heavier than before." I smirked, "Now then, let's see how you've all done." I checked Marbel's profile first, focusing only on the main bits.

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Marbel Mayston  
** **Class: Rogue - Rogue v2**

 **HP: 7500 - 9200  
** **AP: 6300 - 9000  
** **SP: 9500 - 12,000**

 **Strength: 30 - 41  
** **Dexterity: 40 - 52  
** **Vitality: 43 - 53  
** **Intelligence: 30 - 50  
** **Wisdom: 50 - 51  
** **Luck: 50  
** **Charisma: 40 - 48**

 **Stat Points: 103 - 90**

 **Age: 15  
** **Birthday: May 16th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'4.5" - 5'5"  
** **Weight: 100 - 130  
** **Build: Growing Young Girl - Teenage Girl  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Brown / Forest Green - Vivid Forest Green / Youthful Pale - Light Tan  
** **Bra Size: B - BB**

 **-/\\-**

I sighed lightly as I took the last piece of info into account, "Did you spend any of those thirteen points on CHA?"

She shook her head, "Nope, all my CHA was legitly gained when I started going through the status effect 'Natural Growth'. I spent all those points on INT."

I took a minute to observe her. Gone was the soft, almost plush form of a civilian girl, now her figure was more sleek, slimmed despite her weight increase. Her stomach was flatter and her waist was noticeably thinner, though her hips were wider. Her legs were a good bit thicker, as well as more toned. Her muscles were a lot more defined now, as well, and it showed even more with her lighter build. She had gone from a geeky schoolgirl to a fine young huntress-in-training. Even her skin had taken on some healthy, lively coloration from her work outside exercising with not only the axe, but the weight-suit I'd made for her. Though she wasn't quite full-figured like Yang or Blake, she was eye-catching.

Of course, I didn't let myself get caught, "You look great, you're even growing out your hair." I chuckled a bit, running a few fingers through the longer locks. She used to keep her hair about chin-length, but it'd gained a good half-inch or so in length. I found it quite cute.

I saw levels in Flirtation come in and ceased my actions. I wasn't even flirting, dammit! Still, she was blushing pretty hard, "Uh, th-thanks. I figured a change in style was in order since I was changing my lifestyle, and all that." she changed into the outfit she'd saved, named 'Normal Outfit'.

I saw her clothing shift from her workout gear to a black leather jacket with the sleeves rolled halfway up her forearms. Under it was a pink t-shirt with the words 'ROCK STAR' slapped the front in darker pink like they were painted on, taking two lines. Her white shorts had been replaced with capri pants, slip-on red shoes by green shoes that covered a few inches of her legs. What was most notable was that now she wore a sterling silver necklace with an Earth Dust crystal hanging from it. I pointed at it and she gasped lightly, "Oh right, I went to a Hunter jeweler and got it made. Thankfully they didn't ID me, or do a background check, I just showed them my weapon and my muscles as proof and I was cleared. The best part about it is that I can just poke a hole down a crystal and replace the one I have now. Earth Dust works best with my semblance, which I've been training as much as I can."

"Yeah. Funny how it turns out Luck helped you on that... why'd you increase Luck anyways?" I asked curiously, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Well I figured that we might not have hope, even if you had tons of AP still, it seemed like that many Grimm was overwhelming. I increased my Luck to help us get out of that situation alive." she said solemnly, and I paused.

It was true, her getting her semblance gave us a little push, AND a little break that we needed to get our scattered offense and defense together and kill the Mantleus. I grimaced as I thought back to how it had used its great STR to break through the ice I'd trapped it in. Maybe if I'd focused more on making the ice harder instead of just keeping its fire down, I'd have held it down and not nearly gotten torn to pieces. Regardless, now I had sixteen spare charges to give to my elementals, I would be much better equipped to use them effectively.

"Well, I'm glad it got you your semblance. I guess it isn't all bad." that still didn't mean I would up it. Only if the situation truly called for it, really, "So, I guess it's time to play catch-up." I mused as I turned around, sensing Blake moving out the front of the fortress.

It was kinda pretty, I supposed. I'd made it with a lot of usage of Roimontagne, and some help from Crocea Mors. It had a gate and walls thirty feet high. I'd had to harvest some trees to make room, of course getting Marbel to chop all the logs up. She'd actually done it all, the little trooper. Those logs now fueled fireplaces in the fortress that kept the place warm at night. I'd worked around lacking some sort of 'glass elemental' by using Xiburichu to fire glass from suspended sand. It had to be polished a LOT before its clarity could be seen, but it was worth it to get windows in the place. Heavy stone bricks and mortar made up the entire place, and I was proud to say I'd made a castle. In fact, it was even called Château de Celeste, proclaimed by bold letters 'carved' into the stone wall above the gate. Under that was a quote I'd thought of.

A new dawn rises. You may rise again with us, and take your place in the sun.

I was hoping to turn this place into a proper kingdom. I was talking walls, a population, a council, laws, agriculture, infrastructure, the whole nine yards! Sadly I couldn't do all of that on just this mountain, but I could do a lot here. I could set the foundations like I had with my skills.

I looked at the circle of Aura-awoken grass I'd made. The clearing had about a hundred thousand square feet in it. In two weeks, casting one Awaken Aura per minute, I'd awoken 1260 of those square feet. I was tempted to boost my INT or my WIS by a bit more, to boost my APR to the next thousand, since now Awaken Aura only cost me a thousand Aura a pop. With my current rate of regeneration, I could cast it exactly thirty-three times a minute and completely match my APR. If I did that for one full day, I'd end up with almost three-thousand more square feet of grass awoken. Keeping that up, however, would take a bit over a month of constant usage. Every minute of the day dedicated to thirty-three Awaken Auras. Of course I would speed up as time went on, since Wizard's Pool and Wizard's Stream would expand my Max AP and APR for me, and the cost of the skill would go down.

However, there were more pressing matters to attend to. I smiled and pulled both Blake and Marbel into a hug as the former approached, "Nearly forgot. Hehe, you girls are great, you know that?" I let them go and smiled, taking in Blake's appearance and changes.

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Blake Belladonna** **  
** **Level: 40 - 41**

 **Hit Points: 3700 - 6000  
** **Aura Points: 7000 - 11,000  
** **Stamina Points: 9100 - 10,500**

 **Strength: 24 - 34  
** **Dexterity: 78 - 80  
** **Vitality: 27 - 40  
** **Intelligence: 60 - 65  
** **Wisdom: 50 - 55  
** **Luck: 13 - 28  
** **Charisma: 75 - 79**

 **Stat Points: 40 - 30**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: February 14th  
** **Race: Faunus (Cat)  
** **Height: 5'5  
** **Weight: 120 - 125  
** **Build: Svelte Modelesque Ninja  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Black / Amber - Brilliant Amber / Pale - Normal Caucasian  
** **Bra Size: C**

 **-/\\-**

I hummed, "Did you up your Luck? Is that why you're missing fifteen points?" I asked, honestly curious. I wasn't judging, just asking.

Blake blushed a bit, "It seemed terribly low, so I increased it to give myself a boost." she had caught on that I wasn't judging her, but it seemed she was a bit embarrassed at being called out on it.

I brushed it off with a wave of my hand, "Fair enough, Blakey. So, hmmm..." I took in her appearance.

She had cut her hair, which was now only shoulder-length. She had replaced her cloth tailcoat with a thigh-length black leather jacket, gray fur lining the neck. Her white shirt had been replaced with a light blue one made of 'armor-weave', a very literally-named material that provided an armor value to clothes made of it. She'd chosen blue because it didn't fit with her previous color scheme, and she needed to disguise herself when in town. Her soft, creamy hands were now covered by thin black leather gloves. Her shorts and leggings had been replaced with a pair of black slacks that had a... I rubbed my eyes to make sure I didn't misread that. They had a 'buttcape' built into them, lined with light gray fur. Her shoes were much the same, but now a little tougher-made. The biggest connection anyone could make between her now, and the Blake she was before, was that she was a woman of the same hair color, similar height, and similar figure. Her muscles had become more defined and her figure had filled out a bit too, thanks to Yang's cooking. I was about to speak when I noticed two strings of a necklace around her neck, "What's the necklace?" she pulled it out to reveal a charm of her nightshade blossom, and I sighed, "Please keep that hidden."

"I already know. Still, it feels special to me. I feel like I actually have something, y'know? It's a pride thing. Getting back on track, did you get everything you needed out of your training?" she asked, curious.

"Not exactly everything I wanted, or really much of _anything_ I'd been going for, but a promise is a promise. I told you all about the quest with that Vulcyrie, right?"

She nodded, "Yes. It's still a bit shocking, even after thinking about it in twelve days. You're sure it can be done?"

"So far, my semblance hasn't given me any quest that couldn't be completed." I said with a shrug, "So, how's that Luck treating you?"

Blake shrugged, "I guess you never know how much it affects you until it actually affects you. I killed a fly on the first swing of the swatter." she said with another shrug, "Does that count for anything?"

I shrugged back, "I wouldn't say so, but The Game is weird. Maybe, maybe not, I can't tell." I looked at Marbel, then at Blake, "So, you two hungry?"

Just then, Marbel's stomach growled loudly, and her entire face reddened, "Starving, more like it."

I looked at our ninja and she put a hand to her stomach, trying to hide the light growl it gave, "I could eat."

I smiled, "Alright, I think a light lunch with you two, then I'll collect Ruby and Yang and we'll all go out to a nice fancy dinner." I checked the time, then decided to focus and spend a couple of minutes drawing out a few lines of awoken grass while the girls thought of what they felt like eating.

After a while, Blake cut to the chase, "Seafood. I feel like seafood." I rolled my eyes as I finished the last of sixteen two-foot lines.

"Figures. Alright, come on, hop in." I boosted Mystral with ten charges and formed the invisible jet, giving both roguish girls some room to ride along with me.

When we were all settled, I took off, just going ahead and boosting Mystral with all sixteen spare charges, bringing her level up to seventeen. For an elemental, that was enough to make us move at close to two-hundred miles per hour.

That was plenty.

* * *

 _(A couple of hours later, in the forest, Jaune POV)_

I sighed as I killed another Beowolf. With every Grimm in my sense range gone for now, I set about doing something that I should have done a while ago.

I pulled out my scroll and made the call, _"Bard, come in, this is Alpha. Do you read me?"_

Beady blue eyes greeted me, _"Ah, Adam, hey~. I heard what happened with the kitten, bloody bugger me, right?"_ information floated in front of my eyes thanks to Gamer's Sight.

 **Sierra Elise  
Title: Honoring fallen temples with blades  
Level: 74**

I sighed internally, remembering Adam's mannerisms and feelings, or lack thereof, _"Yes._ _I'm over it, though. So, how are things going?"_

The woman giggled, _"Calling just to talk? My my, I think your wayward heart is leading you right to be doorstep, Alpha~."_ she drew the last word out lecherously and I suppressed a shudder.

Instead of shuddering like Jaune Arc would, I grunted like Adam Taurus would, _"I'm not calling for pleasantries. You know what I mean, Sierra."_

 _"Fine, fine, ya git. Things are well, actually avoided any turnovers this month, so far, jolly good show on my part I'd say. What about with you?"_ she looked at me sympathetically, _"I know you two were close."_

I snorted, _"I said I'm OVER IT. Keep up the work with no turnovers. You keep pulling risky business like you do and you endanger not only every faunus life in Mistral, but also every goddamn chance we have in Mistral. If you have even twenty people die by the end of the month, I'm going to replace you."_ I knew better than to say 'let'. She didn't 'let' them die, she purposefully made risky missions that painted the Mistralian White Fang as ambitious, but ultimately ineffective. Meanwhile they were probably sitting on more Dust and other resources than they knew what to do with.

I certainly knew what to do with them. I was currently looking for any of a few certain materials, quite famous in fantasy RPG settings. Any of them would be incredibly useful materials to upgrade Crocea Mors with, aside from using normal titanium.

Mithril, the gray glitter. Light as a feather, yet hard as a dragon's scales. It could be beaten like copper and polished like glass, and just a small shirt of it was worth more than everything in The Shire. At least, that was the claim made by Tolkien.

Orihalcum, the mountain copper. Its exact properties were unknown, but the common list was being super strong, magic resistant, and highly conductive of electricity.

Adamantium, the diamond alloy. Super strong, depicted as silver in color, hard as diamond and a lot more durable and resilient than diamond due to its metallic properties. What better way to bless the future Arcs than to give them a sharpened strip of adamantium to cut through Grimm with?

Hihi'irokane, the flame-colored metal. Ironically, it was the most realistic of the metals, despite having the most unbelievable property of being conductive to _spiritual energy_ , as well as generating heat and being ultra-strong like most high-grade fantasy metals. Still, the spiritual conductivity was something that could be attributed to its Vacuan origins. It was the most realistic because it was probably just a special form of Fire Dust Alloy, imbued with the blacksmith's aura through some means. Vacuans were known for being very spiritual, after all, so it wasn't too much of a stretch.

If I wanted any of them, however, I'd have to take my new skills and put them to the test against Grimm in the outer lands. If video games have taught me anything, and The Game has confirmed any of it, it's that drops are given appropriately. You can't kill a thousand, or even a million Beowolves and expect to get a super strong sword or dagger or armor. In the end, all you'd have gotten was a lot of wasted time and effort, and a metric assload of trash loot.

If I wanted Mithril, I would probably need to fight a draconic Grimm or a high-level avian Grimm, because of the whole 'light as a feather, hard as a dragon's scales' hint. Orihalcum would be gathered from mountainous Grimm, and more than likely from things stronger than Vulcyries. Adamantium, on the other hand, would be deep underground where diamonds are, and probably (assuming the game had a sense of humor) dropped from wolverine-like Grimm. Hihi'irokane would be found in Vacuo's deserts.

Since it was still _Crocea_ Mors, I'd have to alter the orange metals to be golden in color, or possibly even make them silver. Mithril would be ideal, since it was a sword, and swinging it fast and hard would be really useful. Even if only for the edge, it would be incredibly useful.

 _"Yeesh, harsh much. You really DO care, don't you?"_ she giggled and grinned teasingly.

I deadpanned at her, _"You're throwing away lives for crumbs of gain. I appreciate your psychological approach, but the facts are straight and you're diminishing our forces. After the end of this month, I'll leave you be, but twenty people, Sierra. Less than twenty people in two weeks. Surely you can manage that,_ general _?"_ I added her title for dramatic effect, reminding her of the expectations placed on her.

She stuttered a bit, then flushed in either frustration or guilt, _"Y-yes sir! I can manage that."_

 _"Good. Dismissed."_ I ended the call and decided to push myself. I had things to do, and I had a sneaking suspicion that if I piled together all of my speed buffs, not only my Skills but my Ninja Class and my Title 'A Quarter-Mile at a Time', which when combined...

I ran and the air grew hot around me. I cut loose and moved with all of my DEX, every boost I had, and everything. I had about a 1406% increase to Movement Speed with speed boosting buff, equipment, and parameter all piled together, which gave me a speed of-

 **Reaching extreme speeds on land and achieving a new benchmark has granted you the title "The 8-mile-stone Runner."**

I equipped the title and found myself moving even faster. Turning on Driving Simulator mode clocked my speed at about 697 MPH. I was pushing boundaries and I knew it. It wasn't the highest speed in history, not even close, but it was high for me. I considered blowing off everything to grind levels for Sprint, but if I continued pushing my speed, I'd level up my DEX, and my DEX and LUK together needed to be lower than 226, or I'd lose the ability to use Wizard v3. For some reason, it was those two stats that opposed INT and WIS, not STR and VIT. It was... weird.

I considered that as I cut back on the speed and changed back to normal, but kept the brown and red hair for a bit. I cut to a Hunter Travel street and began making my way towards the docks. Ruby and Yang would be arriving soon-ish, so I knew I needed to meet them there.

A flash of white and blue entered my field of vision and I swung my arm with my extreme reflexes and stuck the object into my inventory. I kept on my path and slowed down until I came to a gentle stop at the naval docks. Sitting on a bench and considering boosting their boat with Pluviteus' power over water, I shook my head and pulled out the thing that had nearly hit me in the face. It was a poster, and I unfurled it to read the contents.

 **IN VALE NOW!**

 **Weiss Schnee, the White Songbird**

 **"The End Before Summer" Tour!**

 _ **Come see the White Songbird singing in Vale City Orchestral Theater**_

 _ **Wed. April 15th at 7:30 PM to 10:00 PM**_

 _ **Thurs. April 16th at 8:00 PM to 10:30 PM**_

 _ **Fri. April 17th at 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM**_

 _ **If you want to follow the tour after Friday, her tour will be moving to Vacuo next!**_

 _ **She will be playing in Ranok City on Sun. April 19th at 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM**_

 **Savor her sweet songs before their gone!**

The poster showed the diminutive young woman with her hands clasped over her chest, a pair of white neon angel wings and a blue neon halo giving her an angelic motif. The right side of her face was showing as she seemed to be singing with her eyes closed and her head tilted upwards. From her mouth came notes and some birds were flying around the stream of music bars.

I had to admit, she was beautiful in a way I could appreciate. If I didn't have Yang, I'd probably fantasize about Weiss. Still, she was lacking in several departments, but...

 **(Information outdated)**

 **Weiss Schnee  
Title: The Frostbitten Princess of the Broken Kingdom  
Level: 27**

 **Age: 16  
Birthday: January 15th  
Race: Human  
Height: 4'9  
Weight: 87  
Build: Delicate Slender  
Hair/Eyes/Skin: Snow White / Crystal Blue / Pale White  
Bra Size: N/A**

I stared at the info I was able to get. This image was outdated, of course. I don't know HOW outdated, but it's outdated. That title... god almighty it made me want to hug this girl until she felt better about everything. She seemed like she'd be very sad about things. If I was lucky, maybe I could get a conversation with her. I couldn't see any stats from just the poster, but she was level twenty-seven, which implied that she had a good bit of training, or at least a lucky semblance. My mom's semblance was responsible for at least thirty of her levels. I remembered that... she was even stronger and tougher than I was. Her DEX was over a hundred, if I remembered correctly. With my boosts, I was sure that I'd easily beat her in a fight, but there was one fact that confused me over everything else.

She wasn't a hunter. She had been against the Hunter lifestyle. Why did she have such incredible base stats?

It didn't make a lot of sense... except for one explanation.

Time away made the heart grow fonder, and maybe she'd grown to understand the necessity of Hunters and their lifestyle. I wouldn't say she would do any missions, but she'd trained for years and years with an Aura. Maybe it was just her Luck, but she'd been pretty beefy in stats. I don't know for how long or how hard she trained, but she must have been going for a long while. Still, no matter how fond she was for my father's company, they wouldn't get over their problems without help.

I sighed lowly, then stood when I felt the water shift around the docked boat. I put away the poster and stood up, jogging over towards the boat.

I didn't get a chance to even pass onto the dock as my girlfriend slammed into me at high speed. With my weight and DEX, I kept my balance and hugged her back as she nearly slammed her lips into mine. I wrapped my arms around her lower back as she was now being held with her feet dangling in the air, lightly tapping against my shinguards.

I smiled against her lips as we shared the moment. I faintly heard a grumble over the bit of conversation we'd sparked and slowly broke the kiss, "I missed you too, Sun Angel." I smirked at her and lifted her higher up, now holding her over my shoulder and keeping her steady by grabbing ahold of her legs. She flailed a bit but my strength kept her steady, "Sup Rubes." I smiled at the younger sister as I quickly used Gamer's Sight to take in the changes to two had gone through.

 **-/\\-**

 **Yang Xiao Long  
** **Title: Hotter and Brighter than the Summer Sun  
** **Level: 41 - 48  
** **Nickname: Sunflower - Sun Angel**

 **Hit Points: 7350 - 16,000  
** **Aura Points: 5800 - 11,000  
** **Stamina Points: 8500 - 21,000**

 **Strength: 71 - 76  
** **Dexterity: 40 - 46  
** **Vitality: 53 - 70  
** **Intelligence: 32 - 45  
** **Wisdom: 30 - 50  
** **Luck: 18 - 30  
** **Charisma: 72 - 83**

 **Stat Points: 25 - 10**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: December 12th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'7 - 5'7.5  
** **Weight: 145 - 155  
** **Build: Medium Athletic - Med-Heavy Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blonde / Bright Lilac Purple - Brilliant Lilac Purple / Light Tan  
** **Cup Size: E**

 **-/\\-**

 _Jaune C: Yang, you're missing fifty points. What'd you spend them on? :C_

 _Yang C: 11 in VIT, 10 in INT, 17 in WIS, and 12 in LUK. Everything else was natural. N-now... a-are you gonna put me down, o-or just keep grabbing my ass? I d-don't mind it... b-but... :C_ she seemed embarrassed, and much to my own embarrassment I realized that my hand had slipped upwards, now grabbing a handful of the warm, tender flesh.

Honestly... I didn't want to let go, it felt glorious and I was tempted to grab it more, but Ruby was literally two feet away and unknowingly awaiting my examination. I squeezed a little harder to savor it as I pulled her back forward and set her on her feet. Then, in a surprise maneuver, I used my great flexibility and speed to spin around and pick her up again, though this time I was giving her a piggyback ride, _Jaune C: Sorry 'bout that. It was an accident. Now then, let's see about the flower. :C_ I chuckled lightly as I used Gamer's Sight on Ruby.

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Ruby Rose  
** **Title: The Swift Red Rider  
** **Level: 40 - 50  
** **Class: Reaper  
** **Nickname: Rosie**

 **HP: 700 - 3000  
** **AP: 2500 - 6500  
** **SP: 900 - 5000**

 **Strength: 30 - 37  
** **Dexterity: 84 - 90  
** **Vitality: 32 - 40  
** **Intelligence: 42 - 50  
** **Wisdom: 18 - 30  
** **Luck: 15 - 25  
** **Charisma: 55 - 60**

 **Stat Points: 0 - 27**

 **Age: 15  
** **Birthday: November 11th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'1  
** **Weight: 90 - 110  
** **Build: Slim Adorable - Svelte Adorable  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Black with Crimson Highlights / Silver / Pale  
** **Cup Size: BB**

 **Status Effects: Darkened Warrior (High), Silver Eyed Warrior (Low)**

 **Active Quests: To Outshine the Sun (Only Ruby), Share in the Moonlight (Only Ruby)**

 **-/\\-**

 **Quest: To Outshine the Sun  
** **Description: Yang's coddling has gone on far enough! Prove you're big enough and strong enough to fend for yourself as an adult instead of having to be protected!  
** **Objective: Prove you're big and strong enough to not need coddling.  
** **-Grow to a height of 5'6"+  
** **-Grow to a weight of 140lbs+  
** **-Grow to a cup size of CC+  
** **-Increase STR to 45+  
** **-Increase DEX to 100+  
** **-Increase VIT to 50+  
** **-Increase INT to 50+ (Complete)  
** **-Increase WIS to 40+  
** **-Increase LUK to 25+ (Complete)  
** **-Increase CHA to 75+**

 **Reward for Success: A healthy increase to confidence, pride, and self esteem, end Yang's coddling, mitigate Taiyang's coddling, ?**

 **Penalty for Failure: small increase to confidence, pride, and self-esteem, Yang and Taiyang's coddling continues unaffected, ?**

 **Time Limit: Until you stop experiencing the occasional status effect "Natural Growth"**

 **-/\\-**

 **Quest: Share in the Moonlight  
Description: Your friendship with The Gamer is great, but a chance at being the one true love was stolen away. Still, you can share in the moonlight and receive love to grow.  
Objective: Get a kiss from Jaune.**

 **Reward for Success: +? CHA (Based on Gamer's Mind), Increased Closeness to Jaune, Increased confidence and self-respect**

 **Penalty for Failure: Reduced mental fortitude, decreased closeness with Yang, decreased confidence and self-respect**

 **Time Limit: Until Yang finds out**

 **-/\\-**

I stared at Ruby for a good long while, because of those quests, then cleared my throat, _Jaune C: Nice work, Rosie. How'd you get 10 levels so fast? I hope you two didn't take risks. :C_

 _Ruby C: We risked it and we got the biscuits, or as they call them here in Vale, cookies~! :C_ she pulled a cookie out of the inventory and began nibbling on it.

I quickly checked and found that she had packed nearly ten spaces with various types of cookies in various packages. I shot her a lecturing look and she blushed, quickly swallowing her cookie and licking away the crumbs around her mouth.

I took a minute to observe their outfits. Ruby was still wearing her cloak, no surprise since it was her most precious possession. Instead of her usual blouse and puffy combat skirt, she had on a more casual, red and black plaid, flannel button-up. Black skinny jeans covered her legs, but she kept her normal boots on. Honestly, with her tomboyish hobbies and likes, it fit her well.

Yang was wearing her usual outfit, but had switched her orange scarf for a blue one and wore a slightly longer buttcape.

I felt a kiss on my cheek and two soft round squishes on my back as Yang settled in fully. I chuckled a bit, moving us off to the side and out of the center of attention, _Jaune C: Right, well don't clog the inventory with cookies. We need it for loot. Let's see... :C_ I found that they'd gathered about half a million lien from looting the various Grimm they'd slain. I smiled at the nice big seven-digit number I had, then looked at them both, _C: So what'd you kill? :C_

 _Ruby C: Big bad Beowolves, and we took a little trip last weekend down more south. We fought some Mudbulls and some Mudbull Pepruses. :C_

 _Yang C: Big frogs, and the greater forms had poison. We had to bail but we got these levels. :C_

 _Ruby C: Oh hey, that just reminded me! I got you a present, Jaune! :C_

She pulled out a poorly-wrapped box, to which I gave a soft laugh of happiness. I decided to throw her a bone and dropped five points into my INT sneakily, then took the present, "Let's see here." I cut the ribbons with Preyend and opened the box, removing the object inside.

 _ **Tockasprath  
**_ _ **Description: A short-barreled shotgun formed from the mouth and toxin glands of a Mudbull Peprus. It is of good quality and fine condition. Though it is lighter than most shotguns, it still packs a heavy punch. Beware of recoil!**_

 _ **Type: Short-barrel Shotgun  
Damage: 250 (+0% from Shotgun Skill, totaling 250)  
Rate of Fire: 45 RPM (+0% from Shotgun Skill, totaling 45)  
Effective Range: 15m (+0 from Shotgun Skill, totaling 15)  
**_ _ **Capacity: 6 (+0 from Shotgun Skill, totaling 6)**_

 _ **Functions;  
Channel 150 Aura into the gun to add +50% poison damage to next shot**_

I chuckled, "It's... a shotgun. Nice."

Ruby blushed a bit at my lack of cheering, "I uh... I polished and cleaned it for you... plus you don't have a non-magic ranged weapon, so this could be it. You and sis could even share shotgun shells! I checked, it fires 12g shells." she said with a smile.

Well, I WAS giving her a boost for free, so I smiled brightly, "Well if THAT'S the case, then I think this'll be PERFECT, Rubes. Thank you so much." I gave a brotherly smile and kissed her forehead softly.

I thanked the gods that I had turned off inter-member messaging, because seconds later Ruby got a quest complete notification. I saw her CHA shoot up from 60 to 82 as she hastily moved to hide it. It seemed to have given her 1 point for every 10 INT and WIS I had. 221, 22 points, it made sense.

Next was my concerns, _Jaune W: Rubes... why did you have that quest, and why do you have a quest to grow up more? :W_

 _Ruby W: I... I... I'm tired of feeling so small and childish! I'm fifteen years old but Yang and dad act like I'm five! I wanna prove I'm just as mature and capable as every other aspiring Huntress-in-training! :W_

 _Jaune W: I see... and increasing your bra size will help? :W_

The petite girl blushed furiously at that, _Ruby W: Grown women have boobies so if I need to appear grown then I need to have boobies too! :W_

I hummed at the logic. It held some weight. Though she wasn't the wisest before, she DID have a lot of INT, _Jaune W: Fair enough. I want to help all of my friends, so if you need help with the physical stats, I can help you. For the mental stats... I think summoning an Elemental increases your WIS. You're already completed three of the ten objectives. You have plenty of time. Relax~. You'll be fine. :W_ I ruffled her hair affectionately as Yang poked me in the neck. I turned back to look at her, "What is it, Sun Angel?"

"You said we'd all go out to eat together, now come on~. I'm starving~." she half-whined, hugging me tighter as I stood up straight.

I chuckled, "Huh, Ruby your little sister is pretty childish." I heard Yang let out a sound of complaint, only for it to be cut off as I swung her around and kissed her soft, warm lips with a happy smile, "But damn is she beautiful. Can I keep her?"

Ruby giggled, relaxing greatly, "Nope! She's my sister and she's not allowed to be anyone else's!" she chimed with a cheerful grin.

"Damn, well I guess I'll just have to kidnap her then." holding my girlfriend like a doll, I turned tail and ran off with a laugh.

The reaper laughed as well and began to give chase, "Hey! Get back here with my sister!" she said in mock-anger, the three of us laughing so much that anyone who heard us would think we were children playing a game.

In a small way, I kinda did feel like a kid again, playing with my little sisters...

I stifled the surge of sadness and kept running, promising ten times over that I'd visit them all sometime soon.

I kept my promises, no matter what.

* * *

 _(A few hours later, Eagle Mountain, Jaune POV)_

I laid the blanket over the napping Yang with a smile. She'd been worn out by all of the fun we'd all had together. I'd gotten Blake a nice hat and some hair-dye to help cover her identity, and the five of us had gone out and enjoyed the fun that Vale City had to offer. I chuckled softly at Yang's current appearance. On a whim, I'd taken them across the channel on an Elemental-driven boat to North Gravelstone Pier. It was a fun fairgrounds and I had to say that I loved the feeling it had.

Right now, at age 17, Yang Xiao Long was currently taking a nap with two stuffed tiger toys. One was a tiger with a sea-captain's hat, the other had a trucker's hat. She'd named them Captain Clawsy and Furball Frank, even gave them little backstories. It was adorable to listen to, her inner child coming out to shine. Given how much of a childhood she'd been deprived of, it made sense in a sad way. I was determined to let her live out all of those little dreams she had. I'd even gotten a quest for it, **Burning the Little Candle.**

Right now, however, I had a different quest to attend to.

Between each step, my head raised a few more inches off the ground. Ebony feathers sprouted from my slowly darkening skin. I removed my clothes to avoid them stretching out or getting damaged by the bony spikes that began breaking through my skin, claws jutting from my fingers and a mask growing out of my face. I gave my wings an experimental flap, finding them to be satisfactory. I smiled internally as my underling landed in front of me, "Hello friend man." I said with a friendly tone.

He seemed a bit less jovial, "Master, hello." he knelt before me respectfully, "I have created a name."

I put a hand on his shoulder, "Do not kneel, brother. Before new master, you not need to kneel." speaking like they do actively hurt the speech parts of my brain, "We are friends. Friends like we to others, but more." I smiled a bit, "Now then, get up and tell me name."

He stood up, his full height about 7'2 to my 10'5, but I wouldn't let it inhibit anything, "Right. Master, my name will be... Sky Razor."

"Sky Razor? How did you think of that?"

"I have been teaching myself to read human symbols. It hard but I managed." he showed me a can and pointed to the name on the weathered label, "Razor."

I read the text, which clearly said 'EnJOE', some kind of ready-to-eat canned meat, "You cannot read right. I will help you read, friend. For now, name needs work. Humans have names similar, but different. I can help you now, friend. Sit." I sat meditation style, encouraging him to sit as well.

Together we sat, and he looked at me with pleading, "What difference, master?"

"They make things more... pretty. Beauty is human sin." I picked a flower and showed it to him, "Flower their names to blossom out. Grace over speed. They also make their names refer to colors. That is what makes a human name."

"Colors? Then... as with fire brothers, color not black to imitate light. I am child of mountain and sky, and I will make fire rise to destroy with my fake light, like fire brothers do. I will be..." he stopped, "I..." he paused, then leaned to the side and stared behind me, "Who that? Intruder?"

I shook my head, "No. She is friend of master. She has a lot of light, makes master feel light too." I smiled internally, "She is good. She not attack, you not attack, understood?"

He seemed to contemplate that, "She... she look like sun."

"She is like sun. She has power of fire too." I said with a smile through my beak.

"She make master happy, then. I will make master happy with success. I choose to be Sky Fire, she of fake light warrior like master is." he... she? I guess technically I'd just assumed she was a man since they all had masculine figures.

Well, he could be a woman if he wanted, then. I guess that if it was like some of the soulful or holy things in games I've played, then her changes would have to be voluntary, "Alright. If you'll be a woman, then maybe you should have a little prettier of a name. How about... Skyler? Skyler Fire, woman who shall have this light one day. For personal use, though, I will call you Razor, since you want to raze things."

He-, She... I had to get used to thinking of her as a woman. I shook my head lightly and looked at her with a friendly gaze, "I accept this all, master. "

"Don't call me master, I have a name too. Call me Jaune Arc, Skyler Fire."

She blinked, then nodded, "Okay then, Jaune Arc. Call me Skyler Fire. We family, brother and sister of fake light."

I chuckled, "If we're family, as humans, then we should have the same last name... how about we call you Skyler Arcfire? Is that what you wish to choose?"

She gave a bird-like purr of thought, then seemed to smile, "I wish. I choose to be Skyler Arcfire."

Just then, some of the text in her profile shifted, glitching out a bit, then it righted itself.

 **Name: Skyler Arcfire  
** **Title: Inspired Lancer of the Mountain  
** **Level: 48  
** **Class: Lancer  
** **Nickname: Razor**

 **INT: 26 - 28  
WIS: 30 - 32  
LUK: 15 - 18  
CHA: ? - 12**

That confirmed it. It had to be willing changes that she made, not just me telling her what to change. That made sense, since her... 'soul' wouldn't change if she didn't actually accept the changes properly.

Well... that made things interesting... and I had an idea.

It was worth a shot, so I typed in the words and hit the buttons.

Her eyes shot wide open as she saw the window pop up in front of her.

 **PARTY INVITE!**

 **You have been invited to Jaune Arc's Party "Light of the Mountain"**

 **You will be brought into The Game with this action.**

 **[Accept] [Decline]**

She stared at the window, "What does it say?"

Well, seemed like lessons would start now, "Alright, let me help you with this, like a friend does. Don't worry, Skyler, I'll teach you everything you need to know."

So I began to teach her.

* * *

 _(A couple of hours later, Jaune POV)_

I heard Yang starting to shift around, and cleared my throat, "That will be everything for now, Skyler. For now, return to our people, and do not tell any friends or brothers about this, understood?"

She nodded, "Yes master. I promise."

As she flew away, I looked at the results of hours of lessons on reading, grammar, and even a couple of lessons on how to properly hold a pencil. Tomorrow, I'd teach her a lot more, but for right now, I had a more important girl to attend to.

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Skyler Arcfire  
** **Title: Inspired Lancer of the Mountain - Enlightened Lancer of the Mountain  
** **Level: 48  
** **Class: Lancer  
** **Nickname: Razor**

 **Hit Points: 10000/10000  
** **Stamina Points: 15000/15000**

 **Strength: 74  
** **Dexterity: 72  
** **Vitality: 55  
** **Intelligence: 28 - 46  
** **Wisdom: 32 - 48  
** **Luck: 18  
** **Charisma: 12**

 **Age: 26  
** **Birthday: ? - April 15th  
** **Race: Vulcyrie Spireus  
** **Height: 7'2  
** **Weight: 200  
** **Build: Lean Muscular  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Black / Burning Red / Crimson**

 **Corruption: 100.00% - 87.36%**

 **-/\\-**

It was a significant change. Right now I had to slowly whittle down her Grimm ideals and replace them with human ideals.

I conjured up the AP to cast a Soulforge Restoration that was a thousand times stronger than normal. I felt my body split in half and I saw the skin of my Mantleus form peel off of my wet, naked human body. The liquid was washed away with some water from Pluviteus, followed by a quick fire-air drying. I sighed and put on a fresh set of clothes, then walked over to the adorably napping Yang, who had started to settle down again.

I bent down and kissed her forehead, then gently shook her shoulder, "Hey, come on goldilocks, don't go all sleeping beauty on me." I chuckled and saw her smile as she stirred. Bleary lilac eyes opened and looked into mine, "You wanna know something amazing? You're so beautiful that you made a Grimm want to be a woman." I saw her rub her eyes, a curious hum escaping her lips.

"How did that even happen... wait... did you see that Vulcyrie thing?" she asked as she yawned softly, the blanket falling off of her chest and her new little tigers falling to the ground.

I caught them and set them down in her lap, "Yeah. She decided, with a little help from me, that she wanted to be named Skyler Razefire." I chuckled, "Yeah I know, it sounds like exactly the kind of name a Grimm would come up with if they were told what human naming conventions were." I helped her stand up, putting the bundle of blanket and plushies in the inventory with a thought, "She's also learning how to read english. At first she though the word 'Enjoe' was 'Razor'."

Yang giggled at that, stretching out with a yawn. She reached her arms over her head as she bent her back, which made her 'assets' perk up more. I couldn't help but look for a few seconds. Gamer's Mind be damned, I was a teenage boy with a beautiful girlfriend who had 100% approved any ogling of her I could do. There were a few reasons for it. Not only did it make her feel more beautiful to be admired, and boost her surprisingly fragile confidence, I had a suspicion it was also a ploy to maintain my loyalty. After all, if I was looking at her, I wouldn't be looking at other girls.

She smirked at me, then lifted her breasts with her hands, making them jiggle several times. I blushed a bit more and looked at her face, "Stop that."

"Stop what?" she asked innocently, giggling like a schoolgirl as she manually jiggled her bouncy breasts a few more times.

"Stop THIS." I said, moving my hands to force hers to stop. Unfortunately, she had happened to move her hands away at that same moment. We both stared at each other as my hands came to rest on her chest.

Yang let out a soft, breathless sigh of a moan as my fingers slightly sank into the almost cloudy-soft flesh, "Uuuuuuhhhhhhh..." she drawled mindlessly as we stared at each other, a bright shade of pink invading her sun-kissed face.

I hummed, taking a moment to lightly squeeze them before moving my hands away, "Stop jiggling yourself. I swear you do it enough without thinking." I grabbed her shoulders and lightly shook her toned frame, resulting in her massive breasts bouncing and jiggling around for about five full seconds, "So don't do it more, because seriously they bounce so much that I'd almost think you weren't... wait a second..." I slowly trailed off as the realization dawned on me.

She blushed harder, a vivid red coloring her cheeks as her expression twisted into one of great embarrassment, "D-don't say it... yes... have once, never will again, too uncomfortable..."

Yang Xiao Long, my beautiful and illustrious girlfriend... did not wear bras. I didn't know exactly how to feel about that, so I just... didn't. I forced the thoughts out of my head to save us both the embarrassment.

 **Training yourself to resist the calls of Lust has sharpened your mind and increased your INT by 2!**

"R-right. Well, I can't say that I don't approve, but I also can't say that I approve either. I don't feel strongly one way or the other. It's your choice, Yang, and I will support your decision no matter what it is." I smiled reassuringly at her as I pulled Bumblebee out of the Inventory and set it down, "Come on, let's get you heading home."

Lilac eyes met my azures. She seemed flustered in a strange way, but nodded her head and got onto Bumblebee behind me. When her arms were fully wrapped around me, I revved the engine and took off.

The cool evening air blew past our heads as I drove at a relaxed pace down the dirt road. I had found that my skill allowed me to replace normal fuel with Aura aligned with the fire and water elements. It had been very difficult before, but now with Xibuviteus being a thing, I could do it easily. I could add a total of nearly thirty two miles to the gallon to this thing. That was a lot for a CAR, much less a MOTORCYCLE. Of course I couldn't completely replace fuel with Aura, but it was a major increase nonetheless.

...

The sun was setting off to the side, which I pointed out to Yang so she wouldn't miss it. I slowed our speed a lot, not only to give myself more time to further reinforce the dirt road into stronger, more hard-packed dirt, but also to let her see the sunset for longer before we passed into the city limits.

I saw bright lights ahead on the wall, which concerned me. Yang didn't seem to notice them, her head too snuggled into my broad back to see forwards. Honestly, the less she stressed about this, the better. Still, though, it was best to warn her, "Something isn't right with the walls." I said just over the gentle howl of the wind, "Don't worry, I'll figure this out."

She nodded against my back, _Yang W: Alright. Is there any trouble? :W_

I squinted and focused Magic Eyes towards the gate. Several guards were present, wearing the deep brown and red of the Vale Military. Typical, really, since they were in charge of guarding the walls.

I slowed to a rolling stop just twenty feet in front of the wall, standing up slightly, "Hello there, sirs." I greeted in a casual, but respectful tone. The two men on the ground shone their flashlights on me, which made me have to squint before my eyes quickly adjusted to the Mag-light brightness, "Is there any problem?"

The one on the left spoke up in a gruff tone, "Show us your ID and keep calm, sir. You're not in trouble but we need to ask you some questions." I complied and showed my kingdom-issued ID. Any citizens above the age of thirteen had to get one, and they were cheap to make, so there wasn't any excuse except for you not wanting to be known, "The past four weekly security reviews have shown a few thousands percent increase in the usage of this kingdom gateway." the soldier paused as a third man entered the scene from one of the personnel doors off to the side. He held up a scroll where I could see while the two soldiers lowered their flashlights to let me see it. It was playing a video of compiled clips of me, Yang, Marbel, Blake, and Ruby entering and exiting through this gate, "Ninety-nine percent of travel has been done by a group of four or five individuals. We have identified three of them. You sir, Jaune Arc, as well as Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose. All children of well-known hunters. Again, you're not in trouble, we just want to ask a few questions. Who are these people?" the video playing man paused and showed two still images of Blake in biker gear and Marbel in very similar biker gear, "We have reason to believe these are two different people."

The soldier on the right finished looking over my ID and handed it back, "This ID expired on the third of the month. We'll let you off with a warning this time, but this will go on record. We suggest going to get a new one as soon as you can, and before any traveling."

I nodded politely and stuffed it back into my wallet as I spoke up, "Those two are my friends, Marbel and Blake. They're good people, I can vouch for them. We've recently decided to start going out and taking in the sweet aura of nature." I smiled naturally, "It's great, and everyone's wanting to do it nowadays. So uh... yeah." I shrugged and gave them an 'I dunno' look, "Is that all you wanted?"

The two armed guards looked at each other, then looked at me, "I suppose it is. Tch, damn kids and their fads, raising kingdom security concerns." I didn't know if it was Charisma or Luck that got me out of this without an interrogation, "If there's any trouble you cause, you can be damn sure we're greeting you with handcuffs and armed transport straight to the station next time."

"Kinky." I chuckled like a joking idiot, Acting letting me not throw up in my mouth for making that joke.

The soldiers turned away and scoffed, leaving us alone, "Damn kids nowadays and their indecency." the doors slammed closed and the gate slid up. I turned the keys and revved Bumblebee's engine, then started up again.

As we drove onto the paved roads, I felt Yang's eyes on me, "What?"

"You don't... ACTUALLY think that's kinky, do you?" she sounded grossed out, to which I chuckled.

"Oh GOD no. I just said that to make them leave us alone faster. Plus it was just a joke anyways. If anything I'd have to put handcuffs on YOU to take you to jail because you're violating the law." I smirked, though she couldn't see it.

Yang leaned up to my ear, "What law is that, exactly?" she asked, curiosity in her tone.

I made sure there was nothing to pay attention to ahead, then spoke up, "The law of adorableness. You're too adorable and so yer goin' to jail~." I turned my head and kissed her on one blushing cheek, smiling as she retreated behind my back, flustered and smiling.

"You're a dingus, you know that?" she said jokingly, giggling with girlish glee.

I smiled brightly, "But I'm YOUR dingus, Sun Angel." I chuckled happily.

Whether dingus or knight in shining armor, I'd be hers for as long as I could.

* * *

 _(A few more hours later, after some purchases. Downtown Vale, Jaune POV)_

Yang may have had school tomorrow, but I didn't. I also had a desire to try my luck with something.

I wanted to increase my Poison Resistance, but I wasn't too keen on getting something to hit me with poison, so I chose the next best thing.

Alcohol, and lots of it. It was poisonous to some degree, indeed. By how much? I didn't know, which was why I'd come to a dance club. Some fancy-ish joint named The Glass Cottage.

One quick study with Gamer's Sight told me what I needed to say to get past security. A few words about needing a place to get a drink and blow off some steam, combined with Charisma, and I was inside and walking straight to the bar.

I plopped myself down and looked at the bartender, Acting like a guy who had come onto hard times, "Just gimme something hard." I slapped some Lien on the counter and stared at him with what I hoped was a mindless, or at least blank and beaten look in my eyes.

 **Hei Xiong  
Title: The Little Black Bear  
Level: 16**

He was big, tall, and strong, but it was obvious his stats were built for a leader that helped keep his base safe, but mostly stayed away from the action. He gave me a semi-gentle look and began mixing something with whiskey, then slid it to me, "Tough times at home?"

I nodded, "Yeah, feel like I'm not even there." I chuckled lowly and took a long swig of the drink. With a PING and a flash, I saw a new bar appear.

 **SYSTEM UPDATE: Consuming alcohol has added "Drunkenness" mechanics. Most of these will be inhibited by Gamer's Mind, but beware the effects regardless! By default, your party members will be able to see the Drunkenness bar for their own inebriation level as well.**

 **Enduring the effects of alcohol has created the skill "Alcohol Tolerance"!**

Huh... I guess well-made alcohol counted as alcohol, while crappy alcohol like the kind served at that Redwater Bay place counted as poison. Well, it could still be a useful skill to level up. If I wasn't mistaken, then Gamer's Mind and Gamer's Body should negate any forms of addiction. I checked for any form of instructions.

The order of the levels went Tipsy, Buzzed, Drunk, Smashed, and Shitfaced. Each one was measured on a linear multiplying scale, so if someone had a scale of ten, then to be Tipsy they'd have to drink ten 'booze points' of drinks, then another twenty to get 'buzzed', another thirty to get 'drunk', another forty to get 'smashed', and finally another fifty to get 'shitfaced'. I held back a small chuckle as I checked everyone's scales.

With Alcohol Tolerance at level 1, I had a 'status scale' of 30 points. It also added 15 from my VIT, which made sense. So to get Tipsy, I'd have to drink forty-five BP of alcohol. Of course, it was far ahead of the others. Blake had 20+8 from VIT, Ruby had 15+8 from VIT, Marbel had 10+10 from VIT, and Yang hilarious had a measly 5+2, due to a trait previously unseen called **Vacuan Brew** , basically stating that her Vacuan heritage inhibited her alcohol tolerance by a lot, and instead of every five points of VIT giving a one-point boost, it was every twenty-five. My heavy-weight strength girlfriend was a major lightweight with the bottle.

I looked at Junior, then took another long swig, "This is good stuff, really smooth." I smiled at him while adjusting the settings with my mind, making the bar automatically fade away when you were completely clean of alcohol.

He smirked, "When you come to The Glass Cottage, you can always expect a quality time." he said with a flourish of his hand.

I chuckled and, due to boredom, briefly considered how easy it would be to grab his head in my hands and crush it. Brushing away the empty thoughts of mindless murder, I turned away, down the rest of my glass, and moved down to the dance floor to cut a rug.

I looked around and smiled as I saw a subtle sign for the VIP area. Heading up, I looked around the room again and caught sight of someone in a booth near the door.

It was hard to tell at first, her red-white gradient hair and brilliant green eyes giving the illusion of someone of Mistralian blood, even though her facial features that didn't lend themselves to that lie. A spray-on tan colored her skin. She wore a dark purple shirt with 'PUNK' written on it in pink letters, under a gray casual blazer. A brown newsboy hat sat on her head, covering up what was probably messed-up roots. black fishnet stockings and heeled boots covered her legs.

Despite all of this, I was The Gamer, and my Sight peeled away the lies.

 **Weiss Schnee**  
 **Title: The Frostbitten Princess of the Broken Kingdom**  
 **Level: 31  
Class: Regal Fencer  
Nickname: Ice Queen**

 **HP: 1500/2000  
AP: 5624/13,000  
SP: 1700/3500**

 **Strength: 16 (+27%) = 20.32  
** **Dexterity: 66 (+62%) = 106.92  
** **Vitality: 22 (+32%) = 29.04  
** **Intelligence: 72 (+100%) = 144  
** **Wisdom: 34 (+92%) = 65.28  
** **Luck: 12  
** **Charisma: 46**

 **Age: 17  
Birthday: January 15th  
Race: Human  
Height: 4'11  
Weight: 90  
Build: Graceful Slender  
Hair/Eyes/Skin: Snow White (dyed Red-White Gradient) / Crystal Blue (covered with green contacts) / Pale White (covered with a spray-on Medium Tan)  
Bra Size: A**

I was impressed at her ridiculous Drunk Status Scale score, a whopping 40 base, plus 11 from her genetic boost from VIT. She had two empty bottles of peach schnapps next to her, a few bottles of wine and scotch strewn across the table, and a bottle of vodka clasped in one hand. The fact that she was alone, and had already drank a fifth of the vodka, made me think she was nearing death's door with a major case of alcohol poisoning. Despite that, she still seemed to be in at least a small amount control over herself.

I was only briefly confused about why a famous singer would be in disguise drinking at some mid-high range bar. Thinking about it for barely a minute, the answer was pretty obvious. She liked to hit the bottle and the disguise was so that she wouldn't be recognized. I was sure that probably even just a fifth of vodka was much more than anyone tending to her would allow, given that she was supposed to be very high-class, and yet that was only the latest of her boozy conquests. I checked the time and found that she'd just gotten off from her show about... an hour ago.

Wow, she worked fast to get her fix. Still, her backstory painted a different picture than the apparent punk-loving girl in front of me.

Born and raised in White Castle, far to the north of Atlas, and so far north that it only received about an hour of sunlight a day. She had her older sister and a twin brother who had died at age 7 after falling deadly ill. She had been in grief over it, but it didn't affect her anymore, or at least not consciously. Because of that loss, she was more protective of those close to her, and rarely expected anything but the best from them. She hated wasted potential, and planned to become a Huntress to bring some honor back to her family name. I smiled at that. It was a noble goal, really, one I could empathize with in a way, except I was trying to maintain the honor, rather than restore it, with my Hunting efforts. In a strange way, we were very similar and could get along through our empathizing with each other's goals.

I slowly walked over to her, giving a friendly smile as I approached. When I was only a few feet away, she giggled at me, "Hello~." she greeted in a slightly flirty, quite drunk tone.

I chuckled and sat down across from her, taking the vodka and pouring myself a glass, "Hello miss. Are you alright? You looked lonely, in need of some company." I internally cringed as I realized I probably sounded like some sleazy pervert, and quickly added, "To make sure you're alright. I don't think I've ever seen a girl so small handle even just a fifth of vodka. Are you alright?" I asked in a concerned tone.

She giggled at me, and I remembered that not only was she acting the part of a punk girl, but also probably had a large portion of her mental faculties soaked in alcohol, "I'm fine, dude." she hiccuped, then began giggling like a schoolgirl, as if the sound of the hiccup was hilarious, "So what's a handsome man like you doing wanting to sit with little old me?" she asked with a coy smirk.

"Honestly, to make sure you weren't being held up by rigormortis. I can see you enjoy drinking quite a lot." I looked around at all the bottles and found a few shot glasses sitting near the back of the table.

Weiss continued to giggle, "I love booze, plain as that, big boy." she grinned and just laughed into her hand.

"Heh, well I can agree with THAT. It IS pretty good." I smiled, enjoying the sound of her laughter. Her voice might have been faked, but her laugh was gorgeous, if empty. I took a drink of my glass of vodka, grunting a bit as the burn of alcohol slid down my throat before Gamer's Body fixed it. Slamming back the rest of the glass with only a slight watering of my eyes, I grinned at her, "So besides the siren calls of booze, what brings you here, miss?"

Her face fell into one of teenaged torturedness, "Oh my GOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDDDD~ work is hell." she slumped down onto the table, her hat shifting a bit, "I hate it. I hate who I have to be to do it. I wish I could be myself, but who *I* am isn't good enough for them." she groaned into the tabletop and her hand moved around a bit, feeling out for a non-empty bottle.

I frowned. I knew she was talking about her singing career, which was just sad. I figured that her prayer pose in the poster wasn't so much her being angelic as it was her pleading, "Well... work can be tough, trust me, I know. But, there's a saying that goes 'If your job is doing what you love, then you never work a day in your life', and I believe that's true. I love making things, whether it be making people smile and laugh, or making food. Even if it's not my dream job, just working as a waiter and a cook makes me feel pretty accomplished, even if there isn't really any glory or anything in it."

She looked at me, leaned in very close and personal. I could smell the thick scent of alcohol on her breath. She opened her mouth, took in a deep breath, and... licked my nose. She pulled back and giggled, "You're silly, man. Come this summer, I'm outta this job and I'm not going back. I'm planning on becoming a bitchin' awesome Huntress." she grinned at me.

I grinned back, "Well, I'm planning on becoming a bitchin' awesome Huntsman. Maybe we'll end up meeting each other at one of the schools. Which one are you going to?"

She sighed lightly, almost dreamily, "Beacon~. Best school in the world to get that training to become a Huntress. Sadly, I gotta do pre-training, which means this summer I'm going to be working my cute little ass off getting the rest of the way up to snuff."

"Why wait until the summer?" I knew why, but if I just understood with no explanation, she'd think something was up, "Why not start now?"

She sighed, "Because work is hell and I'm on a contract. The contract ends just before this summer. It's bullshit that I have to do so much, but musicians don't get time off, or they become irrelevant or something." she said sadly, resting her cheek on the cool tabletop.

"Oh? So you make music? You look like you'd be a great singer." I smiled at her, "Or maybe a dancer~?" I chuckled, fighting the urge to gag and slap myself. Was I going too far? I didn't want to be cheating on Yang, even if this was only words... wait... _Jaune W: Hey Yang, are you awake? :W_

I waited for several seconds, eventually getting a _Yang W: Yeah? What's up. :W_

 _Jaune W: I found another potential ally. The one and only Weiss Schnee. She's got a ton of Aura and a powerful semblance. Physical stats aren't really up to snuff, and she's short and basically so light I'd be able to lift her with less than 5% power and throw her into a wall so hard she'd die... but she's definitely got the starting stats of a powerful Mage-type fighter. :W_

 _Yang W: ... :W_

 _Jaune W: Yang? You there? :W_

 _Yang W: ... is she prettier than me? :W_

I paused as I internally stared at that message, _Jaune W: What is up with you and thinking that other girls are prettier than you? A girl who's prettier than Yang Xiao Long? That's just a myth! Seriously, baby girl, I'm not trying to recruit Weiss because she's pretty, I'm trying to recruit her because she's got the makings of a good Mage-type fighter. :W_

 _Yang W: I... I'm sorry, I just... it feels like you keep only recruiting girls and I feel like... like you're trying to replace me. :W_

I almost got the urge to slap some sense into her, but I knew that wouldn't go over well. Still, the sheer urge told of my utter frustration, _Jaune W: Nobody is trying to replace you, Yang! We all love you and I especially love you, even moreso than the others do, because I'm your boyfriend and you're my girlfriend. We both took a risk to jump off the edge and try to fly, and I'm giving it my all to keep the wind beneath our wings. My recruiting girls has nothing to do with my love of you diminishing, baby girl, absolutely nothing. :W_

 _Yang W: I... I'm sorry. :W_

 _Jaune W: You should be more confident in yourself. Confidence is beautiful, and you're already beautiful, so you should have tons of confidence. :W_

 _Yang W: Teeheehee, alright, alright. I get what you mean~... *sigh~* I'm sorry, Jaune, I just... sometimes I feel like-:W_

 _Jaune W: well stop feeling like that. I'm sure that whatever it is, if it's causing you this grief, it's not true. I'll be here for you, babe, for all our days. :W_

I swore I heard a sniffle from her end, but it was hard to detect _Yang W: Alright... I'm gonna head on to bed with a smile on my face. :W_

 _Jaune W: I wouldn't want it any other way. :W_

I blinked as I saw a hand waving in front of my face, "Uh... what?"

"I said I'm a singer. You zoned out, dude." she giggled at me.

I blinked again, "Er, right. Well, I can help you become stronger, miss. I have a particular set of skills in that department." I smiled at her, trying to eke out some more CHA for my words.

Apparently, it had worked, or I just was charming enough to convince her otherwise, because her eyes lit up, "That sounds incredible. Are you a tutor?"

"You... could call it that. I do more than a tutor, miss. I give you a means for massive improvement." I smirked at her, "Think of becoming about 25% stronger than you are right now... in an instant. Or about 25% tougher. Instant gratification, but with permanent effects." I chuckled as her eyes widened, a sparkle in them.

"Ah... assuming you're correct in your claims... why would you help me?" she asked skeptically.

I decided to trust Charisma and Luck, and I went out on a limb, "Because I understand your plight, Weiss. I come from a long line of strong Huntsmen, and I have a massive, heavy pair of shoes to fill. They're even bigger than my size 13s." I chuckled a bit, "It's a heavy motivation to carry, the obligation of family honor. I know the crushing weight you must be feeling. I always want to help you because I believe in happy endings. I'll always do what I can to make sure all our endings are happy. I know it might seem weird, but I can see your story, and it's really sad, so I wanna give that story a happy ending." I took a shuddering breath, "Because that's what heroes do. I'm going to be a hero and that means I have to help other heroes rise up. That means I have to fight monsters until they're not a threat anymore. That means I have to be selfless to make all our stories end happily. That means that I'll eventually have the make the ultimate sacrifice, too, and that... I'm scared, but I won't let fear control me. No true hero can let their fear control them."

 **QUESTS RECEIVED!**

 **Quest: Nobody is on in 5 minutes.**

 **Description: Weiss wishes to be a huntress, but cannot continue her training until her music contract has expired, which cuts her remaining training time very short. Use your powers to help her develop her skills and power before it's time to go to Beacon.**

 **Objective: Convince Weiss to join what the others have dubbed "The Golden Crusade" and finish her training at the seedling kingdom of Celeste.  
** **-Convince Weiss to join The Game.  
** **-Build up Celeste from a seedling kingdom to at least a fledgling kingdom.  
** **-Help raise Weiss' stats to 20STR, 67DEX, 25VIT, 74INT, 40WIS, 20LUK, 50CHA before May 1st  
** **-Help raise Weiss' stats to 25** **STR, 70DEX, 35VIT, 77INT, 44WIS, 25LUK, 60CHA before June 1st  
** **-Help raise Weiss' stats to 30STR, 72DEX, 40VIT, 80INT, 48WIS, 30LUK, 65CHA before July 1st  
** **-Help raise Weiss' stats to 35STR, 75DEX, 45VIT, 82INT, 50WIS, 35LUK, 70CHA before August 1st.  
-Help Weiss apply and get accepted into Beacon.  
** **-Help raise Weiss' stats to 38STR, 76DEX, 48VIT, 83INT, 52WIS, 40LUK, 72CHA before August 10th.**

 **Reward for completion: 5000 EXP for every level Weiss gains, 10,000,000 lien, +50 Closeness with Weiss Schnee, possibly form connections with Atlas and the SDC, +5 CHA, +30% mastery of Leadership skill.**

 **Penalty for failure: up to 100 EXP, up to 50,000 lien, up to -25 Closeness to Weiss Schnee, possible ire gained from Atlas and the SDC, possible lawsuits, possible hits being called on you. Possible death of Weiss Schnee.**

 **Time Limit: 3 months and 2 weeks**

I accepted it, smiling. I could get her INT and WIS up by a lot of points with just the Tutorial. Physical training would be easy, and her LUK, though I didn't like too much that it was on the list, could be upped to the needed level with just five levels and some possible gains based on... well, on being lucky I supposed.

I looked at the other window and my eyes nearly bugged out of my head.

 **Quest: A new era.**

 **Description: You have sworn yourself full to a life of heroism. As a hero and the ultimate contender to take on the ultimate task, you must face the infinite darkness and cut it down to nothingness, bringing about a new age.**

 **Objective: Destroy every single Grimm in the world.  
-Destroy all Grimm (1644/1976+?)**

 **Reward for completion: +999,999,999,999,999 EXP. Earn the title "Messiah of the Light". Begin a new era of time. Win The Game.**

 **Penalty for failure: Death. Doom all of mankind to continue this fight without The Gamer on their side. ?**

 **Time Limit: Until your death.**

This... this was it. This was pretty much my entire life's work compressed into a single task. My god, all those sweet, curvaceous nines... that title. Beginning a new era? And... I could win this.

All I had to do was... literally kill every Grimm in the world. That was a lot easier said than done. It was estimated that there are dozens of trillions of Grimm in the world, at least. If that was even remotely true, then I'd need a lot of time and a lot more firepower than what I currently had.

I accepted it with a bated breath. It disappeared just like any other quest window, which I wasn't sure was reassuring or disconcerting. How nonchalant was my power? I didn't know, but things would be different now. I hadn't even killed two thousand Grimm yet and I'd nearly died twice now. How many levels were they all worth? What items, what skills, what all could I get from them? I didn't know.

I guess the only way to find out was to actually go out and kill them.

Right now, though... if I continued how I was, then eventually my DEX and LUK would outclass my INT and WIS in total value, and I'd lose Wizard again. I didn't want that, especially since I'd need DEX to move faster. I was tempted to do a point dump and split them evenly between the two stats, but that wasn't the smartest or wisest idea. I was the type of gamer to horde all my potions and such items until the big boss battles. It wasn't the best way to play, but a lack of caution had caused a lot of my problems thus far, so I was going to keep this up in case anything new arose.

"So... what do you say?" I asked finally, not sure how much time had passed as I shifted slightly, resting my hands on the table.

Weiss stared at me for a long time, looking deep into my eyes, "Your eyes..." she eventually muttered.

That... wasn't the reaction I was expecting, "My eyes?"

"They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, which is why Hunters have such powerful ones. Your eyes are so... brilliantly colored, and so deep too... almost enchanting with their gaze... such a pure shade too, it's lovely. They speak of power, of promise, of hope, of truth, of-" she suddenly went wide-eyed and shot to her feet, running off.

I followed, concerned, "Hey, what's the matter?" I called out to her.

She stopped in front of one of the many trashcans around the place and proceeded to let loose a stream of vomit into it. I cringed a bit and grabbed her hair, gently holding it back. She muttered a faint thanks before retching and letting out a second wave. I gently rubbed her back as I did for my sisters when they'd ever had stomach viruses, giving her a supercharged Soulforge with a Water Dust crystal in hand to help her feel better. She sighed and groaned as the last of it left her. The smell was abominable, and the liquid was mostly that, liquid. She had hardly eaten anything before coming here, it seemed. She had gained the status effects Fatigue, Famished, and Disgusted, "Ooooohhh~." she moaned in pain, "I accept your help. Please start by fixing this..."

I nodded and began surging more Soulforges into, taking a few moments to give her the six elemental buffs in case something was wrong with her soul too. Nothing else happened for her, to which I sighed in relief. I put the bottle of vodka into my inventory to save it, since it was a quality brand, and helped Weiss outside, using Soulforge on her with extreme rapidness, boosting Mana Barrage by spending more AP on it. It was fine with me, I'd have to cast the spell nearly a dozen times a second to counter my APR.

With concern for my Wizard class in the face of my eventual raising DEX, I mentally commanded the points to boost my mental stats a bit more, just enough to balance them.

 **Intelligence: 120 (+5) (+175%) = 343.75  
** **Wisdom: 120 (+5) (+175%) = 343.75**

 **Stat Points: 128**

With a total of what should be 250, I could raise my DEX to 140 before it conflicted with my goals. However, at that point, I'd no doubt have INT and WIS near the 200 mark at least.

With all of mental stuff done with, I saw that Weiss' condition had improved drastically. I smiled as I steadied her, "You feel like you can walk on your own?"

She looked at me, then coughed lightly, taking a few steps, "I could walk before, thank you." she seemed to have more sense about her now, "Now then, just name your price for this training and we can get things settled." she said insistently, "I don't want to end up in Beacon ill-prepared. Assuming you're even telling the truth."

Okay, a LOT more sober... or she went from angry drunk to honest drunk in the process, and now I'd taken her back a step, "Just close your eyes and when I tell you to, say 'I accept'." I smirked.

She sighed, then closed her eyes, "Alright."

I smiled and created a new party to sort her into. I sent the invite and smiled, "Okay, say it."

* * *

 _(Weiss' POV)_

I sighed, "I accept."

Suddenly, I felt like a Dust bomb went off inside my chest. It was like baleful flames burned my lungs and heart into crispy husks, then my flesh was torn apart and molten steel was poured into my ruined chest cavity. I nearly threw up again, or did I? It was hard to tell with the sense-blazing fire burning inside me.

All too soon, it ceased, but luckily so did my puking. I normally felt vile after throwing up, but this time that feeling was only a tiny candle of disgust that was blotted out by the bright sunlight of the warm, comforting feeling inside me. I took in a shuddering breath and took the glass of water that had been offered to me, swishing it around my mouth and spitting. I felt like a common harlot, throwing up in an alleyway. It wasn't until I had finished washing my mouth out that I realized something wasn't right. I looked at the glass of water in my hand and blinked, "Where did you get a glass of water?"

"From my inventory."

"Inventory? You're not a store." I looked towards him, the young man who I realized I didn't even know the name of, and blinked.

 **Welcome to The Game!**

 **You have joined The Game in Jaune Arc's party "Warming Up"!**

 **Would you like to view the tutorial?**

A game? Oh god, THIS was his mysterious power, wasn't it? He gave people the power of those silly video games. I was tempted to leave, to turn and walk away right there, but... something in me told me to stay. I don't know what it was, but it was probably a thick brew of curiosity and pragmatism. I felt my stomach squirm uncomfortably at the thought of brews, which reminded me of alcohol. Ugh, the substance was SO good, but why did it have to backstab me?

I looked at... I assumed his name was Jaune. Why did the name Arc sound familiar? The thoughts were hazy as I looked down, steadying myself, "This is your promised power?"

He chuckled, "Trust me, I used to be lame and now I'm probably good enough to be handed a Hunting License, and that's after only a month. I think you'll do well here. You just have to follow the rules, alright?"

"I'm good with rules. Don't worry, if this... if this game... if this _power_ , is as useful as you say, then I can figure things out and do excellently."

He started laughing at me, LAUGHING! "What's so funny?"

"Oh, it's not... it's just that reminded me of something hilarious I once heard, it's-" he paused under my glare, as he should have! What right does he have to do such a thing?

I continued glaring at him for a while, then realized that he had zoned out again.

* * *

 _It was over a decade ago, maybe exactly that long. I was still living with both parents. Things were alright back then, I think it was... things were... it's hard to focus. I feel like this is scattered everywhere._

 _A party, a masquerade. I remember meeting a young girl about my age there. She had seemed extremely sad, so I tried to cheer her up. I even let her play with my gameboy since I was being polite. She told me, "If this thing... if this_ game _is as easy as you say, then I can figure things out and do excellently." she had said, and I watched as a few snow-white strands of hair slipped from her oversized hat as she focused on it._

 _She wasn't very good at it. Then again, not everyone was good at tetris._

 _I smiled, and though she was frustrated, I helped her out and she ended up happier than she had been._

 _I was happier too._

 _..._

 _I remember a quiet promise of secrecy. I remember a storm of fists against me._

 _I remember my heart burning with determination as I fought people larger and tougher than me, but what they were not..._

 _What they were not was courageous._

 _A spot of red as a tear prickled my eye. A cry of golden fury as I was blamed if only briefly. Defended by a girl of innocent silver eyes._

 _Lilac met a royal blue as we understood each other. Royal blue met silver and a smile was shared._

 _A spark of kindness igniting a warming, calming fire of friendship._

 _A small seed of kindness sprouting into a beautiful blossom of friendship._

 _It was lovely._

 _..._

 _Alone for a while, just a little while, while the rest were out shopping. I came downstairs hungry, only to see a flash of darkness in the kitchen. I ran in and saw a young girl with golden eyes staring at me. She had an apple in each hand and a frightened look on her face._

 _She tensed and I cried out, "Wait!" that one word changed the entire situation._

 _We talked and she explained a hunger she had. A hunger for food and for help. A hunger for something better than what she had._

 _I felt bad for her, and though I couldn't fix her situation, I could help her in smaller ways. She was surprised by my kindness as I gave her a bag of food. To her it was incredible, but to me it was just some fruits and vegetables. She smiled and I felt proud._

 _I felt like a small hero, helping out someone in need._

 _..._

 _Grief and despair, a sunless life I was leading. It wasn't fair. I was so young and had so much to live for, why was it being ripped away?_

 _A conversation, smiles shared, I remembered an angel entering my life, a literal angel._

 _Short brown locks, deep green eyes, an angel costume, was it Halloween? It was, I think._

 _We talked and as a hero, I felt the need for a hero myself._

 _And I got one. A heroine filled with innocent joy at meeting a new friend._

 _It was such joy that reminded me of the light in my life and the happiness I had felt. Times were dark but light was aplenty in life._

 _Things would get better, I knew it, and they did._

 _They might have always gone bad... but they always did get better..._

* * *

 **YOU HAVE REDISCOVERED A MEMORY CHUNK! (6/7)**

 **You have rediscovered "Hero's Pride and Humility"!**

 **Your mind has been tempered and reinforced against the siren calls of pride. Your INT has increased by 3!**

 **+25 Closeness to Weiss Schnee! (Total: +50)**

 **+25 Closeness to Ruby Rose! (Total: +93)  
**

 **+N/A Closeness to Yang Xiao Long. (ERROR: Closeness already maximum!)**

 **+25 Closeness to Blake Belladonna. (Total: +99)**

 **+25 Closeness to Marbel Mayston (ERROR! Closeness has reached maximum!) (Total: +100)**

 **Your relationship with Ruby has upgraded from "Really Good Friends" to "Unusually Close Friends (?)"!**

 **Your relationship with Weiss has upgraded from "Tentative Allies" to "Friends"**

 **Your relationship with Blake has upgraded from "Good Friends" to "Something worth more than Friends"  
**

 **Your relationship with Marbel has upgraded from "More than Best Friends" to "Rock-solid Friendship"**

I blinked, hearing a voice, "Hello~?" it was Weiss. Huh... I wasn't expecting that memory chunk, to be honest.

"Sorry about that, I just remembered something. How long was I out?"

"You just remembered somethi-How long were you ou-" she scoffed in disdain, "You zoned out so extremely that you can't even keep track of the time! You've been staring at me for about ten seconds now. It's really rather rude you know. What's also rude is " she practically lectured at me.

I sighed and booped her nose, "Calm down, I've had this quest for a while, with my memories, and so I've been rediscovering lost chunks of them. It's nothing too big, I just remembered a few things. We've met before at some kind of masquerade. You failed at playing tetris." I chuckled a bit, smiling at the memory. It was honestly kinda funny.

She blushed and stuttered, "I... oh my god you're right... I thought your name sounded familiar... you're that absolute _dunce_ who made me get in trouble with the Hahns!" she pouted at me, which honestly just looked adorable.

Like water off a duck's back, I shrugged it off, "Eh, not like the Hahns actually matter in the grand scheme of things. We're Hunters, not tailors, we're not selling clothes to make our money, we're killing Grimm for that." I smiled and patter her on the head, "So don't worry about having to explain any mysterious charges. We pay with cold hard cash." I smiled, "Now then, if that's everything you were concerned about, we should get going. I think your people will be concerned where their starlet ran off to." I chuckled and picked her up, giving her a piggyback ride, "Now then, where are you staying?"

"Th-the Merlot..." she stuttered out, "Why are you doing this again? I haven't exactly been kind to you."

"I can see your story, Weiss. It's not a happy one... but like I said, I'm a hero. Not all heroes wear capes, or carry swords or even ride into battle. A hero isn't always clad in shining plates of steel that protect their body as the strike down the creatures of darkness. A hero, sometimes, is just the person willing to help you when you're down. That's precisely why I decided to _pick you up_." I chuckled and shifted her slightly on my back, keeping a firm grip on her so as to not drop her.

I began to jog, considering using Azure Dragon's Winged Flight, buuuut...

 **Azure Dragon's Winged Flight (Active) Level: 8, Exp: 34.62%, Cost: 800 AP  
** **A special technique made by Qing Long. By gathering aura around the back and conjuring together lightning and air, the user may sprout a pair of electrical wings to pull themselves into the sky.**

 **Base Flight Speed: 135 mph  
** **Damage from wings: 135%  
** **Lightning Affinity Multiplier: 2.0x  
** **Costs an additional 779 AP per minute**

I could run faster than it, and at a push could fly on the wind faster with Mystral's help. Still, it was gaining a 15 mph boost every level, so if it was one of those skills I'd dubbed 'Two Percenters' (one of the stats of it started at 2% of the end total, gaining 1% for all of its levels, until it ended up at 100% at level 99), then I'd end up nearly going Mach 2 by the end of this skill's progression. Honestly, though, while it was a good skill, I had other means.

Still... advancing this skill would give me rapidly progressing flight speed and power... it was a tough choice, honestly.

There was a big difference between the four directional styles, and the counter of the Azure Dragon of the East, which lent more to what I could guess was a Rogue's build, was the White Tiger of the West, which lent more to what I could see was a Berserker's build. Running in and getting into the fray, tearing your opponents apart before they even have a chance to hurt you. It was based in the elements of Metal and Air. The two other styles, the Vermillion Bird of the South and the Black Turtle of the North, were based in Fire and Earth, and Earth and Metal respectively. Since the power of Magic Doodle had revealed to me that Ice was a combination of Air and Water, that meant that the Azure Dragon style was unique in that it was the only one to technically have three elements, as well as have Water or Lightning, which were absent in the other three styles. Since right now, Water was a source of healing spells, and Lightning was a source of speed buffs, I could understand the usefulness of the style.

I still had to keep my DEX relatively low compared to the infinite limit of my STR and VIT, since neither were limited except for needing to be higher than INT and WIS to unlock the Berserker class, though personally I felt it would be better to have a Knight class for that. Oh well, I couldn't control the Game, just influence it.

With a smile, I began to Sprint, _Jaune W: Hold onto me, Weiss. This is gonna be fun~! :W_ I changed to Racing mode and saw my speed clocking in at just over 100 MPH. I heard Weiss' shriek pierce the calm night air, yet it was slowly blooming into a cheer of thrills. I smiled proudly and continued to carry her along my wild, speedy ride. I kept the wind at our backs and her cheers from traveling more than a few feet away, forcing the sound to stop on a wall of unmoving air, which stopped the sound like a void would. It saw limited use, but I felt it was still useful for moments like this, when sound needed to be kept at a minimum.

Weiss didn't seem to mind, instead too focused on enjoying the rush of the wind over her face and through her hair, dispelling the smell of vomit and replacing it with a simple scent of warmth city air. It seemed that a few hundred Soulforges had cleared her body and mind of the alcohol finally. Still, I figured it couldn't hurt to give her some more, even if it didn't seem to do anything. More EXP for the skill, after all.

 _Weiss W: Slow down you dunce! I'm going to get sick again at this rate! :W_

 _Jaune W: You don't sound very sick, you sound happy. Plus, you don't have anymore alcohol in your body, so you shouldn't get sick. Tomorrow, I want you to meet me somewhere, okay? I want to teach you something. :W_

 _Weiss W: So you'll actually be teaching me new skills as well? Not just dragging me along a free ride to power? :W_

 _Jaune W: Weiss... looking at the big picture, where Grimm outnumber all of mankind by about a million to one... with those kinds of odds against us, any claim to power that doesn't hurt other people is something you can't pass up just because of pride. :W_

 _Weiss W: ...I... I refuse to be so easily influenced by your high Charisma... but I DO see your point. I suppose, if I'm truly behind in physical fitness, then I should take what I can get. :W_

 _Jaune W: You're already getting into a more gamer-y mindset! I'm so proud. :W_ I gave her a cheesy grin as I slowed my path, thanking these new quests for giving me the EXP needed to get Pathfinder to level 5.

 **Pathfinder (Passive) Level: 5, Exp: 1.42% (achieved for raising Wisdom above 100)  
** **An ability held by some rare few with semblances related to information. Having been granted this skill, the user gains abilities that give them information usually impossible to perceive by others. More abilities are unlocked with increased skill level.**

 **Grants the knowledge of Quest Sub-Objectives  
** **Level 5: Unlocks the Minimap and Map Markers.**

I had gained the ability to zoom in past 100% on Vale City, and simply looking up the location of the Merlot opened the location on my 'map', and allowed me to mark it. Sure enough, I had seen an ethereal path set out for me in a dashed line, and followed it.

Now, though, following those lines that stood out easily due to their color... the game calls the color 'azure' so much I almost would too, but it's definitely more a cyan color, just a bit bluer than normal. I guess it could be counted as azure in a way. Azure certainly sounded cooler than cyan.

Regardless, I was now in front of the fancy hotel, and smiled at Weiss, "Read the tutorial to its fullest, okay? If you can't read it all tonight, do so in the morning." I set her down on her feet after making sure she was okay to stand, then gave her another supercharged Soulforge to help out. I waited a bit for my AP to recover followed by a supercharged Regeneration if anything came up. A week of boosted HPR and SPR would be great for her, I figured, and I could manage it fairly easily.

With that done, I smiled at her and sent her on her way, "Stay safe. If you need anything, just ask me, okay? I can find you with this power."

"A-alright." she blushed, looking at her feet, then slowly raising her gaze up to my face, "When will we see each other in person again?"

"Hmmm... well, if I can get some more revenue, I can arrange a few things together, aaaaand... huh, yeah, that should work." I grinned, "Let's see, it's Wednesday. I'll be ready by Saturday, but try to slip away before then so I can help you train. I've currently got some things in the making, I'll tell you more about them later, when it's better timed. For right now, just relax and I'll inform you if any developments arise, okay?"

"O-okay... you seem rather busy for a teenager." she said with curious expression, tilting her head a bit, almost like a confused puppy, "I'll... I'll wait, okay? Don't be rude and leave a lady waiting, alright, Jaune?" her tone slipped back to one of what I could only describe as tsundere.

"Alright, alright, I won't. Talk to you tomorrow, Weiss. Goodnight." I turned and began to walk away, wings beginning to form on my back, "Sleep tight, and don't let the bedbugs bite."

"B-b-b-bedbugs?" she sounded horrified, "W-w-w-what kind of bugs live in your bed?"

"Oh, uh... it's just an expression, mostly. But there ARE bugs that can get into your bed. It's especially likely in hotels, but don't worry, it's mostly just different species of-" I bought a moment to look up what her most feared type of bug was, and fought back a laugh and a smirk, "-spiders."

A moment passed, followed by another, and anoth-

Suddenly a shriek shattered the still, quiet night air, tearing through what I could almost be sure was the entire Vale City skyline.

 **Physical Resistance's level increased by 1!**

* * *

 _(Later that night, Jaune POV)_

I rubbed my ear a bit. I had sent Weiss over a hundred messages of apology, comfort, and reassurance, assuring her that I was just joking around and trying to get a reaction. I had lost some Closeness to her at first, but I gained back twice of what I lost with my efforts to make her feel better. She even began to laugh with me, even if it was only after a lot of coaxing.

Dammit, INT and WIS, you should have let me realize that was a bad idea! I guess when I don't stop to think, my increased thinking abilities don't help too much. Oh well, at least it had given us something to laugh at. I even told her my own feared bug... moths.

Blegh, just thinking about them made me want to throw up.

I walked into my home. Not Eagle Mountain or the developing Celeste, but rather the Arc Residence. The place smelled of beer of nachos. Damn... I guess dad's been feeling out of it without me being around. I found him collapsed naked on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket and-...

I'm just going to levitate him and not touch him, especially his right hand.

After setting him onto the clean floor, I set about cleaning the whole house. It was about halfway through running six loads of laundry that I found Sebastian in all this mess. He was dragging a shirt towards the closet that leads to the crawlspace, which got me curious.

He seemed to only ever steal shirts, leaving them to never be seen again. In fact, I'm surprised I haven't gotten a-

 **QUEST RECEIVED!**

 **Quest: Topping off the Laundry Basket**

 **Description: Sebastian has stolen shirts for years, and it's time to get them back!**

 **Objective: Find all the shirts that Sebastian has stolen, wash them, and do something with them.  
-Find all the stashes of shirts (0/9)  
-Collect all the shirts (0/64)  
-Wash all the shirts  
-Do something with the shirts.**

 **Reward: 10 EXP, 10 Lien, reduce Sebastian's morale, +20% mastery of the Laundry skill, conditional reward based on what you do with the shirts. ?**

 **Penalty: -10 EXP, -100 Lien, Sebastian's morale and shirt-stealing reign continues unopposed. ?**

I accepted the quest and proceeded to look around the house, my hand glowing with light as I used Jurist to dim the lights, charging her up to allow her to easily reduce the energy flow to the lightbulbs. With a frown, I found tiny marks where the little furry bastard had climbed up the wall. I found a small hole in the ceiling. I lifted myself and reached around in the space up there, considering trying to use Skotomorphosis to transform myself into a small Grimm, but decided against it. I filled the air of the space with my perception and felt out the shirts inside. Pulling them all out, I sighed, gathering my energy as I shifted my focus from Air to Water and Earth. Searching for the rest of them was easy, but filling the spaces back up was hard. Sebastian was a lean bastard and could make small holes.

I grabbed some plaster from the shed in the back yard with Roimontagne, finding another couple of shirts stuffed into a corner of the roof in the tiny building. How much time had the little guy put into this? I sighed and found him trying to mess with the washing machine, which had buzzed after the completion of the cycle. I smirked at him, then used the metal in his collar to drag him backwards, suspending him in the air. Oddly enough, he only seemed to glare at me blankly, not freak out like a normal animal.

 _'Then again, you're not a very_ normal _animal, are you, you little shit?'_ I thought with a smirk as I moved from nearly hanging him to setting him on the dining room table. I kept him there as I found the second to last stash. I don't know how the quest knew how many stashes there were, OR how many shirts were hidden away inside them, but something was off, as I was missing only one stash and a dozen shirts. I sighed and thought back to a few minutes ago. Sebastian had been taking a shirt to the closet that held the trapdoor leading to the crawlspace.

With a heavy sigh at how reduced I'd become in only an hour, I opened the door, lifted up the trapdoor, and slipped under the house. With my elementals, it was easy to warm, dry, freshen, and illuminate the cool, damp, dank, dark area. I touched down onto dry, hard dirt, the dampness dismissed I could see everywhere under here, and I blinked as I saw a pile of shirts several feet from the trapdoor, and as warm air breathed life into the place, and a few well-placed spells earned me a few EXP from killing spiders and rats, I sensed a life signal coming from the pile, and with the gentleness of a feather, I shifted them aside. Something wiggled within the pile, until after a few more seconds, a tiny pair of golden eyes met my cyan ones.

 **A kitten**  
 **Title: Lonely and Cold in this Cruel World**  
 **Level: 1**

She was very small, perhaps small enough to fit in only one of my hands. Her fur was white, with patches of orange and brown dotted about it. I sighed softly, seeing her fearful expression. I very gently reached out and petted her, trying to convey a sensation of warmth and comfort. It seemed to be working, as her eyes closed and she began purring softly. I picked her up gently, stuffing the shirts into my inventory with Auto-Loot, and slowly crawled back out into the house. I was concerned by the kitten's title, and sought to remedy that immediately.

After putting the last of the shirts in the washing machine, which partially completed the quest and boosted my mastery of Laundry, as well as making Sebastian look sad, I set down the kitten next to him.

I released the hold on the furry bastard and he immediately grabbed the kitten, sitting her between his forelegs and grooming her. I hummed, then prepared some food for the poor little thing. It hurt my heart that something so small and cute would be abandoned like that. Was it luck, or Luck that had driven me here at the exact time to get this quest, see Sebastian taking a shirt under the house, follow that knowledge, and find her?

Depending on which, was it her luck/Luck, or mine? I had to admit that she was adorable, and judging from the tiny numbers of her stats, she was fragile and innocent. I heated up a bottle of fortified formula, which my dad had in the house since he took veterinarian tasks often enough that he figured it would be easier to just have stuff on hand at home. It was Luck, I was sure, but I ignored the odd convenience.

I picked up the kitten, about to start feeding her, when I heard a knocking on the door. I sighed, getting up and holding her in my hand, much to Sebastian's frustration and meowed complaint, and went to the door. With Crocea the Elemental, I turned the knob and opened it.

I blinked in surprise at the visitor, "Qrow... I can honestly say this is unexpected."

The older man looked at the kitten and the bottle in my hands, then at my face, "Right. Same with you and a kitten. You didn't fuck that Blake girl, did you?"

I blanched, "N-NO! G-goddammit why would you even SAY that?" I swore Xiburichu may have actually set my face on fire with how much I was blushing. Blake was good-looking, and moderately trustworthy, and quite loyal, but dammit I'm with Yang! I'm staying loyal!

He chuckled, "To see you get flustered. Anyways, listen, there's been... an incident, and I figured you'd be the best equipped to handle it." he took out his flask and took a swig as I tried to get the kitten to latch onto the bottle.

"Can it wait for dawn, at least? I just found this kitten a little while ago and I haven't even cleaned it or fed it or named it or unlocked its Aura." I frowned at him, trying to convey my annoyance.

Qrow sighed, "It's brown and orange, name it Garnet and come on."

I looked down at the kitten, who had latched onto the bottle and gave a small wiggle of happiness, "Alright then, Garnet... Garnet the kitten." I smiled at her, "Now then, I guess I can keep her warm while we're walking to... wherever we're going."

I saw a tiny flash of silver as Qrow pulled out a set of keys. A quiet 'blip' sounded and I was surprised when a hovering airship appeared out of thin air above us, "Cloaking technology, if you're curious. I'm testing it for a friend. Now then, come on, we're going." he jumped up into the open doors of the nondescript gray ship.

I jumped up too, following after him. When we landed inside, he pulled the door closed effortlessly and turned to see my curious, bemused gaze. He didn't speak, and I continued feeding the kitten, "So where are we going?"

He slicked back his hair, a sly grin on his face, "Congratulations, kiddo. We're going to Beacon."

I stared at him, my expression blank. He didn't mind me as he got behind the pilot's seat and began flying the ship towards the emerald glow of Beacon's titular beacon in the far distance.

To my credit, it only took me about ten seconds to get back to my senses and speak up, "What?"

The only response I got was the slight echo of my question off the inner metal walls of the ship, the flight otherwise quiet as we soared through the sky with no evidence except a slight distortion of air around us.

* * *

 **Oh boy! We're heading into some serious stuff now. Jaune has officially made a pre-Beacon meeting of all the members of RWBY. Of course, unofficially, they haven't actually met yet, but they're all gathered together!**

 **What could Qrow have in store for Jaune? Well if you've been paying attention to all of the scenes of this story, and also have watched Volume 3 closely, then you should know or at least have a very good clue as to what's about to happen.**

 **As we've seen in this chapter, Jaune tends to procrastinate his quest-like tasks in favor of grinding EXP. He's gone ahead and leveled up some of his skills to major power, but had put off calling The Bard until after his grindfest. Of course, it hasn't been shown just yet, but in the next chapter he'll head back to the WF camp and receive the welcome-back he deserves (of course, it's going to be different from normal, since from their perspective, Adam has been missing for a little over two weeks after saying that he was going to talk to the Hunters about Cinder).**

 **Also in the next chapter, depending on certain things, he may advance further in his quest to give Skyler a soul. In addition, he might be going to Vacuo alongside Weiss' tour, and you should be able to guess what THAT means~.**

 **SPOILER: He'll be meeting Ren and Nora. THAT'S what that means.**

 **For now, I just want to be done with this chapter, since it's taken nearly two weeks to get out due to things happening over the last weekend. I'm perfectly fine, in case you might have just gotten worried, I was just really busy.**

 **Now then, Omake time~!**

* * *

 _Omake: Gynocentric Problems._

* * *

Yang was not happy.

She had grinded levels with Jaune, trained closely with Jaune, and even had seventeen different types of kinky sex with Jaune.

She was loyal, friendly, kind, giving, exciting, fun, and beautiful beyond belief.

She wasn't the one to blame, it was Jaune's fault she was feeling this way.

 **Yang Xiao Long  
** **Title: The Sun that burns away the Night  
** **Level: 95  
** **Class: Fiery Martial Master  
** **Nickname: Sunflower**

 **Hit Points: 16,000/16,000  
** **Aura Points: 11,000/11,000  
** **Stamina Points: 21,000/21,000**

 **Strength: 162 (+300%) = 648  
** **Dexterity: 130 (+90%) = 247  
** **Vitality: 146 (+150%) = 365  
** **Intelligence: 60 (+50%) = 90  
** **Wisdom: 60 (+50%) = 90  
** **Luck: 30  
** **Charisma: 325**

 **Stat Points: 0**

 **Age: 18  
** **Birthday: December 12th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 6'0  
** **Weight: 240  
** **Build: Sexy, Medium-Muscled, Toned, and Voluptuous  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Glittering Golden Blonde / Dazzling Lilac Purple / Sexy Tan  
** **Cup Size: G**

Still, though... despite all of her efforts, she was still forced to behold this sight.

Nora hugged Jaune tightly, so tightly that it would have shattered a highway support strut, but Jaune was much tougher than that. Jaune, on the other hand, hugged back, and gave Nora a small kiss on the top of her head, "Happy birthday, Nora."

Right, right... right...

It was Nora's birthday, that was why he was being so affectionate with her. Nora herself was a very affectionate girl, which irked Yang to no end. The blonde brawler didn't want to feel this way, and she had expected the problem to stop after having reunited with her mother, but... it just wasn't to be. The feelings persisted, and she knew why.

Choices... so many choices. She and Jaune were both very very aware that it as legal AND encouraged for men to be polyamorous, due to the lack of men there were to impregnate women to make babies. Jaune hadn't shown any signs of wanting a second girlfriend, but he'd ground her father into the dirt with his superior array of skills and abilities. Taiyang Xiao Long now had a respectful fear of Jaune Arc.

And that alone made Yang fear for their relationship. What if Jaune wanted a second girlfriend? What would she do? She'd thought over it a million times, and she never got any closer to a conclusion.

It all came down to what she'd do in the moment. Would she accept their third member, or would she resist. If she resisted, would Jaune let her go to be with his new girlfriend(s), or stick by her? Would he try to make her compromise? Could she even resist the compromise? What if she turned out to like it? What if he had Ruby join? Would she have to date and kiss her own little sister? What would even be involved in such a relationship?

The storm of questions and crippling lack of answers made her feel dizzy, and it was only a nudge in the side from her darling little sister that brought her back to reality, "Hm? Hey sis. What's up?"

"You're thinking about you and Jaune and multiple girlfriends again, aren't you?" the not-so-little-anymore reaper nearly chimed with a smug smirk.

"W-what? N-no! That's crazy talk, sis. I'm not obsessed over it." she excused with a blush, looking away from the crimsonette.

Ruby pouted adorably. Even if she'd grown taller and curvier, she was still cute beyond belief, "Then why do you make the face you make when you're thinking about it almost constantly? I swear this is the fifth time today I've seen you making that face."

Yang sighed, "Look at him and Nora. I shouldn't be jealous because I have far more than anyone else has with him... and yet look at the world party list."

Ruby sighed too, opening it up.

There was Yang, Marbel, Blake, herself, Weiss, Nora, Ren, Pyrrha, Kira his not-actually-adopted sister, Coco, Velvet, Skyler, that odd girl Neo, Professor Goodwitch, Penny, several female students from Haven and Shade, even Emerald and Cinder had joined after Jaune had forced them to accept reformation and they'd taken to it with surprising gusto.

That was just the thing. Except for Ren, Jaune had _only_ recruited _females_ to his parties.

Right now, he had a full two dozen females to look at and care about. The fact that Yang was the only one in his heart spoke volumes about his resolve, but the contents of his parties said otherwise.

"I'm sure he has his reasons, sis. If he wanted a second girlfriend, though... just assuming he did... would you accept them into the folds?"

Yang shook her head, "Yuck! Ruby don't word it like that. You make it sound like they'd fuck me."

To the credit of her increased maturity, Ruby barely blushed at all at the crude word and the implications, "You know what I mean, sis. Would you be able to embrace having a third person in your relationship?"

"I... I don't know... it would depend on who it is, I guess." that was one answer to cling to, at least, even if a half-formed one. It was still more stable than being tossed around in confusing and crashing waves of not knowing.

Ruby pressed on, seemingly driven by some unseen force, "What if it was Nora?"

"Nora's a good person. I think I could accept that decision."

Silver eyes gleamed, "What if it was Pyrrha?"

Yang crossed her arms under her massive breasts, which were miraculously still perky despite their humongous size, "Heh, P-money's so obvious with her adoration of Jaune that I don't think I could stand to crush her hopes over it. She's kind, honest, humble, caring, warm-hearted, and the exact kind of personality I could see myself allowing to join me in being Jaune's girlfriend... also she's pretty sexy, I have to admit, even if I'm straighter than a solar flare."

Ruby crossed her arms under her own breasts, which had grown to D-cups, "Alright... what about Weiss?"

Lilac eyes flickered to the purple gradient coloring the long white tresses of the former heiress. After raining death on Mr. Schnee and installing someone new and pure in his place, Jaune had freed Weiss from the responsibilities of bearing the weight of her family's name. Taking her mother's maiden name and a whole new approach to life, the reborn Weiss Pierce had joy and love shining from every orifice, sometimes literally, after she managed to prestige Aurora, just as Jaune had.

Yang could see herself letting such a person into her life like that, "Yeah... definitely..." she smiled fondly.

Ruby nodded firmly, "Alright then, now what about Blake?"

Blake... Yang thought about the faunus girl. She was loyal to Jaune and her greatest malice was aimed at injustice, inequality, and racism. Those were ideals Yang agreed needed to be minimized, if not outright eliminated in the world. The ravenette was a loyal friend and, after she'd gotten over her abandoning issues thanks to the friendship and love she'd been surrounded in, she swore herself to help out and stick by her friends to the very end. The two of them knew each other inside and out... literally, they'd witnessed each other naked and what was best described as 'partially eviscerated'. If it came down to trust and connection, Blake was queen, "Yes. I'd accept that fully."

Ruby took in a hesitant breath, fighting down the wave of embarrassment that threatened to take over, "Okay... what about me? What if he wanted me to join?"

Yang blinked, then looked at Ruby. Her mind had just labeled Blake as the queen of trust and connection, but if she was queen, then Ruby was a goddess. She took a small step back and looked her little sister up and down. 'Little' didn't exactly describe her anymore. She was now taller, fitter, curvier, and more beautiful than a vast majority of women in the world. Being a Huntress-in-training helped that, of course. In fact, being a Huntress-in-training, heartfelt suggestions and encouragement from the others, and letting her life be enhanced by The Game, were the entire reasons why such wondrous growth happened. She'd grown her hair out, lined her cloak with pure white fur, and overall looked almost like a more full-figured version of Summer in terms of height, weight, and figure.

Continuing her first thought, the two of them had a connection that extended past what most siblings could ever hope to have. They loved and trusted each other over anyone else, sometimes even their own selves. With a soft smile, the blonde pulled the crimsonette into a soft hug, "I think I could do that, sis. We love each other and I guess you joining me and Jaune would probably only broaden that. Juuuuust~... _don't_ expect me to help you grow your breasts more, teeheehee." she smirked, feeling lighter and more free from the weight of her internal conflict.

"Well, THAT'S a relief." Ruby giggled and slipped out of Yang's grasp like a cloud of rose petals. Yang blinked and grasped at nothing as Ruby rematerialized a few feet away. The others that were still present, AKA her sister and the other four girls she'd just been asked about, had gathered together, all looking at her.

Jaune, who towered over all of them, suddenly hugged her from behind, resting his chin atop her head, "They said they've talked to you about some things, and they've talked to each other a lot... and then they brought it to me. They want to join us... they know you have your problems with trust, which is why they specifically said they wanted to join _us_. They want to join you and I in our relationship... spread the love, as people say."

Yang's lips quivered, her emotions conflicted. She didn't want to do this, didn't want Jaune to divide his love between her and five other women, but... the warmth in their looks, the cool calmness in his voice, the soothing hug he was giving her... it melted away her concerns and helped her think things through. She'd already said she would accept them all, but saying something and doing it were two wildly different things. If any love would be divided, then-

Jaune suddenly planted a soft kiss to the top of her head, and she practically felt her ahoge curl into a heart.

Division wasn't Jaune's style. It wasn't what he desired to do. If anything, his love would multiply to encompass all of them equally. It was clear that, even if there had already been limits, there was some measure of love and emotional connection they all shared. It might have been Charisma, or just their natures, but The Game had connected them all so deeply, communicating at the speed of thought through the chats.

They knew each other better than most could ever dream of.

With a single glistening tear running down her gorgeous face, she smiled, "I accept."

And then, with a cacophony of cheers of happiness, she was surrounded by love.

It felt right.

* * *

 **Well, that's everything for now. Next chapter will have a lil' in-story AU type of omake, so just wait and see how that one plays out, hehehehe~.**

 **As for right now, even though it's not that bad, I sure do feel bad for taking longer than a week on this chapter. However, like I said, last weekend was busy and I didn't get too much time to work during the weekdays themselves, so that all contributed to the late release date. I'll see what I can do for the next chapter, though I can try to promise it won't take as long as this one did.**

 **I've already said some of the things that will happen next chapter, so that's already covered... so I guess now it's time for the obligatory profile-dump and then a farewell/cya later.**

 **-/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Wizard of the Elements  
** **Level: 58  
** **Class: Wizard v3  
** **Nickname: Mr. Player Man**

 **HP: 18,000/18,000  
** **AP: 70,000/70,000  
** **SP: 25,000/25,000**

 **Strength: 68 (+190%) = 197.2  
** **Dexterity: 60 (+190%) = 174  
** **Vitality: 78 (+190%) = 226.2  
** **Intelligence: 123 (+5) (+190%) = 371.2  
** **Wisdom: 120 (+5) (+190%) = 362.5  
** **Luck: 110  
** **Charisma: 80**

 **Stat Points: 128**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 6'1  
** **Weight: 210  
** **Build: Medium Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blonde / Brilliant Azure / Medium Tan**

 **-/\\-**

 **Fun fact: The raw stat value of a Level 58 person is 292 (since for non-gamers, all stats start at 1). Jaune's raw stat value is 639, meaning he has 2x a normal person's stat value, plus an extra 55!**

 ***airhorns and MLG sounds blare out into the sky***

 **Alrighty then, now that that's taken care of, it's time to cap this chapter off.**

 **This is Player 1 sighing off.**

 **See ya next time~ ^w^**


	13. Illuminating the dark of Dusk

**9/10/16: At least throwing down some starting stuff right now.**

 **9/11/16 at 3AM: Tired and going to bed, but I've gotten about 5.9k words done with just a few hours of work. If I keep this up I could get this chapter published TOMORROW.**

 **9/16/16: Well I didn't get it published on the 12th, but I'll get it done TODAY... As I start this, I'm at about 15.6k words**

 **9/19/16: The past couple of days have been kinda... weird. I haven't gotten too much progress towards actually ENDING the chapter. At the moment, wordcount is about 24.5k words**

 **9/20/16: Well, my moods have been shot down by my mother needing to go to the hospital. I'll try to finish this before Friday (even though it's already like 95% done)**

 **9/27/16: I failed to finish it before Friday, or Saturday, or Sunday, or even Monday. I might finish this and then just go to sleep. My mother is home so that's good, and I'm slowly recovering from that whole ordeal.**

 **9/28/16 at 10:50-ish AM: I'm done with the chapter and the AN, now to do the Omake and the second AN before posting the chapter. First thing's first, though, I need to go to college. Wordcount before Omake and AN2: about 29.4k**

 **9/29/16 at 1:24-ish PM: Alright, I'm going to finish it within the next two hours, hopefully. This is getting ridiculously long for a wait, after I'd promised not to take so long again. I'm sorry for those of you who've waited so long, I truly am. Wordcount continuing Omake: about 31.7k**

 **9/30/16 at 2:50 AM: Well... I'm done with the chapter. Fuck it, it's been too long, so I'm going to just send it out. I'm sorry if the quality dropped, but I was having a hard time getting the focus and energy to type this thing at all, to be completely honest. I'll take any criticisms into consideration and probably fix this chapter in the next couple of days. Luckily I managed to get all of what I wanted to do, done. Final Wordcount: about 34.4k**

 **Reviewer Responses~!**

 **Remzal Von Enilli:** He was drinking along with that food, mind you. He took breaks whenever his food was getting low, and topped up on hydration too.

 **Nexus Bladeguard:** I don't know if it's your name, your picture, or your adoration, but I really like you, y'know? Hell, that just gave me an idea.

 **ZenithTempest:** Yeah, maybe. Who knows, maybe these omakes are just slowly setting up for a future harem ending where no hearts are broken and everyone gets along.

 **Greyson Sanders:** Well, sir, that is how you would have written your Gamer fic. This is how I write mine. Jaune's growth is based purely on his effort, and his effort currently is not a lot on his physical stats except for the boosts from the Ki skills.

 **Catacus:** :D

 **Rose Knight of Neptune:** 1644 is the number of Grimm he has killed, 1976 is the number of Grimm has has encountered or at least sensed.

 **Vexy Minion:** You can't tell me what to do! *throws an egg at you* But in all seriousness, if anything I imagine Ruby's going to grow taller and quite busty. It's just a fair representation of all her genetics. Her Rose genes have given her every bit of her looks and made her into basically the spitting image of Summer, so her Xiao-Long genes will affect her height and figure. It's simple logic.

 **1eragon33:** No, because Amber was kinda already fucked before he got there. At the moment, the best he'd be able to do is help her recover and get a quest to reunite the Fall Maiden power into Amber's soul.

 **Dark Durian:** Right now, she's just playing cutie-pie role, as well as plot token. Don't ask about that point, just read the chapter. Marbel was left out because I kinda forgot to put her in there. I know what I plan on doing for the final Memory Chunk, so that's a thing. As for the 'awakened grimm', she has a name now. She prefers either Skyler, or Razor. She will be becoming more humanoid and Jaune will learn an important fact about Aura from this, one that will make some people laugh heartily. Ha ha ha~!

 **MicroDime:** She's german and germans like to drink. That is literally my only reasoning.

 **Atheist god:** Yes, but not for a good while.

 **doubledamn:** It takes a few of them to cure a headache. Right now, Jaune can cast one that is 1750x more powerful than normal if he dumps all of his AP into it. It takes about 350-500 to cure a full-blown Skotomorphosis using Dark Spirit Invasion (there might be more ways it can grimmify him in the future). Ruby's Grimm corruption is from a much, MUCH stronger source. Also, simply put, while he can oomph it up with hundreds of castings at once, it just doesn't have the individual OOMPH it needs to do something like that. Right now his strongest plan is to help Ruby's Aura grow to the point that she gets Aurora and have her use it to purify the corruption.

 **Commando2341:** sir/madam, your idea was SO appealing that I retconned it into the story. Congrats! *gives you a congratulatory cookie* For those of you who don't know the change, Skyler Razefire is now Skyler Arcfire.

 **Nactick:** He wasn't exactly healing Yang's or Ruby's soul (assuming that's what you're referring to), rather he was creating the conditions for balance to be brought to them. Their lives kinda threw their souls out of balance, what with the two mothers one lost and one dead. If that's not what you were referring to, then okay. I don't know what exactly you ARE referring to, but he can't heal someone's soul directly.

 **correnhimself316:** Taiyang was able to keep up with his wives, if only for his skills and such (in the bedroom) as the two could get very, VERY... *ahem* 'hungry'. Emotionally, the three had bonded very deeply well before the marriage began. They'd fought the legions of darkness side-by-side and saved each other's lives countless times. What happened with Taiyang's marriage was outside of his control. Raven abandoned them and Summer sacrificed herself to save all of Vale from a Dark Rift (which is VERY bad news)

 **Saint of vice koncor:** Except it was stated that he died.

 **Temsen:** His mother occasionally visits, but Jaune usually avoids her as much as possible during the visits, and the house too, or at least barring that, he goes out into the yard or up into his room (as he got older, his ability to just leave the house, wait, and come back when she's gone had vastly increased). He hasn't seen his sisters though, and that's because John and Juniper know that they're better off worried than getting their hearts broken by listening to their parents fighting. It STARTED over just Jaune, but then it expanded out of control and now they literally live at opposite ends of the kingdom (Vale City is the northernmost city in the kingdom, Coldwater is the southernmost)

 **-names:** Sir, you have given pretty good suggestions, and honestly it would give me more excuses, so here *a Chibi Ruby capable of levitation via adorableness brings you a package of money and cookie crumbs. There WERE actual cookies, but she ate them all*

 **Alright then, let's get onto the chapter, shall we?**

 **WARNING: this one kinda gets a little wonky later on in it, so please forgive. I was in a very weird state that day. I'm late on this as it is, however, and it's probably at least passable, so just try to get through that and you'll reach the good parts again soon enough.**

 **Story Arc 2: Playing Prometheus**

 **Chapter 13: Illuminating the dark of Dusk.**

* * *

 _(Beacon Academy, a few minutes later, Jaune POV)_

I sighed, still feeding the kitten from the bottle. The flight towards the illustrious school was a short one, after all. Even for slow daytime flights, it takes maybe ten minutes to go from the landing pads to the airship docks in the city, and vice versa. I hummed lowly, stepping out of the jet as Qrow 'parked' it about fifty meters above the ground outside of the headmaster's tower. My cyan-blue eyes met his wine-reds, and I raised an eyebrow, "You going to explain this, or~?"

Qrow shook his head, "I'm not good at the whole 'describing' thing. I'll let Oz handle that." I sighed at his answer, following hesitantly.

We walked into the tower, immediately heading towards the elevator. With a sigh, I just continued to feed the kitten in my hands, looking down to make sure she was getting a proper latch and was drinking it at a good pace. I smiled softly at the tiny creature in my hands. So small and fragile, so innocent and pure, so wonderful. I would make sure it lived a good life.

Suddenly, the elevator doors opened and soft light filled the dim elevator car. I let Magic Eyes grant me additional visual acuity and nightvision. A subtle glow illuminated them, and I found Qrow staring at me. With a sigh, he turned and got out of the elevator.

Before I could move, the doors started closing. Frowning, I used Crocea and Jurist to force them to stay open, walking out before letting the doors close behind me, "Sir, that elevator is rude." I said with a small chuckle.

I received a deadpan look from the gray-haired man standing behind the desk at the end of the room, as well as the others gathered together.

 **David Ozpin**  
 **Title: ?**  
 **Level: ?**

 **Glynda Goodwitch  
Title: The Amethyst Witch of Beacon  
Level: ?  
**

 **Sayon Miyagito  
Title: Like the Soul, not every Man is as he seems  
Level: ?**

 **Almaz Chien  
Title: The Hound in the Bright Prism  
Level: ?**

 **James Ironwood  
Title: The Ignition of the Light Machine  
Level: ?**

I hummed curiously, looking at each of them. Ozpin was familiar. I'd seen pictures of him many times. His green suit, small round-lens glasses, silvery hair, and brown eyes all stood out. Next to him was Glynda Goodwitch, or as I knew her, Miss Glynn. The only signs of age on her were the stress marks near her eyes and mouth. Other than that, she hadn't aged a day.

Sayon, who I could only guess was named after the color Cyan, was an older man, in his seventies according to what I could gain from him. He resonated a powerful auric presence, more than the others in the room, even Glynda. He wore a traditional Vacuan robe with a myriad of Dusts woven into it in complex patterns. Under the robe was a more normal-styled white shirt and black pants, as well as old-style sandals made of steel, but colored to look like shiny wood. His clothing at all been modified to provide him with extreme flexibility and freedom of movement, and the Dust in his robe was apparently 'Inert Dust'. What Gamer's Sight told me was that the substance was a modified form of Dust that was not exhausted when charged with Aura. Rather, what happened was that instead of the Dust being used to power the elemental effect, the user's Aura itself would power it. A good analogy would be that it normal Dust would act as a battery, using itself up to power the element, while inert Dust would act as a filter, altering the Aura to be like the element. If I had to guess, judging from his lean figure, he was a DEX focuser, and probably had a score near 300 in the stat.

Almaz was a gruff-looking woman with brown hair tied back into a foot-long ponytail She had scars marking the right side of her face, and an eyepatch over the eye. Her clothing was more tactical than the others, black and dark-gray militaristic combat clothing and boots. The only thing she seemed to have that hinted towards her huntress status was the bright blue scarf tied around her neck, with bright streaks of red, gold, orange, green, lavender, and white woven through it. At her waist was a red bandanna with a stylized diamond with markings on it that made it look like a dog's head. She seemed to be the youngest of all of them, at only age forty, but she was a master with using CQC unarmed style, knife combat, pistols, assault and sniper rifles, and even rocket launchers. All her weapons were combined into one mass held on her back by carbon-fiber support straps. Her most prominent feature, though, out of everything about her, had to be her left arm, which was a robotic prosthetic, no doubt made by Atlesian scientists. The armored 'skin' was colored black with a few white and red markings, while the dense rubber 'muscles' were colored a solid black.

James Ironwood, he looked all the General that his title labeled him as. Whereas Almaz looked like a captain or spec-ops soldier who had just come off the field and flown straight here, he looked clean and neatly pressed. His current outfit provided some limited armor, but it was whitesteel, just like my own plates. I could sense the metal parts his right arm, leg, and eye were made of, and briefly considered how difficult it would be for a fully charged Crocea to rip the parts off of his body.

Now that a couple of seconds had passed due to my thoughts, I spoke up, "Miss Glynn, you haven't aged a day." I smiled at the older woman, "It's a little early for me to be attending Beacon, I know, and I'm not done growing yet, but Qrow isn't know for his patience." I chuckled and pocketed the empty formula bottle, "So why have I been dragged all the way over here at two in the morning to talk to the four headmasters of Remnant's illustrious Secondary Hunter Schools?

Glynda cleared her throat, "Mister Arc, I haven't seen you in person since you were very small. Regardless, we will have to catch up at a later time. What we have to tell you may change your perspective of the world."

"Qrow, ah, he was very, _very_ insistent we talk to you. Say you can help us." Sayon said, "I suppose we introduce ourselves, of course." he walked over and gave a slight bow to me. I bowed in return, lower than he had, but he lifted my chin, "No, look in eye. Always look in eye of one you share bow with." he instructed, firm but gentle, and I nodded, looking into his eyes.

They were deep and seemed to be several shades of brown blended into one, yet all perfectly separate. His eyes, the windows to his soul, shone with hidden power, "Yes sir, Sayon Miyagito-san sir." I nodded.

He hummed a bit, then raised back up, returning to his spot in the blink of an eye.

Almaz walked forward next, "So I guess he was a bit right, you DO know some things most people don't... or you've done five bloody minutes of research into Hunter schools." her accent seemed to be a mix of a few, probably gained from her time with several regional allies, talking to them on a daily basis and the usage of her semblance. All I knew about it, though, was that it had to do with mixing knowledge. I didn't get any specifics, just those few words, "Well, regardless, I'm Almaz Chien, the Diamond Dog they called me, since I strike like a bloodhound and I'm tough as diamonds." she snickered a bit, giving me a firm handshake that I returned with no external signs of struggle.

Ironwood stepped up next, "James Ironwood. I must admit, and this is none of your own fault, but my cautious side tells me you shouldn't be here." he said, looking me up and down as if expecting me to suddenly pull out a million energy arrows and throw them at his face.

Of course I wouldn't, but I COULD. My incredibly high level in the skill granted 'Unlimited Arrows', which meant that I could cast the skill an unlimited number of times practically simultaneously. I could either do that, or cast Gaster Blaster eleven times at once and get ninety-nine of them appearing. However, I knew that that wouldn't give off a good message, and I'd probably get wrecked before the blasts could go off.

Regardless, I didn't feel the need to prove myself until I knew what I was proving myself for, "Well, just as Sayon says, not everything is as it seems." I chuckled lowly, squeezing his metal hand painfully hard... for him, at least, with Crocea forcing the power through.

He grunted, but backed off, "Very well." he pulled his hand back and crossed his arms over his chest.

"So seriously, why am I here?" I said after a few more seconds of silence, "Dragged out here at two in the morning, that's not a normal thing. If you do this to every prospective student, it must take a lot of mornings to get through them all. I understand why you potentially have started in April."

"This is not a joke, Mister Arc. This is something that we have tentatively decided to be worth possibly sharing. Tell me, do you know who runs the world?" Ozpin finally spoke up, knocking me out of my reverie.

I shrugged, "The councils. They make the rules and what-not."

A sip of coffee was taken, "Well, officially, and on paper, you are correct, however... there is a secret, underlying level of worldwide power that nobody knows about."

"I'd assume nobody knows about it, since it's a secret." I deadpanned, then gestured for him to get to the point. I would show more respect, but I'd rather cut to the chase than talk until sunrise like a ridiculously long cutscene, "Please skip to the important part."

He sighed, pushing up his glasses, "Very well. Sayon." he addressed the black-haired man.

Sayon nodded, then spoke in a low, stoic voice, "We work in the Shadows, to serve the Light."

Ironwood spoke next, "To uphold the Mantle of protection, with the weight of the world on our shoulders." he looked as though the words left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Next was Almaz, "To create a safe Haven for all to reside in."

Glynda spoke next, which surprised me a bit, "To be the Beacons of hope and light needed to provide mankind with the future."

Finally, Ozpin spoke, "We are the lights in the darkness, the strength in the weakness, the safety in the chaos, the hope in the despair. We are secret, we are many, we are... the Illuminati." he finished in a low voice, emotion barren from his words.

I blinked, staring at them all. They all stared back, waiting for my answer.

I knew before speaking that it wasn't the one they expected, "You have GOT to be FUCKING kidding me!" I covered the kitten's ears to make sure she didn't hear me. I looked at Qrow, "Please tell me that was a joke?" I looked at him for an answer.

He took a swig of whiskey and shook his head, "No, kid, it's very real. The few rumors on the internet are just rumors, and the prospect is so ridiculous that nobody would believe it's actually real."

"Alright, fine." I groaned and looked at the headmasters again, "So, Illuminati, what do you want from me?"

Ozpin sighed, "Before we continue, Mister Arc, I want you to understand one thing. Do not speak a word of us to anyone but us, or you will die to protect this secret." his cold, emotionless words sent a sobering chill down my spine.

I sighed, "Fine, fine, fine... I understand... it's not exactly something that would help the state of humanity. Now then, if you would be so kind as to explain why I'm here, that would be great."

Sayon spoke up, "Qrow informed us that you were capable in the ways of... magic." he said the word hesitantly, as if it were a viper ready to bite him.

"Magic, if you're assuming my control over the elements is magic, then I suppose yes. I have a large grasp over the six elements that make up this world. Why do you ask?"

"Six? Why are there six elements when there's only four representatives?" Almaz muttered loud enough for everyone to hear, now a bit confused.

"Gas and brake." I chuckled, and the woman looked confused, "Oh, sorry, I recognized a reference, even if you didn't intend it. Er, now then, yes, six elements. Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Metal, and Lightning. Now then, what do you mean four representatives?"

Qrow grunted, "Remember when I asked you about the story of the seasons?"

I blinked, then facepalmed, "Right, you told me that story is real, I see... well, shit son." I sighed, "So I guess I'm here because you want to track them down?"

Ironwood shook his head, "No. We already know where three of them are. The fourth has eluded us to no end. You're here for a slightly different task."

I looked at Qrow, "Qrow... what did you tell them?"

"Just a few basics. You can see more than anyone else on the planet, you have the power to grow quickly and in any way you desire, you can grant magical powers to other people." He shrugged at me, "Just the basi-"

"QROW! You did _not_ tell us that last bit of information." Glynda snapped, sounding angry.

The drunk groaned, "Oh my GOD will you quit NAGGING. I still told you, I just-" he was suddenly lifted several feet into the air and slammed into the floor with a several tons of force. I winced and forced the floor to repair itself, which also pushed Qrow's face out of being embedded into the metal, "-ow... thanks kid."

"No problem." I looked at Glynda, "Now Miss Glynn, I'm sure he didn't mean to forget. He's drunk, after all." I gestured to Qrow as he stumbled to his feet, then took another sip of his whiskey.

Glynda sighed, "Mister Arc, I understand that he is drunk. I appreciate that you are willing to see him as a friend, and the fact that you have his trust speaks volumes about your merit. Qrow is not one to trust anyone but his closest allies. You're here because we need your special eyes to assess some problems." she looked at the others, "Please follow us."

To my surprise, the others followed Glynda's word, while Ozpin merely sipped his coffee and stared stoically at me. I stared back, eyeing him up. Whatever his power level was, it was clearly more than I could even begin to measure, since I couldn't even see his title. I sighed lowly, following them back into the elevator.

...

I gently rocked the kitten in my arms, making sure she slept soundly. She emitted soft purring sounds, nuzzling my warm stomach. I smiled lightly as the smooth elevator ride took us down. I counted the seconds, finding it to be longer than I'd taken to go up the tower. The car dimmed, and I felt an oppressive atmosphere begin to form around me. I don't know what it was. I didn't sense danger, but... the air was so thick that I was surprised it didn't snap the cables on the car.

After what felt like forever, the doors opened to a dim hall, emerald lights attached to dark pillars. I took in a breath that felt like inhaling steel. I stumbled out of the car, pushing past everyone as I made my way to the end of the hallway.

 **ERROR! Power # #$O(*#ZZZZZZZZRRRRT**

 **Un Un uN unNKKnOWN EROororRRRRr**

 **QUesTIoin?/?quesitoin**

 **ERRRRRRRRRrrrrrorrorororororo**

 **CannotCOM pUTe ERORR**

 **RORRE ?QUesiotn**

 **SYNTAX?!**

 **SYnNTaASIXX**

The six followed me closely as I stumbled worse than a drunk man, seeing a machine in the distance. I reached out to it, feeling odd. I heard their voices, but they were muffled and nearly impossible to understand.

My vision flashed like _I was dreaming as a hand of pale, withered skin reached towards a tree and_ I stumbled towards the machine, falling to my _bony knees as my energy left me, a sword stuck in my chest, if only I could reach_ that machine and see inside, then I could _recharge and fight my enemy._

I set Garnet on the ground as my body felt ten times heavier than it was. I gazed at the white-dressed woman in the tube, her scarred face looking lifeless but for her soft breathing and pained expression.

 **Amber Cornucus**  
 **Title: The Fallen Maiden of the Fall**  
 **Level: 84**

I reached out, my hand touching the glass as I tried to overcome the oppressive weight surging through my body.

 **Ring around the rosie, a pocket full of posie.**

 **Ashes, ashes.**

 **We all fall down.**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 **... but you refused.**

 **Your determination to power through and find out the truth has filled you with renewed strength.**

I stood up, my eyes level with hers. For a brief moment, she awoke, our eyes meeting.

I felt my lightning snap my brain like a rubber band.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed in agony as Aurora was forced out of my body. Garnet froze in fear, I heard Sayon, Almaz, Ironwood, and Glynda all gasp, and two thumps of bodies hitting the floor.

I convulsed, falling back as my arms stuck straight up and out. I blinked my eyes a few times, seeing wisps of light get grasped by my hands, then darkness took over my vision.

* * *

 _A sword was run through my body as I tried to reach the tree. It was carved with several formula that would help me to live._

 _Nature... nature was the key. It always had been. When I tried to do things differently, it didn't end well._

 _Then again, this hadn't either._

 _I felt burning eyes pierce the back of my head as one last swing took me down, freeing my head from my shoulders and sending it flying into the air._

* * *

 _(A few hours later, Jaune's POV)_

I cracked my eyes open and felt my retinas explode from the light entering them. I waited and a few moments later, the pain in my eyes, neck, and chest all dulled until they were nothing. I sighed and opened my eyes wider. I felt something moist on my cheek. Turning my head, I saw Garnet licking my face, meowing happily. I smiled and picked her up. I sat up with her in hand and looked around. We were still in the vault-like area we were before, however Ironwood and Almaz were now absent. I groaned and looked over, seeing Sayon and Glynda looking over Ozpin and Qrow, who seemed to be unconscious. I groaned again, then lifted Garnet up to nuzzle me. She seemed a bit less energetic than before. While she nuzzled my cheek, I rubbed my eyes clear and looked around again, seeing a message.

 **Gained the item "Strange Red Soul Shard (x1)"**

 **Gained the item "Strange White Soul Shard (x2)"**

 **Completion of many quest objectives and advancing yourself through the story of your life has increased your LUK by 1!**

I blinked, staring at the message. I could only guess that two of these shards had come from Qrow and Ozpin... then where did the third come from? "What happened?"

Glynda's eyes snapped up to look at me, "My god, you're awake." she moved over to help me stand, "We were worried. Sayon said that the aura readings were normal for all three of you, but my worry didn't stop. Ironwood and Almaz will return soon, they left to refresh themselves. Sayon said he won't leave Ozpin and Qrow's side. Are you alright, Jaune?"

I smiled at her concern for me, "I'm fine, but there were shards of a soul that appeared, I could sense them."

Sayon stood up, "From their chest both came white soul shards. Ozpin's aura is a deep emerald, Qrow's pinkish-red. The soul shards had attached to them at some point. They went toward you and... simply disappear. Do you feel different? Do you feel like your Aura has increased in size?"

I checked my profile, finding the same 70k AP limit from before, "No, it's the same. There was another too, though, a red one... I think." I added the last bit to reduce his suspicion, hiding my pause with a groan.

"Ah, yes. Kitten had one. After it came out, she awoke and began to sniff you, snuggle you, attempt and fail to climb your body. I check you several times but your Aura measure same every time. Tell me, your Aura recovers, does it not?"

I blinked, looking at him, "I can recover my Aura from empty to full in a bit under two minutes, sir." I didn't bother with the weight of that reveal, instead looking over Qrow and Ozpin. I reached out and touched them with Soulforge Restoration, each one taking a third of my Aura with overcharge value. They both were shocked awake by the sudden surge, and I smiled, "Hey you two. You alright?"

Ozpin blinked, then rubbed his eyes, "That was odd."

Qrow groaned, "Ow~... hangover..." he rubbed his temples, "Hair of the dog." he reached for his flask.

"No." I stopped his hand and gave him a supercharged Soulforge, healing his headache instantly while bringing myself down to only about a twelfth of my maximum Aura. I didn't mind. In a quiet, subtle, not-to-be-disturbed way, I was friends with Qrow. We had respect for each other, if nothing else. I would gladly spend a quarter of my Aura to heal him if it meant he'd be alright.

Qrow sighed, "Kid, I need you around Signal. Damn shame it's nearly too late you for to even start." he chuckled lowly as he sat up.

I looked over and saw Ozpin had already stood up and acquired his coffee mug, taking a sip, "Mr. Arc, care to explain?"

"Honestly I don't know. I started getting visions of myself reaching out towards a tree, and when I got close to Amber, I felt weird and heavy and that's when my Aurora activated and shit happened. You aren't hurt, are you sir?"

He gave a small smile, "You truly are your father's son. I'm alright. To accurately describe the feeling, it seems to feel like there was an additional piece of soul attached to my own that I have only noticed because it has removed itself. It did nothing but take up inconsequential space. Do you know what it relates to?"

"Honestly, no. My... 'sight' describes that it's power resonance is indescribable. I have a task to collect the shards of this red soul as well, and-"

 **QUEST RECEIVED!**

 **Quest: Another Hero's fallen light.  
** **Description: You have found a piece of a white-colored soul that also holds a strange, indescribable power inside it. It's unknown what this power is, but you feel it is important.**

 **Objective: Collect all the shards of the shattered white soul and put them back together.  
** **-Collect the soul shards (2/6)**

 **Rewards: "Reconstructed Strange White Soul", +100,000 EXP, +10% mastery of Mana Affinity, increase your knowledge of souls.**

 **Penalties: The "Strange White Soul" is forever broken, Varying EXP for each shard collected, Varying boost to mastery of Mana Affinity, slightly increase your knowledge of souls.**

I hummed. It seemed I might find shattered souls throughout the world, then. I hoped this wasn't too much of a common problem for the dead. At least these two were only broken into six pieces, which I supposed I could tell because the two shards I had of either color had combined into one piece and formed a third of the orb-like shape of a soul.

Still, it was interesting to think about who these souls might have belonged to, for them to break like this. It was impossible to know exactly who, but some speculation could waste a bit of time.

I could guess that the white one might have been pure and innocent of heart. They might have been a hearty young man or woman, who desired to help people, maybe liked to have picnics or to garden, maybe to take walks on the beach if ever possible.

The red one was a bit tougher. Ruby's Aura was red, and she was an adorable, affectionate, and sweet girl who embarrassed easily. However, there were many ways for certain traits to be expressed. Beauty, love, passion, shame, that was what her four most prominent traits could be boiled down to. The person may have been hot-blooded, driven by instinct. They may have had secrets, or regrets. They may have had a high libido, or loved like a brightly burning bonfire rather than a fireplace.

Thinking on it, my description fit Yang a bit more than I intended. Even if I pretended to ignore it, there were slight hints that she wanted, or at least _expected_ more. Would she make the first move? Did she fear the commitment? No, that was a silly thought. It was something to do with her issues, it had to be. She wanted to know that I wanted 'it'. While I would enjoy 'it' and I would be lying if I said 'it' was not something I'd like to do, 'it' was not my priority right now. My priority right now was gaining levels and stat points, leveling up skills, and preparing for whatever Cinder and her forces of evil planned to do.

That reminded me, "When are Ironwood and Almaz getting ba-" I heard the elevator open and two sets of footsteps approach. I smiled slightly at the sight of the two other headmasters, "Well that's convenient. I'd rather say this to all of you. My power extends past just 'sight'. I have an array of abilities that include limited shapeshifting. With this ability, I have done something you might be surprised to hear." I equipped Adam's clothing and turned into a Bull Faunus, smirking at the six shocked hunters, "I've assassinated Adam Taurus, leader of the White Fang, and placed myself in the rule he left behind as a phantom of him. I've already begun plans to stop the White Fang's terrorist actions, and while none have come to fruition yet, please understand that these efforts will take a significant amount of time. However, as you probably all know, there are more forces at work out there than the Illuminati and the White Fang." I lifted a slab of stone from the floor and carved in the picture of Cinder's face, coloring it with chemical reactions from Alchemical Aura, "This woman approached the White Fang twice to request their aid in her and her faction's evil schemes. Her name is Cinder Fall. When I first saw her, she was within my ability to scan the levels of power people had. However, just a few days later, she was above that range, and seemed to have the ability to control fire. She wore a red dress of some sort and wielded a pair of curved swords that I believe could turn into a bow and arrow."

Qrow's eyes widened in realization, "She's the one who attacked Amber." he looked directly at me, "Kid, you've just cleared up a mystery I was worried would go unsolved. This woman, Cinder Fall, she... she attacked Amber, the one in the tube. She used some sort of Grimm parasite to drain her soul of the Fall Maiden's power. I couldn't make out any of the attackers' faces due to some sort of illusory semblance being used. They ran, but not after butchering the poor girl's soul and taking part of the Maiden power for themselves. Cinder Fall... that _bitch_... whatever she wants with the Fall Maiden powers, it can't be good." he snarled.

Ironwood placed a hand on the slimmer man's shoulder, "Qrow, calm yourself. You can't act brash in such a delicate situation. For the time being, Amber is safe. Atlesian technology and Ozpin's Aura-containing barriers have ensured that."

"But for how long?" Almaz said ruefully, "How long before Cinder and her cohorts grow balls too big for their britches and find and blow their way into this vault, slay the girl, and take the rest of the power for themselves? Even with our strengths, she'll slaughter us like squealing pigs with the abilities such a power would grant her." the brunette woman snorted, lighting a cigar and taking a puff.

"Patience is key." Sayon warned, "But action must be taken. This young man can claim souls and, I assume, keep them safe?" he looked at me questioningly, and I nodded. The soul shards, the Unshining Soul, Adam's soul, and the Damned Soul were all still in my inventory, safe and sound, "Then we could, perhaps, give her soul to him to keep safe."

"And then the little bastard turns on us and hands it over to Cinder during one of their White Fang meetings." Ironwood said spitefully, glaring at me.

I removed my mask and glared at him, "I'd sooner gouge my own heart out of my chest. In fact, why don't I do that now?" I don't know what came over me, but one second I was nearly snarling at Ironwood, the next Wilt was shearing off my left pectoral muscles. I reached in, much to their shock and disgust, and ripped out my beating heart. I was briefly terrified at the massive chunk of HP I lost, but it was only five eighths of my HP gone, not all of it. Either way, it didn't matter as I severed the arteries connecting the beating organ to my chest. Just as all wounds had before, my heart and the massive opening in my chest both disappeared into white mist. Within three seconds I looked perfectly normal again.

I took in a deep breath, nearly falling to my knees. I hoped Garnet didn't see that, I really, REALLY did. I blinked and looked around for the notification, and sure enough it was there, right where I couldn't see it before.

 **Unknown severe errors in coding has caused need for rebooting. For the duration of this time, Gamer's Mind will be inactive.**

 **Time remaining until reboot is complete: 5 hours, 13 minutes.**

I groaned, "That... is part of my ability. No wound to me is fatal until my 'health' runs out. Even that move there still left me with nearly half of such a measure remaining. That ability has let me face much tougher opponents that most would normally be able to, since I'm impossible to cripple, reduce, neutralize, and in some instances kill.

Ironwood cleared his throat, "I believe you've proven the point that you are psychotic."

I shook my head, standing up as I dismissed Beast's Blood and changed to my normal clothes, "No. Impulsive? Sometimes. Bullheaded? Lord knows I try not to be and it doesn't work. Psychotic? No. Never have been, never will. In fact, I'm immune to psychological effects, making me the sanest person in this room. I know I can take a blow like that, so I decided to demonstrate. You've seen people eviscerated before, haven't you?" their slightly awkward expressions said it all and more. They were uncomfortable bringing up those topics to someone who they considered to be very young and naive compared to the people who pass through their graduating classes.

I pushed on, "Listen, while keeping her soul safe would be something I wouldn't mind, what I DON'T mind is removing a woman's soul and killing her over this issue. You WILL make sure she stays alive and well. If I'm going to be a part of these operations, then I expect to receive the respect that you all hold for each other. I'm a lot smarter than I look. I took all of a few seconds to observe all of you and take in your strengths and weakness. Almaz served as a huntress in the military in one of Mistral's more recent intrakingdom conflicts, her arm is made of metal and a special rubber that contracts and extends like real muscle when exposed to electrical impulses. Sayon has a massive amount of Aura, the most out of everyone here, and his robe allows him to use the elements as if like magic, but it's all done with inert Dust. Ironwood's name being half-metal is quite representative, what with his robotic arm, leg, chest, and eye. Ozpin, you sir are the hardest to look into, since your power isn't literally shown in your sleeves." I chuckled a bit, "I have a theory and if it's true, then I could use your semblances." they looked a bit confused, so I extrapolated, "From your perspective, your semblances are special to you, but from my perspective, they're just skills to be learned. I want you to write down the most detailed descriptions of your semblances you can, while I compile as much information as I can about what I can do for Amber. I also give you the heartfelt promise that I'll eliminate the threat the White Fang poses on kingdom safety and security. If I don't, then I guess you can always just kill me." I shrugged. It was true, they could. Did that mean I liked the fact? Hell no, I have things to live for. I have life, love, and light to fight for.

Almaz smirked, "Well, I guess that's assurance enough." she snickered at me, "Anyone willing to put their life on the chopping block for trust is obviously either confident or desperate enough to do anything to prove themselves." she flicked a few cigar ashes towards me, "Fine, I can do that. Anything else, kid? If it keeps the information flow coming, I'm willing to help out. Information is the deadliest weapon we have."

"Right, and because of that, please don't kill her on sight. If she dies, there's no telling what sort of chaos on her side will ensue and what they'll do because of it. I'm not advocating that she deserves a free pass to do what she pleases, I'm advocating that we gain information from her while she's useful. She's strong, but it seems she's quite arrogant. A trait I can see is not exclusive to those with power and _evil_ hearts." I glared at Ironwood, "We know our enemy, her name, and what she looks like. We don't know their intentions which is why Cinder must live for now." I sighed softly.

Ironwood, of course, as much as he pissed me off, decided to jab back, "If you expect me to trust you, rather than lock you in a lab for experimenting, then I'm going to have to demand that you trust me in return."

Ah, playing the hard game, that was his strategy, "I trust you, Ironwood, I trust you to do what's right, but I also trust in you to do what it takes to boost your PR ratings. I can relate, in a way. I sometimes do my best to come off as trustworthy. However, in these big leagues, trustworthiness of the newbies is only taken by those too gullible to stay long. I know you have little reason to trust me, but... I hope for the sake of society that you do, on at least one, if not all accounts. I plan on attending Beacon this coming autumn, so expect me to be here, and be more grown, developed, and powerful." I smiled at Glynda, "Now then, I think we should all take a break to compile information, then we meet back here and discuss."

They all looked at each other, then Ozpin nodded, "Of course. Surely you must be hungry, Mister Arc. Feel free to enjoy a fresh breakfast from the cafeteria while we discuss what we've learned here."

With a firm nod and a soft sigh, I reached out with my senses and found Garnet now at my feet, nuzzling my shoe. It seemed she had only been frightened by the transformation I went through, and not my self-induced evisceration, which I thanked Luck for. I gently scooped her up into my caring hands, rocking her to sleep again. With a soft smile, I looked at the innocent little kitten, then at the Hunters, "I'll be on my way then. I guess I'll see you in, say, an hour?" they gave their agreements and I walked past them to the elevator, pressing the button to go back up to the ground floor.

The elevator doors gave a soft ***shunk*** as they closed, and with a smooth pull of the cables, I returned to the surface.

* * *

 _(Twenty minutes later, Beacon cafeteria, Jaune POV)_

I sighed. Weiss would probably wake up early, and Yang, Ruby, and Marbel had school. I had to stay here for the time being, but I should be back in town before they wake up. In the meantime, I looked up some things on my scroll, such as video games and various skills I might be able to copy and use for myself, as well as contemplating how I would get out of here in a reasonable amount of time.

 **By observing the usage of magical spells, you have learned the skill "Energy Orb"**

It was nearly half-past 5 now. Without Gamer's Mind keeping my brain steady, I didn't trust myself keep the focus on the Invisible Jet together for long enough to get into the city without possibly either frying all my Aura reserves, or giving myself a stroke.

 **By observing the usage of magical spells, you have learned the skill "Lightning Bolt"**

I considered AD Winged Flight, but while keeping it together proved to be easy, I didn't want to scare Garnet with the loud buzzing lightning wings. Going through the forest would put the poor kitten in danger, and the airships wouldn't be open until this afternoon, after classes were let out for the day.

 **By observing the usage of magical spells, you have learned the skill "Fire Blast"**

So as it seemed, my only option was to have Qrow take me back to Vale after this. I could do that, so long as my kitten was comfortable. So far, it seemed, she adored me, and was now sleeping soundly, curled up on a small pile of napkins.

 **By observing the usage of magical spells, you have learned the skill "Stalagmite Strike"**

I perked up a bit when I heard a tray clatter lightly onto the table. I turned to see a hesitant girl sitting down, looking at the kitten to my side.

 **Velvet Scarlatina**  
 **Title: Scarlet Heart sewn together by Light  
Level: 76**

I hummed a bit, examining her profile for a few seconds. Rabbit faunus, as evidenced by the long, floppy ears on top of her head. She had a high DEX and INT, her Aura boosting them more than any other stat. Her semblance allowed her to mimic certain things. Charging it into her weapon of choice, she could take pictures of people's weapons and make hardlight copies of them using mechanisms that use Energy and Ice Dust. I hummed lightly, guessing that her level should be at least ten higher, but her timid nature and situational determination reduced her overall power. She could hold her own when unarmed, but she was shy and gentle-natured.

I smirked slightly, and I was sure my eyes twinkling in amusement, "Well, good morning Miss." I smiled charmingly. If I could put even a drop of confidence into her, then she'd benefit greatly from it, "I see you're looking quite intently at my kitten here."

She blushed, coughing into her hand, "Er, roight." she smiled a little bit, "I noticed it and couldn't help but think he or she was quite cute." she blushed a bit more, staring at the napping kitten, "M-may I?" she extended a hand towards Garnet.

I smiled and nodded, "Her name is Garnet. I've only had her for a day now, but I've found she's really really sweet." I chuckled softly, checking some things as I washed my food down with a glass of milk.

I hummed as I saw Wizard's Pool and Wizard's Stream had leveled up significantly more than they had been before. I was a bit glad, to be honest, since if I added up all the minutes that had passed and assumed as close to optimum AP usage, combined with how much I actually regenerated per minute, I had spent a total of over 800 million AP in two weeks. It should have been far, FAR more than enough to level them both up a significant way towards 99. At the very least, it had leveled up Green Thumb by a massive amount.

 **Green Thumb (Active & Passive) Level: 88, Exp: 21.54%  
** **The ability to promote life and bolster the light within plants through the usage of Aura (AP). By converting Aura into a usable form, plants can be made to grow and thrive. Only possible for those closely attuned to nature.**

 **Spend 1 AP to gift 4 Experience Points to target plant.  
** **Enhanced plants regain an additional 230 HP regeneration per hour after use, lasting for a number of hours equal to the skill's level. (Originally 10 HP)  
** **Increased closeness with plants.  
** **Cannot enhance plants beyond user's level.**

So basically, there was a massive patch of level 58 blades of grass in Celeste. The conversion rate had increased by one point at level 25, 50, and 75. I could assume that it would increase again at level 99, which was a fair assumption. Of all the things the game was, squared was a useful trait. Things were often made into nice even fractions, or at least the percentages ended at multiples of 5 or 10.

I felt a bit of hype building up as I also realized Nature's Bond was very high leveled as well. I would have to take the group on a training trip to make sure we all got some good levels, good bonding, and good stat improvement.

Velvet smiled as she petted Garnet, who began purring softly. I chuckled quietly, "So what is a dear of a young woman like yourself doing eating breakfast at half-past five in the morning?" I asked with a smile.

Velvet sighed, "Avoiding some types of people." she looked a little miffed at that statement, "That, and my teammates' snoring." she rubbed her ear a bit, and I chuckled. We shared a moment of laughter before stopping when Garnet seemed to to stir.

I waited, then brought a focus together, "I can do something." I gently moved her hand away from petting the tiny furball, then a dome of azure-tinted air surrounded Garnet, "There we go. Still-air barrier. If I'm right, then she should get air just fine, but any external sound is reduced by 99%." I smiled in success, "Now then... so, who are you planning to avoid?"

She sighed, "Bullies. Personally, it's not like I can't defend myself, but it's that I can't fight back." I raised an eyebrow at her in confusion, "If I stop them from targeting me, then they'll simply target someone else. Someone who will be less capable of handling it." she blinked in surprise, though I looked at her with respect.

 **Stay True's level increased by 1!**

"Heh, I respect your resolve on that, Miss~?" I trailed off, my tone implying all it needed to.

"V-velvet. I apologize, I was so caught up in adoring your kitten that I forgot to tell you my name." she said apologetically.

I smiled reassuringly, "It's fine. I'm Jaune. I'm not a student, but I'm going to be attending Beacon in the upcoming year. Heh, assuming you don't end up graduating next month, can I expect to see you around next year?" I knew the answer, but I had to ask so as to not come off as weirdly knowledgeable.

"O-of course. I'll be going into my third year." she said with a moderate amount of pride, which countered her shyness and brought her to a happy medium, "Assuming all goes well, as I plan to attempt to come back as a Professor, I might just teach you in a class." she giggled a bit, warming up a great deal.

I smiled, "Well, any Huntress smart enough to teach is one worth learning from. All knowledge is valuable, after all. Say, over the summer, if you're available, maybe you'd be keen to join me and some friends of mine in a project. It's pretty awesome."

She hummed curiously, resting one cheek in her hand as she took a bite of her eggs, "What kind of project is significant enough to ask someone you just met to join you with it?"

I chuckled, "We're building a castle on Eagle Mountain and, since it's outside of the kingdom's jurisdiction, were we planning on making it our own kingdom of sorts. Our group is quite small for a council, but we have Hunterly respect going for us, and if I can manage it, we'll be far ahead of the curve and more than ready to get into the school by the time August rolls around." I chuckled confidently, smiling like an amused mastermind, "They're all very decent people, my friends, you'd like them."

Velvet hummed, looking down at her plate as she thought it over. I let her think it over while gently petting Garnet and ensuring her sleep was peaceful. I hummed a bit, eating a strip of bacon while resuming the video I'd been watching, though now it was muted.

 **By observing the usage of magical spells, you have learned the skill "Crashing Wave"**

 **By observing the usage of magical spells, you have learned the skill "Tornado"**

 **By observing the usage of magical spells, you have learned the skill "Wrecking Ball"**

 **By observing the usage of magical spells, you have learned the skill "Zapping Arcs"**

 **By observing the usage of magical spells, you have learned the skill "Razor Winds"**

 **BZZRRRT  
**

 **Glitches fixed!**

 **Learning a large number of ranged magical spells has granted you the class "Bombardment Mage"**

 **Learning a large number of ranged magical spells has granted you the class "Bombardment Mage v2"**

 **Learning a large number of magical melee spells has granted you the class "Spellsword"**

 **Recalibrating your soul has corrected some errors: Mana Affinity's level now set to 70. Nature Affinity's level now set to 76. Wizard's Pool's level set now set to 30. Wizard's Stream's level now set to 44**

I felt a huge surge of power flow through my chest checked the new classes and was surprised to find I should have gotten them a while back, but then again, my semblance, like some games, was prone to glitches like that... I severely hoped it wasn't denying me anything more important than a couple of classes.

I closed the windows and read through the classes, finding Bombardment Mage v2 to have an interesting effect.

 **-Bombardment Mage v2 (know 25 ranged spells): +25% damage to Ranged Magic Attacks, +100% Ease of Casting of RMAs, +200% casting speed of RMAs. For 150% the normal cost, ranged attacks can be cast to have double the number of projectiles**

I HAD to test that out soon. The problem I had was that it didn't boost my APR to match the spell spamming it was encouraging me to do, which was pretty bad. I could regenerate enough as I was, but still... it wasn't ideal.

My new spells, which were now classed in a magic attack folder called Blasts, seemed to be the 'large' set of my ranged magic attacks. It made sense, in a way. Bolts was the 'medium' set, and Shots was the 'small' set. A 'large' set had to exist, of course, it was logically certain, since The Game seemed to favor squaring and rounding things off.

Velvet lifted her head, and her expression already told me what I needed to know.

...

I walked into the Headmaster's office while adding a couple of details to my contact profile for Velvet. We'd exchanged scroll information and gone over basic details of the plans I was making for Celeste. It wasn't much yet, but I had a castle with several rooms and a queen of choice. She'd made a funny face when I mentioned my 'queen', and after explaining it, I was glad she understood.

I wasn't bringing her in for her looks, though she was a beautiful young woman. I was bringing her in for her strength and potential. I'd actually shared with her names and traits of the others, and assured her that everything was legitimate. I would make a breakthrough soon enough and between making said breakthrough happen, some other priorities, and making Celeste, I would have my hands full for a while. However, instead of trying to do everything at once, I would upgrade my 'tools' to see what would happen.

I was of course referring to prestiging Summon Elemental. It had been surprisingly easy to level up, all things considered, since the skill seemed to mostly measure my ability to have, use, empower, and balance the charges of those elementals.

Would I gain new elementals to summon, and if so, what kinds? The Vacuan belief would imply I could get a Wood Elemental, which would be quite useful. Alternatively, following another 'star' point of view, I could gain a Spirit Elemental. In addition, just going off of RPG knowledge of magical elements, I could potentially gain one of Light, or Dark, or Death, or Life, or even the mystical power of Aether, which would... let me go into space, I guess.

It hurt my head just a little to think about that. If I could gain the power of Aether, then I could potentially go to space. Apparently, nobody on Remnant had done it before, given that Dust loses its power the further away from the surface you get, and it was our only reliable source of fuel for such machines. All aircraft ran on Dust fuels, while cars had the cheaper luxury of running on fossil fuels that were relatively cheaper to refine and use for that scale and type of machinery.

In comparison, it could just be a different type of energy, like Force. If I could gain a Force elemental, or an elemental for Gravity, then I could quite literally crush my enemies. However, I could take Force in a more fictional sense, since these elements were really very fictional (we know what atoms and periodic elements are). If I took Force as the meaning given by Star Wars, then I would gain an Elemental that, fundamentally, could control raw Aura and even the mentalities of people through means of Light Side/Dark Side duality, if possible...

Back to my original point, Wood, and then Spirit, Light, Dark, Death, Life, Aether, and Force. That was seven elementals of a more immaterial and spiritual type, compared to my six, I guess then seven 'physical' ones (lightning shouldn't have counted, but for this purpose I guess it did). That was all well and good, and made a lot of sense given how many skills would probably prestige.

But this was not many skills. This was Summon Elemental, which for more simplicity's sake would more than likely just further develop my elementals. I had to be realistic about this, as well as hopeful that whatever entity that controlled my semblance didn't like being that complex with these sorts of things. My skill, more than likely would prestige to increase the number of charges I had. It might also increase my Elementals' ability to think and comprehend. They were all slowly, very very slowly learning from each other by all being a part of my soul. If those splinters would grow into stubs, which would grow into branches and yet larger branches, then it would make sense that they, like people who were made of all elements, would grow in their knowledge and understanding. Not only that, but really rather the thing I was hoping for, was the possibility that the conversion rate on charges would increase.

Right now, a single charge on each of my elementals gave them 1 level. They were, right now, by default with only one charge given to each, the basest and weakest form an elemental could have while still having enough power to even _exist_. I had a limited number of Charges, yes, but assuming that it prestiged to the degree that Aura had, then I'd gain several increases of this sort. My elementals would grow in body, mind, and power. Body, because they'd change and develop into the next 'Elemental Rank', since they were currently 'Basic'. Their minds would grow because they'd grow to encompass more power over their respective elements, and possibly they'd start to develop their own personalities other than a basic form of attitude in regards to their tasks. Their power would grow because the unseen conversion rate for the charges would possibly, _hopefully_ increase. I didn't know by how much, but even just increasing it from 1 to 2 would be a major step. I had 22 charges right now, and given how the skill had grown, I'd end up with about 26. Even assuming I didn't get more charges from the first level of the T2 version of the skill, I'd still have 26 charges that gave them each 2 levels, which really meant they were all level 2 and could increase by multiples of two, up to a single one being maxed out to level 42. I didn't know how much power that would get me, but given that I'd been using a particular skill I'd been mostly ignoring for a long while now, I had significantly less to worry about with my glowing hair, which honestly was the worst part of using all of my Ki skills at once.

 **Shaded Glow (Active) Level: 41, Cost: 100 AP  
** **A technique developed by the ancient monks to hide their souls from prying eyes. By focusing on both the light and the darkness inside your spiritual mass, you can dim your glow and illuminate your shadow, reaching a form of equilibrium.**

 **50% harder to detect from the Light Aura Sight used by Mankind (10)  
** **50% harder to detect from the Dark Spirit Sight used by Grimm (10)  
** **Reduces visual effects of Aura-related skills by 55% (0)  
** **Costs an additional 90 AP per minute (100)  
** **User must remain in focus on this technique or it will break, causing their spiritual energy readings to flare up.**

The second I'd been able to maintain it, I simply set it up until it was on by default, which technically was abusing human psychology to turn an active skill passive. Of course I'd broken focus a few times, but I just set it back up. I was stubborn like that, and I'd be the first to admit that flaw.

Ironically, using Aurora to increase its effects actually worked, further balancing the light and dark into a happy medium and reducing the visibility of my effects until now, with less than twice the power needed, I was able to suppress the glow of Radiant Mane nearly completely. In addition, my Aura was nearly undetectable as far as I could tell. I hadn't actually had it tested.

Smiling, I saw the six gathered together, "I'm back, right on time. I have more reports." I pulled out Adam's scroll, opening it with the password I'd cracked and changed with Jurist. I looked through a few messages that had been sent to me, and the most recent one, which was sent last night, had the tone that they believed if 'I' didn't come back by noon today, they'd consider 'me' dead, "The White Fang have been ordered by Cinder to steal Dust throughout the kingdom. She can't be planning anything good, more than likely an assault on either the kingdom itself or on Beacon. If anything is to be taken as certain, it's that she'll stop at nothing to find Amber and finish her off. My plan is that with what I hope to be increased security, we can slow and delay their efforts. If I can't turn the White Fang back into a force for good before then, however... know that I'll take responsibility and make sure every one of those bastards die." I said with as serious of an expression as my face could muster. Almaz looked impressed, so I had to imagine it looked quite good.

"Very well. I trust that you'll do us right. After all, what is it your father says about the Arcs?"

I smiled and recited the phrase I'd known since I could understand it, "An Arc never breaks a promise or goes back on his word."

Ironwood sighed, "Procedure dictates that I cannot trust you with only the merit of your family name to go off of."

I equipped the Scholar title and took his 'skillbook', which surprisingly counted as one. I guess they all did manage to put down enough details that I'd be able to copy their semblances after all. Once I'd stuffed the six 'books' into my inventory, I looked over them while smirking at the man, "Well don't worry, James, at least know that I trust you based on YOUR family name... *cough* fake robot penis *cough*. Sorry, I think something made me sick." I gave a shit-eating grin.

Qrow burst out laughing, nearly falling out of his chair, while Glynda blushed slightly and Ironwood gained a poleaxed look. Almaz and Ozpin smirked slightly, while Sayon was the only one with a straight face. I chuckled lightly while checking the 'books'.

 **(Almaz) Skillbook: Prismatic Spray - A spell letting loose all the elements of nature in a splitting beam of destruction.**

 **(Sayon) Skillbook: Lifeforce Regeneration - A systemic frequency of Auric power that enhances the soul with the body, and the body with the soul.**

Those two were simple enough, though I found the interpretation of Sayon's semblance to be odd. I read the report and could tell that it was very, VERY heavily influenced by a skill I saw that he had... and had maxed out. Trained Body.

Yang, Ruby, and Blake all had it at a decent level, averaging to nearly 45, though surprisingly it was Blake who had the highest level in it. Weiss also had the skill, but it was a measly level 7 compared to Ruby's second-lowest level of 38. A physically fit fighter she was not much of.

When I'd tried to gain the same skill, seeing its benefits as both increasing HPR and SPR, as well as boosting both numbers a good bit, well... the system had denied it and claimed that the mechanics of Gamer's Body prevented its use.

I learned Prismatic Spray, getting two unexpected windows.

 **You cannot use Prismatic Spray! Requirements: 200 WIS. However, due to your current mastery over the elements and your total Ease of Casting, the requirements have been bypassed. You have learned "Prismatic Spray"! Your title Experienced Scholar has increased the knowledge you have gained from this book! Prismatic Spray's level was set to 15!**

 **Usage of many skill books has granted you the title "Intermediate Scholar"!**

The title was essentially the same as the previous two, but now had a maximum starting level boost of 20. I equipped it and gained Lifeforce Regeneration at level 9, to which I smiled. I pulled out two more books and examined them.

 **(Qrow) Skillbook: Teleportation - A spell that displaces yourself in space in order to move to another location almost instantly.**

 **(James) Skillbook: Engineer's Aura - A skill that converts Aura into a form of energy safe to use in powering machinery.**

They weren't perfect. From the description Qrow wrote, his semblance let him displace ANYTHING, including the sharp force of his attacks. However, given what had happened to Adam, I had reasonable certainty that the only way to gather his true semblance was to kill him and harvest it as loot from his body.

Useful as such a reality-bending skill would be, Qrow alive and well was far more valuable. I absorbed the skill at a measly level 3, but Ironwood's semblance got a whopping 20 from the title.

I read the skills and they basically gave me the same description, except Ironwood's semblance could also be changed to a very expensive 'attack mode', which I could only guess damaged foes in-range at a rapid rate, given it took a whopping 20k AP per minute.

With that done for now, I let out a curious hum as I looked at the final two 'books'.

 **(Glynda) Skillbook: Telekinesis - A spell that allows the user to remotely lift and manipulate objects.**

 **(Ozpin) Skillbook: Temporal Manipulation - An umbrella spell denoting the ability to alter the fabric of time.**

My eyes widened as I looked at Ozpin's book, then at the man himself. He looked at me with a contemplative look, then gave a small gesture for me to go ahead.

He trusted me... I absorbed Glynda's book first, getting the skill at level 15, then held the final book in both hands, and hit the 'read' button slowly.

 **PING!**

 **You have learned-  
**

 **ERROR!**

 **ERROR ERROR ERROR!**

 **Y҉̸̙̲̥̪̙ò̢͙͕̀u̬̩͚͙͈̪͉̲r̶̠͕̠̀ ̴̡̜̥̻d̢̘̗̪͜ͅǫ̶̶̖̟͕̦͍̣m̶̴̟͓͔̥a̩̹̗̼̪i̖͓͡n̬̝͞ ͚̹̰̮̲͈̭̟̀d͕̥͓̫̳̻̜̮͞ͅo̢̙̦̙͈̖̼e̗̗ͅs҉̮̰̲̬̻ͅ ̺͝͝n҉͙͉̭̝͓͚́o̞̺̲͉͈̺̩ţ̶̰̱̼͉ ̴̻̩̗͔̫̞̖l̙̤i̳̩̭ḛ̡̱͍͍͈͈͚̳ ̮̝i̛̞̥̹̙̖͉̝n̙̥͔̠͔͇͕͝͠ ̢̘̣͇t̢̛̫͡h̦̦̣̥̺e̷̜̼̩̝̜̕ ̟̞̫̼̱̦t͎̜͔͢e͍͖̮̯̬͖̻̺m̩͙͎̖͇̀ṕ̭͓͖̯́͝o̤̯̟̱̙̖̩̰r̵̮̠̮̖̕͜a̡̠̼̦̦̖̣̹͖͢l̵͙̮̝̖ ͍̣͟f̶̵̩̝̰͎ͅa̹̲͔̩̻̫͈b̸̷̟̻̼͈̲͔̮ŗ̘̗̭̥͈̤̳̲͢į͉̩̦̘̘͞c̯̼͍̰ͅs̷̵̘̻̮̠̱̺.͔̹̪̫͎̪̬**

I felt a headache set in as the information seemed to be slowly chewed and ground up by my soul, if that was any comparison worth giving.

I slowly sank to my knees, as if my own reaction was going in slow motion, and coughed. Pure azure light erupted from my mouth as I attempted to breathe.

I felt something at my side, two somethings, three, and collapsed, blacking out for the second time in as many hours.

* * *

 _Light and dark._

 _I see an infinite grayness with white and black mixed into it, strands of the stuff._

 _It was weird... it felt... odd, warm, yet worrying._

 _Some strands cut off suddenly, others began just as quickly. They surely were limited, but they seemed infinite enough that counting them would leave me an old man with a wasted life._

 _I groaned as ancient power slowly began to churn within me, feeling as if giant chains were pulling in resistance to me._

 _I pushed against them, as if they were holding me back from claiming the power I sought to grasp. I pushed with all my strength._

 _I finally broke through in a great burst of unnatural darkness. Following that, all I could see was unnatural light brighter than the sun._

 _I felt a chill run down my spine as my perception returned to my body._

* * *

 **Light and Darkness have been brought into balance.**

 **You have learned a new skill. Would you like to name it?**

I hummed, curious. This... was new. I was able to see the nameless skill's description and effects, which I suppose were to help as reference so I could give it an appropriate name. It had also come out as level 16, which was pretty cool.

Putting off thinking on what just happened in that vision, I took only a few moments to read the description of the far less expansive skill and immediately knew what I needed to name it. Entering the name with a thought, I grinned at the skill window, hype filling me.

 **Blade Mode (Active) Level: 16, Exp: 62.35%, Cost: 9250 AP  
** **An extremely powerful ancient ability of either magical or spiritual origins. It is unknown what allowed this to happen, but a combination of factors allowed a mortal man with powerful mortal soul to grasp the flow of time and contort it to his will, allowing himself to move at incredible speeds while his enemies were slowed to a crawl.**

 **Range: 6m  
** **Increases Attack Speed by 575%  
** **Increases Movement Speed by 372%  
** **Reduces enemy attack speed by 58%  
** **Reduces enemy movement speed by 38%  
** **Costs an additional 985 AP per second.**

Closing it, I saw Qrow and Glynda let me go, and immediately I used telekinesis to prevent myself from falling. With a smirk, my mind buzzed with calculations, figuring the synergistic advantages of being able to apply raw force in addition to being able to manipulate general fields of specific 'elements' with ease.

"Well, that's all of them, then. With this, I'll definitely have the power to take on the Grimm and, if need be, break some White Fang skulls." I chuckled.

"If you let word of our power slip, you'll be executed for treason against all of mankind." Ironwood said with a voice like a nighttime glacier. Cold, terrible, and imposing, it promised nothing but bad times ahead.

I didn't let that stir me, "I'm not too keen on betraying mankind, I kind of LIKE them." I chuckled, "Well, if that's everything, see y'all later." I grabbed Qrow with telekinesis and pulled him to the elevator, "Come on, Qrow, I need a ride back into the city. Garnet here's getting a little antsy." I gestured to the restless kitten held now in a warm bundled shirt, who didn't seem to be actively trying to get out, but was wiggling around like a fuzzy jellybean and seemed to be slowly loosening herself from the confines of the shirt.

The gray-haired Huntsman waited until we were in the elevator, then slapped me upside the head so hard I swore I felt my skull shatter, "That was fucking stupid, kid. Hilarious, but stupid. First impressions are basically all you have, because next to nothing will make ol' Jimmy Metaldick have any respect for you."

"I don't need his respect, just his trust and secrecy. If he'll keep quiet, I'll keep quiet." I sighed lowly, "Now then, seriously, I need a ride back into town and the airships won't be open until this afternoon, I need to check on friends and the White Fang, and Garnet wants to do things. Things, mind you, that I'm not willing to let her do when we're flying through open air and not inside a safe airship."

Qrow chuckled, "Well, ya have my respect at least. Anyone who doesn't like Jimmy is pretty okay in my books." he scratched under Garnet's chin, "Now then, let's get the pussy and the kitten back home."

I blinked, then deadpanned, "Hey now, you just said you respect-"

"My respect doesn't mean I won't poke fun at you." Qrow interrupted, taking a swig of whiskey, "Now then, come on. You have some terrorists to negotiate with."

The elevator stopped and I followed him out, "I'm not negotiating, I'm leading."

"Depending on how follow-y your followers are, it could go either way." Qrow chuckled.

I did too. I knew how stubborn some people could be.

I was one of them.

* * *

 _(An hour later, Jaune POV)_

After delivering Garnet home and leaving a quick note, I set out for the first location on my list. While strolling the rooftops at a casual pace of about fifty miles per hour, I contemplated the implications of the windows floating in front of me.

 **SYSTEM UPDATE: Breaking the laws of the game has now granted you the ability to use temporal magic.**

 **Increasing your understanding of the workings of the universe has increased your WIS by 5!**

I had pushed myself and gained a time manipulation spell, and apparently the game wasn't punishing me for breaking its 'laws'.

Except that was the thing... not the lack of punishment, but the fact it had called them 'laws'. There was a distinguishing factor that divided its 'rules' from its 'laws'. My cheats could break its 'rules' temporarily, but gaining a time-manipulation spell had broken its 'laws'.

I would almost brush it off as just some sort of reverse-broken passive cheat or something silly of the sort, _almost_. It was such a small detail, changing the word 'rules' to 'laws'. They technically had about the same meaning, but laws had a weight to them, a strength and persistence. Still, I _would_ have brushed it off...

... if it weren't for the ominous black window with blood red text that looked like a message from the devil himself.

 **You feel that wasn't a very good idea...**

I closed the window, watching it disappear into a burst of black smoke. I shook my head and dispelled my worries for now. Nothing had happened, and as long as it only hurt ME, and not anyone I cared about, then I was fine with it. I could take something like that, I couldn't stand it happening to my friends, my family, my love.

I sighed softly, smiling once more. Speaking of friends...

 **Robert Jenkins**  
 **Title: Forgotten but not Lost.**  
 **Level: 24**

He was looking at the old memorial again, so I called out with a smile, "Hey old man." I chuckled.

He turned to me, his eyes lighting up and a smile crossing his lips, "Hey little squirt." he greeted back with a raspy chuckle.

I put my hand around his shoulder, "Let's get you sat down. You don't sound to good. Sick?" I helped him over to the bench.

He waved a hand, "Nothin' I haven't dealt with before. I haven't seen you in a while. Busy training to be a Huntsman I guess."

"But not too busy to make time for a friend. Trust me when I say I think I can make you feel like you're forty years younger." I smiled, then activated Mana Barrage, placed a hand on his shoulder, and began filling him with Soulforges that I'd augmented to be five times more powerful than normal. I regenerated about 1265 AP every second with all my APR boosts stacked together, so using 1400 AP per second would drain me at a very, VERY slow rate. I'd get about eleven minutes of it, "So... while that's working, I think you were last telling me about the Battle of Hardsand in the region of... what was it called?"

"The official name is 'The Eastern Regional State of Mistral', but a lot of people just call the places by the regional capital, Warsaw." he chuckled, "The place is weird. Just a bit further south and to the east are hot, dry deserts, but Warsaw is cold and wet. I don't remember where I left off, friend, but I think you don't either." I did, but I shook my head, "Well then let me just start over. Besides, I don't think I got very far anyways. Now then, like I said, this will be a story you'll be interested in hearing."

As we talked, and Pistol and Assault Rifle Skill leveled up, I served him a light, but hearty breakfast. Just a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich on wheat toast, with a side of hashbrowns. It wasn't too much, but it made him happy nonetheless. I learned that opposite from the front lines, Grimm of many shapes and sizes, including a few humanoid ones, either adapted for wet terrain, cold terrain, or both, had begun charging. If they had gotten to the lines, the men would be torn apart. Due to the lack of free time or resources, fewer than twenty percent of the thousands of men with them had their Auras unlocked.

If they had gotten to the lines, it would have been a slaughter ranking in the thousands before the enemy troops might get within the range to actually hit the beasts and not just wildly spray bullets into the crowd. That was one of the few battles he'd seen where the Darkside Brickwall Act would come into play. It was international law, and ordered that no matter what the conflict, if you or your enemies were within a certain range of a charging Grimm threat, then you focused your offense on the Grimm and your defense on each other, regardless of allegiance.

Failure to comply would result in disbarment, and actively breaking the law as a soldier would result in TAM status and imminent execution. TAM status was the exact thing Ironwood had threatened me with, 'Treason Against Humanity'.

The highest dishonor possible, and difficult to attain. You had to actively support the Grimm's attack on humanity and throw away your morals. In essence, you had to become an absolute monster filled with hatred and cowardice. A ballsy few have done it, though the jolly old man had never seen it happen in person, only heard about it.

So, as it turned out, grandpa had simply turned around and, with the light of the full moon on his back, seemed to become some sort of ultimate warrior. According to Jenkins, his armor turned from a glossy indigo into pure white. It wasn't a fading effect, it was more like the indigo was slowly washed away to reveal the color. His sword, Crocea Mors, doubled in length, and Candidus Murus turned into a large gauntlet. I knew about the latter, but the former interested me greatly.

Jenkins had the respect to describe it poetically. He stood there like a dark guardian, looming over the entrenched soldiers like a gleaming metal titan. Suddenly, the indigo of his armor seemed to wash away, like the tides wash away the beaches, revealing pure white. His shield clanked and shifted, lit up indigo that seemed to lighten in color and brighten like a shining star. It was almost like the moon itself was giving him strength. He spun his sword and the wind created by it carved a furrow through the mud. He charged forward, seemingly gliding over the ground as every swing of his arms seemed to slay a dozen of the creatures of darkness. By the time he was finished, every single Grimm was hewn and strewn across the field. Even after that, he went down the line and awoke hundreds of auras, all in about an hour. Before Jenkins' very eyes, the man he respected and now slightly feared took one mighty breath, and unceremoniously collapsed, the power he had fading away and his armor changing back to indigo, the seemingly godlike power he held just moments before falling away. As it turned out, the enemy troops had neared the line, but everyone had stopped and stared in amazement at the spectacle.

I chuckled, thinking about that and how scared they must have been. They were charging a seemingly normal enemy line, when WHOOSH, a man on the other side starts glowing like the sun and fucking flies across the battlefield, slaughtering Grimm seemingly _literally_ by the dozens. It should have, and apparently WAS very terrifying.

However, when he was fleeing, one enemy troop fired and hit him in the hip. He was still able to walk after some recovery, but they couldn't remove the bullet without severing some things that would not grow back properly. In essence, he could have some pain and a somewhat reduced ability to walk, or no pain but be unable to use his leg.

I growled lightly in anger, "I hope you shot that bastard." I said with a quiet fury in my eyes.

He sighed, chuckling a bit, "Right between the eyes. Dumbass had lifted his helmet to get better vision through all the muzzle flash." he laughed and I noticed him lightly rubbing his hip.

With a hum, I focused and, sure enough, I could sense the piece of shrapnel still lodged in his tissues. My mouth quirked to the side and I looked at him seriously, "Jenkins, I have a way to get that bullet out of your hip without making you unable to walk." I said with a serious look.

He turned to look at me, seeming shocked, "Really? Oh friend, that would be unbelievable! God have I hated to have to use this cane all the time. Can you do it right now?"

I hummed, "No, not right this moment. I'm perfectly capable of doing it, but we shouldn't be in public when I do. You'll need to remove your pants for this, AND it will break your skin. We can do it at your home, and maybe getting you out of this scorching heat will do some good." I covered my eyes with a hand. It was getting particularly hot today, even so early. I smiled at him, "So, lead the way friend."

"Alright. God I'm so excited. Follow me, I'll show you my home I suppose. Soon, soon I can throw this stupid cane out into the street!" he laughed heartily, and I noticed his minor lung problems had cleared up as a result of the constant healing, which made his laugh clear and maybe ten times happier than before. I'd dialed back the heal-span once I got under five thousand AP, then dialed up again when my AP was fully recharged a few minutes later.

I felt the pull of Aurora constantly, and it was STRONG. If my math was correct, then Aura's most significant numbers, AKA its costs, scaled by ten. Aura itself, as I'd found out, could typically be opened when people had an INT of 25, which would grant 250 AP upon awakening. However, to get to Aurora required 25,000 Max AP. Not only that, but the general 'activating' ability of either of them, which gave the boosts to physical stats and regeneration. Aura could be activated semi-okay from the start, scaling with the amount you had by draining 1% of your Max AP every minute. On the next tier, Aurora drained 10% of your Max AP every minute. From how the numbers were looking, I could only assume that the third tier version, assuming that there WAS one like how Sword Skill would turn into Sword Proficiency and finally Sword Mastery, would drain 100% of my Max AP every minute, meaning I would have to increase my APR to above 100% if I wanted to maintain whatever ungodly (or possibly _quite godly_ ) power it had. However, in order to reach it, you not only had to strengthen your Aura by an incredible amount, but my math also showed it would take 250,000 Max AP _just_ to get the prestige itself, not to mention any sort of _fourth_ tier skill, which I could guess would take 2.5 million Max AP to get, and activating it would drain 1000% of your Max AP every minute.

Just the thought of something being THAT powerful made shivers go down my spine... but imagining that something being ME made those into sexy shivers.

The thing was, end-game things like that would normally not be able to be used for very long unless you delayed the final pieces of the plot, since, of course, it was pretty much the end of the game. However, as opposed to a normal video game, _my_ game had no end, except for my inevitable death. I could keep playing for as long as I wanted.

That was something I could definitely enjoy for a loooong time.

I smiled, then looked up at the quaint little home Jenkin's had led me to. It seemed this was an elderly community, with gently sloped ramps leading up to the doors, light and lively colors for the home exteriors, nice square windows, and I swore in the distance I could see a building with the typical medical cross on it. Looking back to Jenkins, I saw him fumble with the key for a minute before getting it into the knob, unlocking the door while slightly shaking in excitement.

I walked into the somewhat dusty little home, smelling a faint stench of cleaning chemicals. I sighed gently, "Alright, let's get this thing done." I smiled, feeling like my heart was filling up with kindling, "After this... I guess it could be called a 'surgery', I'll make us some tea, I suppose, and we can continue our conversation." I smiled, even as I quelled the sick feeling in my stomach.

After all, I'd be removing a bullet from this old man's hip, this wasn't going to be ideal or particularly clean.

But I was going to do it... because a hero overcomes all fear...

And wrinkly legs...

...

...

...

... I sighed in relief, closing the now open wound with Soulforges to Jenkin's head, which had been slowly growing a bit smoother and thicker-skinned.

Bullet in the hip? Removed and fixed.

Arthritis? Cured a good while ago.

Male Pattern Baldness? Done and done, surprisingly enough.

Old, wrinkly, leathery skin? As rejuvenated, smoothed, and softened as possible.

Loss of muscle tone and bone density? All regained, to an extent.

I smiled at my success.

 **-/\\-**

 **Robert Jenkins  
** **Title: Forgotten but not Lost - Reminiscing about the Trenches  
** **Level: 24 - 28**

 **HP: 350 - 700  
** **AP: 300 - 600  
** **SP: 250 - 600**

 **Strength: 36 (+50%) = 52  
** **Dexterity: 25 (+30%) = 32.5  
** **Vitality: 40 (+40%) = 56  
** **Intelligence: 50 (+20%) = 60  
** **Wisdom: 40 (+25%+15%) = 56  
** **Luck: 60  
** **Charisma: 50 - 56**

 **Age: 76  
** **Birthday: September 13th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'10.5  
** **Weight: 155 - 160  
** **Build: Lively Old Man - Lively Grown Man  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Smooth White / Warm Brown - Strong Brown / Weary Caucasian - Healthy Caucasian**

 **-/\\-**

 **Status effect "Withering of Age" was cured!**

 **Robert Jenkins has gained the status effect "Weathering of Age"!**

 **Weathering of Age: The wearing down of the body as age catches up to those empowered few. Still victim to the cruel hands of time, the elderly will slowly begin to dry up, weaken, and eventually perish.  
Effects: Eventually creates the status effect "Withering of Age". Negatively affects one's skin and looks. Reduces Max SP.**

I chuckled heartily, looking at the old man sat across from me, who honestly looked like I'd removed twenty years from him. He clenched his hand, moved his leg freely, and then stood up on his own accord and hugged me heartily, "Thank you, thank you so much, friend. You'd make Matthias proud."

I hugged him back, patting him on his back, "I'm sure I would have, friend. Heh... I certainly feel heroic."

 **QUEST COMPLETE!**

 **Quest "** **Young Soul, Old Body, let's compromise." was succeeded!**

 **You gained 100,000 EXP!**

 **Your level has increased by one!**

 **+25 Closeness to Robert Jenkins! (Total: +85)**

 **Your relationship with Robert Jenkins has upgraded from "Dear Friend" to "Dear Comrade"**

 **You have unlocked and earned the class "Cleric v2"**

 **Soulforge Restoration's level increased by 3!**

I smiled, feeling the new power fill me up, "So... I think I'll leave you to enjoy yourself with this rejuvenation now, friend. I'm sorry but-" I checked my scroll, "My scheduled time with you is reaching an end. I have other people to help too. I hope you understand."

He nodded, splitting from me, "Of course, of course. Heh, indeed just like Matthias. Duty never ceases. Go on, friend, you've done more than I could have hoped to ask for." he gave me a pat on the back and handed me his cane, "Take it. Maybe someone else needs it? Who knows? I certainly don't. Neither know nor need, I... hah... I just want to go take a shower by myself for once, rather than requiring assistance just to wipe my ass." he laughed heartily, and I laughed too.

"Eugh, god. That sounds awful. If I'm lucky, I won't ever have that happen to me." I laughed as he walked me to the door. I noticed Weiss had woken up and checked the tutorial, apparently getting every bit of INT and WIS from it she could.

I stepped out onto the street and waved goodbye, holding the cane in my other hand as our laughter died down while the distance increased.

I heard the door close and smiled, feeling elated. I looked down at the cane in my hand, made of purpleheart wood with a golden head like a hawk's. Surprisingly, it actually gave a small buff when equipped, increasing Movement Speed by 10% and DEX by 2. I attributed that to Aura imprints from Jenkins, then made my way quickly under the cover of Ninja's Invisibility.

I wasn't lying when I said I had other people to help.

* * *

 _(Ten minutes later, White Fang Alpha Camp, Jaune POV)_

Skidding to a halt and bleeding off momentum with massively increased air resistance, I walked into the camp with my head slightly bowed and Wilt and Blush at my side. I snorted and people looked at me in shock. I walked into 'my' tent and saw Banesaw sitting there in front of the table, muttering to himself.

I cleared my throat, "I'm back. The Hunters know about the fire bitch and I have gained their trust to a small degree. Though not demilitarizing, we'll be using less violent methods for the time being. Attracting Grimm to the city will not only draw ire, rather than fear." I said firmly.

Banesaw looked up, shocked, "S-sir. That... that plan is a bit out of our reach right now. Cinder... she returned. Nearly burnt my neck off in frustration. She told me to tell you that we need to increase our numbers and start making more attacks, ones that will also steal Dust. She needs a lot of Dust for her plans, she said."

I growled deeply, actually genuinely angered. Until now, the two of us had been playing off of fear to compel the White Fang's troops to act how we wanted. Now, though, she'd made the first wound, threatening violence if we didn't comply with our end of the bargain.

I lifted Banesaw up, inspecting his scorched and scarred neck. I touched the skin gently and he winced, then sighed in relief as I gave him Soulforge. I couldn't heal it all, but I at least got rid of the burns, irritation, and soreness. With a sigh, I looked at him, "Bane, I have a question. What do you want to do in life?"

"I want equality for my people. I want a chance to live how I desire, not how others would desire for me to live. I want freedom so that I may live in peace. Isn't that what we've been working for, sir? Violence to break through towards peace?"

I sighed, "And those who have the will and the power to prevent that goal from being reached, must be removed from power." I lowered my head, taking in a deep breath, "I have been gone for many days, friend, but I've found new knowledge, new understanding, and I know what has to be done." I let him go, turning away, "We're going to go out and become stronger, and no matter what I say, you'll follow me, correct?"

He nodded, "Yes sir. I swore my life to you when you saved it." he affirmed, and I sighed.

"Your dedication and loyalty have brought you far, friend. However, I will be saving your life again, now." I looked straight at him while mentally setting things up.

I'm sorry Blake, but I have to gather at least as many willing souls as possible. We're fighting someone who could destabilize society, or something else bad for all of mankind like that. I'm a hero and heroes fight evil, they give the innocent a security, and the corrupted a chance of redemption.

I'm bullheaded stubborn, impulsive, driven by loose morals and far more thought than capability, but I know a few things at least. Maybe not a third... but I know that everyone at least deserves a second chance if they're willing to accept it.

 **Invite sent!**

* * *

 _(Hours later, the Everfar Woods, Jaune POV)_

Screaming, shouting, and echoes of sorrow and betrayal, followed by quiet submission and surrender. Confusion, anger, frustration, and mewled, tentative acceptance. Bright cheers, a broad smile lacing words of light and faint affection, the rhythm of girlish skipping. A nod, a squawk of confusion, and an oath of duty. All of those things echoed in my mind as I cut down my foe.

 **Kitsuninja Chuunin  
Title: Darkened Dojo Dweller  
Level: 62**

Crimson redsteel flashed out with the speed of a bullet, enhanced by my Iaijutsu, my Haste and Lightning Aura, and a few other boosts I had going. It had been tough to bring it to the others, and we'd argued heavily, even fully fought in Banesaw's case, but after a little bit, it was easy to convince the brute to follow me in Adam's place. I had proven myself mightier and nobler, and promised him a second chance, one to save his life and show him a new path, one that would lead to the equality he desired.

Bleeding and broken, he accepted my hand with sworn allegiance.

I sliced the bipedal fox in half, followed by another slash to sever its head.

 **Quickdraw Strike's level increased by 1!**

 **Tachi-Ai's level increased by 1!**

 **Tenshi Katana's level increased by 1!**

 **Your level has increased by one!**

I chuckled, "That's the last of them... for now. Regroup for healing." I called out, my voice carrying on the wind. It wasn't long before four varying sets of footsteps met my ears, and I turned, Crocea Mors on my back, attached with a magnetic clip, and the renamed Murasama and Sandrust at my hip, on a similar clip. I had spent some time making it, managing to bypass the need for Dust with Juristimunja.

I smiled at the four allies gathered before me, then checked all our statuses.

 **-/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Wizard of the Elements  
** **Level: 59 - 65  
** **Class: Wizard v3  
** **Nickname: Mr. Player Man**

 **HP: 19,000 - 25,000  
** **AP: 92,200 - 103,000  
** **SP: 28,000 - 35,000**

 **Strength: 68 - 70 (+270%) = 259  
** **Dexterity: 60 - 65 (+270%) = 236.8  
** **Vitality: 78 - 80 (+270%) = 296  
** **Intelligence: 123 - 125 (+5) (+205%) = 396.5  
** **Wisdom: 125 (+5) (+205%) = 396.5  
** **Luck: 111  
** **Charisma: 80**

 **Stat Points: 133 - 160**

 **Boost from Aura+Aurora: 190% - 205%**

 **Physical Stat boost from Lifeforce Regeneration: 55% - 65%**

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Banesaw - Thomas Darkly  
** **Title: The Teeth that grind Flesh and Bone - Teeth Bared against Injustice  
** **Level: 61 - 64  
Class: Tank  
Nickname: Chains**

 **Hit Points: 16,000 - 21,000  
** **Aura Points: 9700 - 13,000  
** **Stamina Points: 20,000 - 27,000**

 **Strength: 86 - 87 (+90%) = 57.24  
** **Dexterity: 65 - 66 (+40%) = 32.5  
** **Vitality: 80 - 81 (+150%) = 57.6  
** **Intelligence: 67 - 82 (+40%) = 62.5  
** **Wisdom: 42 - 60 (+20%) = 57.6  
** **Luck: 19 - 35  
** **Charisma: 26**

 **Stat Points: 0 - 0**

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Blake Belladonna  
** **Title: The Nighttime Beauty  
** **Level: 41 - 52  
** **Class: Shadow Ninja  
** **Nickname: Nekoja**

 **Hit Points: 7000 - 10,000  
** **Aura Points: 11,000 - 17,000  
** **Stamina Points: 10,500 - 16,000**

 **Strength: 34 - 35 (+7%) =** 37.45 **  
** **Dexterity: 80 - 82 (+110%) = 172.2  
** **Vitality: 40 - 42 (+7%) = 44.94  
** **Intelligence: 65 (+145%) =** 159.25 **  
** **Wisdom: 55 (+105%) =** 112.75 **  
** **Luck: 28  
** **Charisma: 79**

 **Stat Points: 30 - 85**

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Ruby Rose  
** **Title: The Swift Red Rider  
** **Level: 50 - 58  
** **Class: Reaper  
** **Nickname: Rosie**

 **HP: 3000 - 5400  
** **AP: 6500 - 13,000  
** **SP: 5000 - 8000**

 **Strength: 37 - 40 (+10%) = 44  
** **Dexterity: 90 (+175%) = 252.9  
** **Vitality: 40 - 42 (+10%) = 46.2  
** **Intelligence: 50 - 75 (+76%) = 132  
** **Wisdom: 30 - 33 (+55) = 51.15  
** **Luck: 25  
** **Charisma: 82**

 **Stat Points: 27 - 40**

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Skyler Arcfire  
** **Title: Enlightened Lancer of the Mountain - The Celestian Ember  
** **Level: 48 - 56  
** **Class: Lancer  
** **Nickname: Razor**

 **Hit Points: 10,000 - 20,000  
** **Stamina Points: 15,000 - 35,000**

 **Strength: 74 - 88  
** **Dexterity: 72 - 94  
** **Vitality: 55 - 79  
** **Intelligence: 46 - 50  
** **Wisdom: 48 - 50  
** **Luck: 18 - 20  
** **Charisma: 12 - 15**

 **Stat Points: 0 - 35**

 **-/\\-**

I smiled, shifting my posture a bit under the extreme weight of the hyper-density steel armor I was wearing. I had saved it as 'Weight Training Suit' and, I supposed that in an emergency, I'd be able to use it as a tank-y sort of armor, given that it was literally about four tons of steel worn on my body. Even then, my massive, and massive _enhanced_ STR, VIT, and DEX allowed me to move around relatively easily despite it. It wasn't an ideal design, though, and even after I learned how to make whitesteel, it wouldn't ever be.

Too heavy, too slow, too lacking in proper coverage. It was made to fit awkwardly so I would have to get used to moving awkwardly, thus increasing my DEX more in addition to the standard weight-based training. If I could run at 400 miles per hour while weighed down by four whole tons of metal, then how fast could I run when unencumbered?

The short answer was FAST. The long answer probably required me to run around naked. Deeeeefinitely not a test for the current moment.

I chuckled lightly as I saw Blake giving the same look to Thomas as Ruby was to Skyler. Sure, interpersonal distrust was bound to happen, even now, but I knew these things took time. While they wouldn't outright point to either Sky or Tom and shout 'Evil-doer' and try to kill them, they weren't exactly going to trust that they'd watch their back in a fight, or something of the sort.

Which is exactly why I'd paired them up with each other. Blake with Thomas and Ruby with Skyler.

"Skyler, still feeling those chest pains?" I asked in concern when I saw the feathery humanoid rub her chest.

"Y-yes." she croaked out, trying to speak the words of man. I smiled at that. She had been making progress, definitely. It was slow, but it was steady. If we kept this up, then I should have her up to speed before Beacon. Hell, I might even be able to bring her into the school, assuming the final step of the quest would _somehow_ turn her human, "It feels like fire, master."

I didn't complain about the usage of the term master. She knew we were a bit more than that, but she preferred calling me it. I wasn't going to tear the poor girl's dreams apart. That would be unnecessarily cruel and she didn't deserve such treatment.

I raised a hand and clenched it into a fist, "We'll end off for the day here. Thomas, return to the White Fang. Blake, you're dismissed. Ruby, I'm going to help you to train a bit more, then we're going to meditate, and Skyler, read your books while Ruby and I are gone, then while she's doing stuff, you'll be doing lessons with me."

Tom nodded, changing back into his Fang outfit and making to leave. I made sure he hadn't taken anything out of the inventory and noticed nothing out of place. Blake, in contrast, sped off with a nod and a smile. I had started using my millionaire title to collect up a library. No, seriously, I had a millionaire title.

 **A Million in the Bank** **: Granted for gaining a held total of over 1,000,000 Lien. Grow your nest egg and continue to collect the stuff that makes the economy go 'round. Effect: Doubles money gained from Grimm.**

Most of the Grimm out here, in these forests behind the small mountain range of Eagle Mountain, Friar Mountain, and Mountain Glenn, were in the fifties and low sixties range of power. Thus, it was really useful training for all involved, and helped get the heart pumping. Grimm of this caliber, and really of any caliber, had to have their levels be determined off of raw base stats, since they had no Aura, or sometimes even a small amount of elemental empowerment, to boost themselves further and be protected.

Skyler sat down and pulled out a few basic books I'd picked out. Children's books, really, but they had simple words and helped her learn. She had the specific instructions of reading the books, then laying them flipped over on the ground when she was done.

I brushed my chin with my hand and began manipulating the wind, "Alright, so I've not got much to work off of when it comes to people affected by this, but I can only hope you'll benefit from it like I do now. I want to boost your level and probably your INT some more too. I think you'll seriously benefit from getting more INT, Rosie." I smiled honestly, even though internally I was slapping myself for lying about the reasoning.

Skyler raised her head, looking at me, "Master, you said lying was wrong." she said softly, "Why are you lying? Are you doing wrong things? Did you lie about lying being wrong?"

I facepalmed, "No, Skyler, I did not. Lying is wrong and I'm not lying, I'm just worried about what might happen and if this won't work. I'm worried about my promise that I can give them all some of my cool powers being broken because I can't do it. An Arc never breaks a promise." I said in an almost gloomy tone. I was truly worried about my promise, but not THAT promise.

I worried about the promise that I could cure Ruby's infection. My best bet was to get her Aura to prestige to Aurora, but it felt like her Aura itself was fighting me every step of the way. I didn't want her to waste her stat points just to help me figure this shit out, or just to do something she didn't understand and probably would get another scary burst of combating power sources from whatever was fighting inside her soul.

With a sigh, I patted Ruby on the head, "Now come on. I guess all those skill points are going to just sit there useless until they're used. It's getting a little late now. I'll see if Weiss can sneak out after her show tonight for some training. For you, Rosie, I think increasing your VIT and WIS will be alright to upgrade. You can get more points later, but right now I'm just... trying to see what someone will be like with Aurora. I think you'll be the best one to give that power. Let's see... six o'clock... Yang is probably back at y'all's house practicing, or in the forest practicing. I don't know which... shiiit, I'll have to talk to her. Let's see... um..." I rubbed the back of my head, for once not able to think of anything definite, "I guess balance your stat values for VIT and WIS out to 50 and 40 respectively, then since that's fifteen of forty points down, put the other twenty-five into INT." I said with a shrug, "It can't hurt, I guess. Don't worry, I'll be here in case anything happens. I'll heal ya and keep ya safe." I smiled at her and gave her a quick, reassuring hug, "Now then, come on. I guess let's both put some down."

With a reassured nod, she opened her profile as I did the same. She counted down, "Alright, you gotta do it too! Three, two, one." at the same time, we both applied some of our points.

 **-/\\-**

 **Jaune:**

 **INT: 125 - 130  
** **WIS: 125 - 130**

 **PING! Mana Affinity's level increased by 6 (Level: 80)  
PING! Nature Affinity's level increased by 6 (Level: 90)**

 **Max AP: 103,000 - 115,000**

 **-/\\-**

 **Ruby:**

 **VIT: 42 - 50  
INT: 75 - 100  
WIS: 33 - 40**

 **Max HP: 5400 - 6500  
Max AP: 13,000 - 17,000  
Max SP: 8000 - 9000**

 **-/\\-**

I glared at the number, then sighed, "Well, 'seems like it's back to the grind fer us, Rubes. Hopefully you'll get more levels, an' if this meditation method works, then in less than three an'a half days cumulative meditation time, that should be another thousand Aura for ya." I grinned at her.

She looked at me oddly, then grinned, "If it'll keep you talking like that, then sure! You sounds really cool, like a cowboy!"

I blinked, "What're ya talkin' abou-oh dammit." I bit back a groan. I'd let my drawl slip through.

I had grown up in a town with a lot of genuine southern-types. They had a way of speaking that I'd picked up on, the famous 'southern drawl', though I usually and without effort made myself sound 'normal' relatively through endless practice, but I think increasing my INT and WIS had actually brought back that old pattern again.

Just my luck, or Luck, that getting smarter made me speak with the same accent people associated with good-natured but rather dumb people. I sighed as my palm cupped my entire face, "Forget about it... actually, y'know what? Just for you, Rosie, I'll let it out, but only if you get Aurora." I smirked at her, "Or else, luv, I'll talk in rather the opposite way." I chuckled, putting on a London accent.

Her reaction was unexpected, a vigorous blush, "Er, uh, I uh... that sounds cool too." I internally sighed. I didn't want to attract _my girlfriend's sister_ of all fucking people possible.

I shook my head, "You need time for the power to settle, I see. INT should sharpen your mind and help you resist my wits. I'm sorry, y'know."

"E-eh?" she stuttered, expression halfway between flustered, confused, a bit scared, shocked, and what I could only assume was a hint of attraction.

"Just... forget about it." I sighed, "How about instead of just being embarrassed, we go kill monsters instead?"

Ruby grinned, "Woohoo monster killing!" she gave me a quick hug, lasting maybe only a second, then spun Crescent Rose out into its full form, smiling at me.

I smiled back, taking Crocea Mors in hand and unsheathing the sword from the shield, "This time we should stick together." I warned, feeling through my senses for more Grimm of similar level. I could sense some maybe a kilometer away, and looked at Ruby, "It's running time." I said with a grin, re-upping Haste on us both as I piled on the speed, leading the way.

...

Slowly, it seemed the trees were thinning out, until we found a clearing with a hole in the ground, "Oh great." I looked down into the hole and created a flame, getting a good look at the beasts inside.

Sadly, I saw some human skeletons down there among the Grimm.

 **Crypt Keeper Frostus**  
 **Title: Prey frozen to the bones  
Level: 49**

 **Crypt Keeper Firus  
Title: Scorched corpses on the webs  
Level: 52**

 **Crypt Keeper Toxus  
Title: Melting flesh for the pot  
Level: 50**

 **Crypt Keeper Sanguis  
Title: Blood soaked trapper  
Level: 48**

 **Crypt Keeper Voltus  
Title: Paralyzed in fear and pain  
Level: 51**

 **Crypt Keeper Venus  
Title: Coursing with poisonous suffering  
Level: 49**

The six spider-like Grimm had gathered around a bubbling pool of black ooze. I gave Ruby a silent command to stay back, then watched silently, waiting for something to happen while also checking the six. They had the usual burning red markings on their bodies, but the different types had secondary marks on the broad, thick plates covering their entire upper sides. Blue for Frostus, which had icy webs, of course. Orange for Firus, with fiery webs, green for Toxus, which had acid for spittle, crimson for Sanguis, which had very sticky crimson webs and spittle, yellow for Voltus, which had weak electric shocks and neurotoxins, and finally Venus, with purple markings and highly potent venom.

The pool of ooze, however, had me more concerned, as did the black-marked Crypt Keeper that just rose from it.

 **Blight Toxin: A special chemical rare among the Crypt Keeper type of Grimm. Once infused with this black ooze, the result Crypt Keeper is labeled a Crypt Keeper Blightus, a priority target among mixed Grimm-specie incursions, due to its poison being able to corrupt human bodies and turn them into abominations of Grimm-like morphed beings.**

 **Crypt Keeper Blightus  
Title: Trap away the light  
Level: 70**

I grunted, _Jaune W: Damn. They're all spider-like Grimm, and one just came out of a pool of toxin. If the black-marked one bites you, it'll turn you into a Grimm. :W_

 _Ruby W: WHAT? Oh my god. Oh my god that's terrible! We have to kill it before it can hurt anyone. :W_

 _Jaune W: I'm already on it. Stay back and if any try to get out, blast them without hesitation :W_

I gathered a massive amount of Aura together and cast Wrecking Ball, then simply dropped it on the new Grimm. I saw a bit of text pop from the crushed Grimm, _**'Demolished!'**_ and laughed a little, then gathered the Aura together for Prismatic Spray

Six beams of colored light launched from my fist as I released them. However, it seemed the glass cannon Grimm weren't so affected by the magical energy. Realizing I'd either have to crush them or let them get out , and I jumped down into the ooze, which came up to my knees. With a snort, I flashed out with silvery shining steel, slicing open the Firus' vile body and letting vaguely organ-like clumps of meat slip from its broken exoskeleton as I slid past it, feeling pain surge up my legs as the Blight Toxin. I activated Aurora as I watched the Sanguis jump out of the nest, only to hear a blast of gunfire and watch its smoking corpse fall back down into the hole, spinning rapidly I might add.

With a grin, I launched several castings of Energy Arrow, turning the Frostus, Venus, and Toxus into swiss cheese, seeing the Voltus attempt to escape. I sighed and waited, and sure enough moments later another bark of gunfire sounded out. I chuckled and gathered the lien and loot they'd dropped. However, before I could pick up the black scarf dripping with Blight Toxin, I spun around and thrust my shield in front of myself, feeling an electric shock run up my arm and nearly make it go limp.

Several more of the spiders had come out, these slightly lower leveled. I sighed and began spamming Energy Arrow, mowing the Grimm down. Even if the damage normally wasn't very high, the sheer number of them and the penetration they delivered was more than enough for these fragile, status-dependent junk monsters. I chuckled and fired a Tornado into the hole, watching the EXP roll in as the vicious spinning winds tore legs from thoraxes and simply setting the air on fire would fry most of them. I burned out the poison to avoid Ruby getting hurt by it as I gave her the call to come down.

This place screamed 'dungeon'. I summoned Crocea Mors, who looked like myself but a few years older. He certainly had been changing, but only in subtle ways. They all had, and it took a keen eye to spot them. I made him wait by Ruby as I took point, having her provide covering fire. Improving her normal aiming skills might help her get more DEX.

Routing them through their own tunnels, my control over the elements allowed me to easily cast these 'blast' spells anywhere I wanted. With a grin, I impaled two more hissing Crypt Keepers with Stalagmite Strike, their mandibles clacking together rapidly. I then struck a third with Crocea Mors, cleaving its head off. With a quick check backwards, I led Ruby through the dungeon, slaying the low-fifties leveled beasts, which didn't provide much EXP towards our new levels. It... honestly it worried me a bit, because they actually weren't providing as much as experience as they did. Not percentage-wise, but it was _literally less than before._

Was it just because I was so much higher leveled than they were, or what? It might be a way to push me to find larger, more powerful, more dangerous Grimm to fight in order to keep improving, I suppose. Pushing the thoughts aside with that conclusion, I slid under a charging Crypt's body and opened its guts with my blade, followed by its death being hastened by a bullet blasting its head into smithereens. With a grin, I moved forward and sliced down the legs on the next Venus' left side, then sliced off the ones on the right side, then smashed my gauntlet-covered fist down on its back, causing the brittle chitin to shatter. I laughed heartily, making sure Crocea and Ruby were keeping up.

I impaled the face of another Keeper on my sword and grunted, heaving only slightly as I kicked it off. I had all of my Ki skills running, and with Aurora and my own control over Aura, I was running them all at ten times their normal power, which felt extremely invigorating.

We made our way down a couple more tunnels, then found a massive chamber that stank of piss, shit, and what I could only guess was some kind of vile birth fluids, as I saw a fat spider sitting in the middle of the massive chamber. Ruby stuck her tongue out at the smell, shaking her head, "Eeewwwww~."

I grit my teeth, "There's a massive mother spider in there. Well... I figure it won't be fair to let all her babies get at us." I gathered up the Aura to send a Fire Blast into the room, Magic Doodle drawing Xibustral into existence, who controlled the flames inside the room, fanning them higher as hisses, pops, and crackles sounded from the chamber, Roimontagne closing the room off except for a small slit. Ruby looked into the fires, then looked at me, "I'm scared, Jaune."

I smiled reassuringly, "It's alright, Ruby. I swear on my life that I'll keep you safe." I looked into the room, seeing the mother in brighter light.

 **Crypt Founder**  
 **Title: Mourning Dew on the Festering Web  
Level: 83**

I sighed, then snapped my fingers, hearing the sound of Gaster Blasters appearing, "It's still alive, but not for long."

"Jaaaauuuune~."

"Don't worry, Ruby. I'll keep you safe." my vision cleared as pain filled me from being so close to the raging flames. I had Xibustral pull the fire away from us, realizing my petite friend must have been sweltering from the heat. I sighed lowly, then sent the blasts at the fat Grimm bitch. I reinforced the fire by filtering out the carbon of the smoke, recycling the oxygen to continue feeding the flames, "Fire a shot at it."

I waited a few seconds, but there was no crack of Crescent Rose firing. I looked at Ruby.

Or rather, I looked at the spot Ruby had been standing in a minute ago. I sensed her and sighed, focusing harder.

I slipped through the ground, moving up to intercept her path. I slipped from the wall, "Ruby why are you running away?!" I called out to her.

She froze in place, skidding a halt, "Jaune you're turning into a spider!" she screamed.

I looked at myself, sighing at how Aurora had not done much to cure me of the toxin. I shook my head, "I'll fix it, Rosie. Please, just calm down. I'm still in complete control of myself, just like when I turn into a Vulcyrie."

Azure eyes met silver as we shared a moment of silence.

I sighed slowly, "It's okay, Rosie. It's okay." I smiled reassuringly, "Even if I did lose control, I wouldn't hurt you. I know you could probably kick my ass when it comes to weapon skills." I chuckled, "Now just relax, okay?"

I held her shoulders as Aurora glowed around me, watching my Corruption drain away to nothing. It was a long while before she let out a small whimper, "H-hug?" she nearly pleaded.

I chuckled, "So silly, so adorable." I hugged her softly, "It's gonna be okay, Ruby. It's gonna be okay." I smiled and patted her on the back, feeling her trying to bury her face into my chestplate. I chuckled, petting her hair lightly like I remember doing to my sisters once upon a time.

Her aura glowed around her body as we shared the tender hug. I checked the new notifications that popped up a bit ago, and compared what we had previously to what we have now.

 **Your level increased by two!**

 **Ruby's level increased by three!**

 **-/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
Title: A Million in the Bank  
Level: 65 - 66 - 68**

 **Max HP: 25,000 - 29,000  
Max AP: 115,000 - 125,000  
Max SP: 37,000 - 42,000**

 **-/\\-**

 **Ruby Rose  
Title: The Swift Red Rider - Little Red Fighting Hood  
Level: 58 - 59 - 62**

 **Max HP: 6500 - 8000  
** **Max AP: 17,000 - 20,000  
** **Max SP: 9000 - 11,000**

 **-/\\-**

I chuckled lightly, "Hey, check it out. Your title changed." I informed her, then smiled and let go of her, only to immediately catch her as she slumped over, "What the hell?" I bit back a stronger curse as I held her up, then picked her up and lifted her over my shoulder, seeing the window that did it.

 **Ruby has fainted!**

I went wide-eyed, then immediately sped back up to the surface. Dismissing Crocea and splitting Xiburichu and Mystral, I summoned Roimontagne's influence and shot up through the dirt all the way to the surface.

...

I sighed lowly, seeing that the fainting was from the strains of growth. I gently laid Ruby out on the forest floor, her cloak spread out underneath her like a bed of roses, "Don't worry Ruby. It's not just the fact that Yang would be really, REALLY upset if you got hurt on my watch, but also the fact that I genuinely see you as a friend. Just take it easy, okay? You'll be fine after some rest and recovery." I smiled softly at her, then gave her a gentle, brotherly kiss on the forehead. I stood up and sighed lowly.

Well... these small problems were the least of my concerns. If I could just get her to the point where she'd get Aurora, then I could cure her. With a low sigh, I pulled out an Earth dust crystal and threw it into the hole, adding dirt and basically working from the bottom up, filling in the 'dungeon' where it was. I also gathered all the loot that hadn't been picked up by Auto-Loot and moved it up towards the surface.

As the loose soil rose after I used another five Dust crystals to fill in for more missing dirt, I began gathering together the loot. Millions and millions lien, a lot of copies of fang-like daggers called **Spantrum** that could change between a shocking attack, a burning attack, or a poison attack just by willing them to with some Aura. There were several dozen silk scarves of various colors, all named **Magischal** with varying second words, all in slight disrepair. I manipulated Alchemical Aura to mend all of them, at the expense of just one of each color. Examining them afterwards, I hummed softly at the varying effects.

 **Blau** was blue, and gave 10% resistance to Water and Ice element damage. **Gelb** was yellow and gave the same 10% resistance, but to Lightning element damage and any chance to Stun. **Apfelsine** was orange and gave 10% to resist Fire and also gave +10% melee attack damage. **Lila** was purple gave 10% resistance to Poison and Acid. **Grun** was green and gave +10% effective VIT, as well as +10% SPR. **Rote** was red and gave +10% effective STR, as well as +10% HPR. Finally, there were two special scarves, and there was ONLY one of each of them.

 **Schwarz** , a black scarf that gave +50% defense against Grimm. No doubt it came from that Crypt Keeper Blightus. I equipped it to my neck, feeling the cool silk-like fabric caress my skin. I smiled, feeling protected already.

The final one was **Regenbogen** , a rainbow scarf that provided 10% resistance to Water, Ice, Lightning, Stunning, Fire, Poison, and Acid. It also gave a +10% boost to Melee Attack Damage, Effective VIT, Effective STR, SPR, and HPR. It obviously must have come from the mother-unit one.

Using some FMA-style influence, I focused on the pattern of magical energy inside Regenbogen and used Alchemical Aura to weave some of the copies of the other scarves into more Regenbogens. I chuckled, then weighed my options. I could talk to Yang, or to Weiss. I was going to talk to both of them, but the

 _Jaune W: Hey babe. Me and Rubes cleared a dungeon of Crypt Keepers. Spider Grimm with something like color-coded elemental variants, though not the same elements we know. Killed a mother spider bitch too, got cool scarves for everyone. If you don't want to wear a rainbow one, there's red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple, in various shades. It was pretty tough, but we're both unhurt. Ruby was pretty tired though, and couldn't handle too much of her stat increases, so she kinda passed out :W_

 _Yang W: What? She's alright, right? It's not serious. :W  
_

 _Jaune W: Nope. She's fine right now. She's resting by the now-filled dungeon entrance. I got a couple million lien and the scarves, as well as fang-made daggers, and that's kinda it. I got a mask too, one I could tease you with, hehehe. :W_

 _Yang W: How is a Grimm mask going to tease me? :W_

 _Jaune W: one of its effects is quite simple. "Brooding Birth", increases fertility by 1000%. :W_

 _Yang W: W-W-W-WHAT? Just what are you planning on doing with that, h-h-h-huh? :W_

 _Jaune W: Well it never hurts to think of the future. :W_

I could feel the blush she had from _here_ , which attested to its power.

 _Yang W: God you're unbelievable. :W_

 _Jaune W: You are too. Unbelievably adorable and beautiful. :W_

 _Yang W: If it's a kiss you want you can come to Patch Forest. :W_

 _Jaune W: Well, I'll have to bring Ruby somewhere safe first. :W_

 _Yang W: Oh? Well, do that quickly, I don't want my lips to dry out. :W_

 _Jaune W: Don't worry, your lips will be VERY wet when I'm done with you. :W_

I hummed lowly as I thought about that last line. I had learned that Yang enjoyed some good-hearted flirtation, though only from me, since I was her boyfriend. It was like appreciation in a highly refined form, she felt. If that was what she felt, then I'd do my best to make her feel special, and make her feel loved.

 _Yang W: Y-y-y-y-y-you ARE going to kiss me, r-r-right? On my face? :W_

 _Jaune W: Pfffft hahaha, of course baby girl. Your lips, your sweet cheeks, your beautiful hair, all of it is so kissable. :W_

 _Yang W: J-jaune... are y-you trying to seduce me? :W_

 _Jaune W: Depends... is it working? :W_

 **By raising "Temptation" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Seduction"!**

Well... I guess that answered THAT question.

I'd take Skyler and Ruby home, then go kiss my girlfriend for a bit, maybe watch the sunset... yeah, that sounded nice.

* * *

 _(Later that night, Emerald Forest, Jaune POV)_

I smiled, putting away the two Heartfelt Drawings after taking some more time to admire Yang's artistry.

Taiyang had been home, but he had only barely questioned me about Ruby's state, as honestly the man looked like he'd been inches from being a murder victim. I answered honestly enough and had the tact to not mention is poorly state. I simply told him that we were training and killing Grimm, and then afterwards she had been so tired she fell asleep before I could get her home. Of course I only mentioned that we were doing such training because my semblance can help empower others and we could both get stronger by killing Grimm. It seemed to be enough for him as he let me go after I insisted he make sure Ruby was comfortable and could get some food and drink when she woke up.

Then I'd gone to Yang, who had been practically _playing_ with Ursa Majors in the forest for all the threat they truly posed to her. I brought her out, we killed some Grimm in the Everfar forest, got her leveled up a good few times.

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Yang Xiao Long  
** **Title: Hotter and Brighter than the Summer Sun - Hotter than the Sun in the middle of July  
** **Level: 48 - 56  
** **Class: Fiery Martial Artist  
** **Nickname: Sunflower**

 **Hit Points: 16,000 - 25,000  
** **Aura Points: 11,000 - 15,000  
** **Stamina Points: 21,000 - 35,000**

 **Strength: 76 - 80 (+285%) = 308  
** **Dexterity: 46 - 50 (+45%) = 72.5  
** **Vitality: 70 - 80 (+95%) = 156  
** **Intelligence: 45 - 50 (+45%) = 72.5  
** **Wisdom: 50 (+45%) = 72.5  
** **Luck: 30  
** **Charisma: 83**

 **Stat Points: 10 - 40**

 **-/\\-**

Not only that, but I'd also gotten a present for Ruby to make up for making her have to do all those things to herself with her stat points. Honestly, though it hurt that I'd possibly hurt her mind with all the INT boosting, it was to stop a potentially larger threat from coming up. It hadn't done anything yet, but ignoring it would NOT make it go away.

Still, a present would make her happy, she was the type to melt and forgive and forget if you forgave her with a present, and I was going to take advantage of that.

Plus, it was a badass present.

 ** _Huryi Stredir  
_** ** _Description: A long facemask/scarf woven from bands of a Kitsuninja Jounin mysterious magical ninja essence. Red as any Grimm's baleful eyes, it is infused with a great amount of its power and abilities._** _"And his blade struck true, destroying all in its path. Though he was kind, fear was struck, as the whole world was his path, and the shadows were his oyster."_

 ** _Effects: +50% boost to the abilities of Wall-jump, Spider Climb, Triangle Jump, Evasion, Stealth, and Nightvision. +100% Attack Speed, Movement Control, Motor Control, and Flexibility. +150% Movement Speed and Attack Precision_**

It was labeled as 'Epic Tier' in terms of loot, so I was confident that it, and all of its effects, compounded by the bright red color, would be more than enough to make it up to her for making her really smart and moderately tougher and wiser, at the cost of having far fewer 'free self-upgrading points' as she had nicknamed them.

Really, if she knew the real reason why I was doing this, she'd probably swear her life to me. While nice, I didn't need her doing that for me.

Back to my point, I'd given Yang a nice time, and we'd watched another sunset together, and while she didn't draw another picture tonight, she HAD drawn two others at some point prior to tonight, and just now had had the chance to give them to me. I admired the artistic value and, even more so, the sentimental value they held too. I loved them dearly.

Right now, though, I had another matter to attend to.

...

 **Weiss Schnee  
Title: The Frostbitten Princess of the Broken Kingdom  
Level: 31**

"Alright, you've managed to convince your, for lack of a better word, 'caretakers' to let you go. You've read the tutorial to its fullest and have explored the game's functions. You've made nice with the others, including Blake and Skyler, and they with you. Thomas will need time before he's ready to meet you, of course. Right now, though it's quite incomplete, I'm still glad everyone's managed to make nice and be friends. Above all else at the moment, I'm just glad that all of my friends can be friends with each other too." I smiled softly, looking her up and down, or rather looking at her new disguise.

Azure hair, magenta eyes, a black jacket and blue t-shirt under it, black skinny jeans that Ruby had stuck in her little space of the inventory, and blue sneakers. Thankfully, the equipment system resized things to fit people perfectly, for the most part. It couldn't turn my medium-sized hoodie into a small one to fit Weiss, but a small-sized hoodie fitting Ruby would shift to fit Weiss, Marbel, or at a stretch even Blake. Still, nobody would mistake her for Weiss except perhaps by her weapon Myrtenaster.

Still, without it in her hands, you'd be hard-pressed to think that 'Aqua' was actually the famous White Songbird, formally known as Weiss Schnee.

I had brought her out to face the thirties-tier Grimm of the forest to help her get some practice. Eighty pounds of steel plating protecting her arms, legs, torso, and neck. I'd taken some liberties with the 'half-plate' armor. I hadn't made the effort to sabotage her mobility like I had with myself, as she didn't need such training, and she was rather weak as it was, she didn't need to try contorting herself into weird angles to make a hit. Her style, Fencer I was assuming, would go for simpler, more straightforward styles, and most importantly the style was based on movement and attack speed. Without too much trouble, we headed out to start training.

...

After getting her a few levels higher, and learning some more about her with simple enough questions, as well as answering her own questions about me, I called the training for the time being. She'd made a bit of progress stabbing and casting at Longhorns, Cavalisceras, and other such mobs that were little more than trash to me at my level. Applying more Regeneration and other buffs on her for extending periods of time, I was happy at her progress, even if it was meager compared to what I'd seen Ruby go through several hours ago.

 **-/\\-**

 **Weiss Schnee:  
Title: The Frostbitten Princess of the Broken Kingdom - The Blanketed Princess of the Broken Kingdom  
Level: 31 - 35  
** **Class: Regal Fencer  
** **Nickname: Ice Queen**

 **Hit Points: 2000 - 2500  
** **Aura Points: 16,000 - 19,200  
** **Stamina Points: 3500 - 4300**

 **Strength: 16 - 18 (+27%) = 20.32  
** **Dexterity: 66 - 67 (+62%) = 106.92  
** **Vitality: 22 - 24(+32%) = 29.04  
** **Intelligence: 83 (+100%) = 166  
** **Wisdom: 50 (+92%) = 96  
** **Luck: 12 - 33  
** **Charisma: 46 - 47**

 **Stat Points: 0 - 0**

 **-/\\-**

I had encouraged her to put her points into Luck, due to the fact that it more than likely wouldn't increase on its own. It HAD gone up by a point when she had slain a Cavaliscera Pegascorn and gotten an apparently rare drop, which was an actual fucking pair of wearable, functioning wings!

I laughed at that, "Wow. You could _literally_ be the White Song _bird_ now. You HAVE to add that to your costume, AND add a new song about flying." a grin spread across my lips, "It's your last tour, so you might as well add some new material to the mix. I'll even help you write it, if you want." I offered, a caring hand smoothing out her ruffled hair, "I bet it'll make the White Songbird at least a minor legend in the music world." I chuckled softly.

Weiss blushed, "I... er... I think... perhaps... that _might_ be possible... b-but..." she shook slightly

I paused in my hand's motions, "But? But what? Is something wrong, Weiss?"

She curled in on herself a bit. It was subtle, but significant, little more than rolling her shoulders into a more slumped, slouched position. I quickly searched all of Gamer's Sight's findings for anything that might hint towards what the matter might be. I found something that explained the problem quite succinctly.

 **Family:**

 **Raureif Schnee - The Slave-driver of Nature's Might (Father) (Alive)**

 **Juliette Schnee - The Smiling Amethyst Hawk (Mother) (Deceased)  
**

 **Winter Schnee - The Frosted Hawkling (Older Sister) (Alive)**

 **Rengir Schnee - The Black Sheep of the Tundra (Twin Brother) (Deceased)**

I winced. It wasn't too hard to figure out when you could think at eight hundred miles per hour. Her mother had a definite bird-like theme and Weiss probably unconsciously associated birds with her mother's death if it ever came up.

I sighed softly, then drew her into a hug, "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to make you think about your mother." I assured her, "I didn't know... but now I do. I'll keep away from the subject if it bothers you so much-"

Her eyes seemed to light up with anger, and she struggled against my hold, "It's not that, you dunce." she said with a bit of frustration, "Though I'll never be the same from before, I've stopped letting it affect me, and the pain is subliminal at best. The problem is your insufferable affection. I swear I have never felt more _violated_ in all my life." she broke free, if only because I let her go on purpose, "Do NOT touch me like that again." I noticed her touching her upper arms, where my own had wrapped around her, and I realized she must have been cold.

Sighing softly, "I won't, but you're cold. Here." I took off my Frostburn hoodie and equipped it to her, "It should keep you nice and warm." I snapped my fingers and Xiburichu's influence used his own power, in addition to the Fire Dust infused into the fabric, to heat the garment up to about the temperature it would be if it had come fresh out of the dryer.

Weiss practically _mewled_ in delight, hugging herself and grasping handfuls of the warm fabric, warmth seeping throughout her entire body.

I chuckled softly, "Better?"

She coughed, trying to recompose herself, but giving up and sighing softly, "Much." she gave me a small smile, "You're quite impressive, Jaune. However, I think it's best if you took me back to my hotel now. I don't wish to worry my caretakers."

I smiled a bit, "Right. So... do you want to take the Jaune Express or the Jaune First Class?"

She raised an eyebrow at me, "I fear to ask what the difference is."

"Alright then, the funner one." I chuckled and charged Mystral with basically all but one extra charge, giving that one to Xiburichu to keep Weiss warm as we took the 'Invisible Jet'.

Her protests quickly devolved into awe-filled cheers from the rush of flying. I couldn't help but smile. Making my friends happy and causing them to smile?

I was unbelievably happy.

...

I was unbelievably angry.

Weiss had explained our arrangement already. I was a Huntsman-in-training who would be helping keep her safe as part of training, paid for by my father. It had been met with questioning, mostly as to my ability and reliability. Quickly incapacitating her toughest bodyguards without taking a single hit had proven I was quite skilled, and I'd gone on at length about how harming Weiss would have me killed or at the very least, banned from all schools for hurting a young woman who was classed as a civilian (despite her own skills, which were sharp but rather fragile) despite her innocence, the risks involved, and other such buzzwords. Though they didn't like getting lectured, they'd conceded.

And as such I'd been allowed to stay for a little while, since I was very thirsty.

And what I'd seen in that short time told me that her manager was as well.

The old, short, fat, creepy bastard had been staring at her legs and skirt, or looking her up and down with a leery grin. I wanted to snap the man in half, but his massive gut would provide too much padding or flame fodder for my usual methods.

So I'd begun to craft a new plan. I smiled and began to talk to some of the other people. Turns out the guy had already set up the entire rest of the tour with the others, but they didn't really like him. He smoked too much, stank of unmentionable things, and was seen quite often staring at the starlet.

So, the idea was simple. I had about twenty million lien, in _cash_ , ready to be used for anything I wanted. I knew what I wanted right now.

But... there was a catch. If I did this wrong, then millions of people would be saddened or enraged. Weiss had a LOT of fans, and hearing her last tour would be canceled? More than a few _thousand_ hearts would be broken.

Really, all I wanted to do was get this creep out of the picture.

So I plotted, and schemed, and gathered information. My plan was to buy out ownership rights of the contract and, if necessary, force the bastard to I'd do this quickly, efficiently, and without hiccups. For once, I trusted Luck to help see this through. It would take time, but... I had faith.

Sometimes faith was all you needed.

* * *

 _I held the hands of the woman of my life._

 ** _Yang Xiao Long  
Title: An Angel in the Sunlight  
Level: 96_**

 _Long, golden blond hair that swayed with every motion. Lilac eyes that sparkled and shined with love. Hands gentle enough to hold delicate daisy, yet strong enough to crush even the mightiest of foes. A smile worth every lien in the planet, shining with pearlescent happiness that I had sworn to protect with my life._

 _Warm crimson trickled down my face as my eyes trailed lower._

 ** _Grievous Chest Wound  
Punctured lungs, perforated arteries, lacerated windpipe and esophagus  
Estimated time till death: 7 seconds._**

 _I had sworn to protect her with my life, so why, why oh why was she dying and I was still alive?_

 _Shattered glass, each spike at least half an inch thick and several inches long. It had turned her back into a pincushion._

 _I removed the shards and tried to heal her, but I could only buy her a few seconds, which she used to break my heart with one last breath, "I love you."_

 _Then why, Yang? Why did you die? Why did you die for me?_

 _I should have died for you... that was my oath._

 _Dammit Yang I loved you! I STILL love you!_

 _I love you and you made me a liar!_

 _I set her body down onto the dusty, dirty street. My eyes roamed around and I found endless creatures of darkness surrounding us. Drawn in the dread of the dying angel at my feet, as well as my own grief of loss._

 _I felt like the world was darker now, that the sun shined just a little less._

 _Ahead of me, bow still up and aimed, was Cinder Fall. I hated her._

 _I had hated her before, but just out of general 'hero vs. villain' emotions._

 _Now, though, she had made it personal._

 _I rushed forward, my Aurora blazing around me with cyan flames that resembled the same that my love had once glowed with. I let out a war cry and swiped with my blade._

 _She blocked it with her bare hand and tossed it, and my shield aside. I swung out but she grabbed my arms, stopping me and staring into my eyes._

 _Her lips moved in some unintelligible words that fell on my deaf ears, shortly before I headbutted her in the nose._

 _I heard a masculine grunt of pain and my vision swam._

 ** _*BOOM*_**

 ** _*CRASH*_**

 _The sound of a vase shattering on the floor._

 _They were fighting again._

 _I was tough, I could handle it..._

 _I handled it all the way to my bed, curled up under the blanket._

 _That's when I heard a screech from the harpy that had replaced my loving and caring mother, "IF YOU ONLY WANT TO THROW HIS LIFE AWAY THEN HE MIGHT AS WELL HAVE NEVER BEEN BORN!"_

 _I felt pain and chills run all up and down my back, and I curled up, crying myself to sleep..._

* * *

 **You slept! All status effects have been removed!**

 **You had a Nightmare of Terror! Flailing and screaming, you were lucky to have someone to help!**

 **You had a Nightmare of Trauma! Recessed deep into your mind were events that scarred you. We're sorry about bringing them back up.**

 **You had two nightmares in one sleeping session! Stamina Regeneration has been reduced by a total 95% and Stamina has been set to 1%.**

 **LUCKY! Experience gained for the usage of Night Omen was increased by 360%!**

 **Night Omen's level increased by 3!**

 **-/\\-**

 **Night Omen (Passive) Level: 6, Exp: 30.00%, (achieved for raising Luck over 100)  
** **A power given to the fortunate and the unfortunate. A sign of bad luck in the eyes of most, this ability allows one to receive messages through their dreams.**

 **Unlocks "Ominous Nightmares" (16% chance)  
** **Unlocks "Animated Fear Nightmares" (16% chance)  
** **Unlocks "Terrifying Nightmares" (16% chance)  
** **Unlocks "Traumatic Nightmares" (16% chance)  
** **Unlocks "Hopeful Dreams" (18% chance)  
** **Unlocks "Joyous Dreams (18% chance)  
** **Chance of multiple dreams: 25%**

 **-/\\-**

When the hell had I fallen asleep? What the actual fuck?

I had sworn to never fall asleep again, and... why was I on the ground? I recognized this place... this is my backyard!

I looked up, feeling broad arms around me. I felt disgusted with myself for being so pitiful, but... at the very least.

 **Name: Johnathan Arc  
** **Title: The Ninth Moon to Illuminate the Night  
** **Level: 109**

At the very least my father was there to support me. I slowly got into a stand, "Th-thanks dad. What... happened?"

He sounded tired as he spoke, "You woke me up with your nightmare-induced screaming. It took me a full ten seconds to realize it was you and not some nightmare of my own. I came to wake you up and try to stop you from flailing around, but... I guess it was a night terror." he had led us inside and put a pot of coffee on as he explained what happened outside of my dream world, "Then you got up and started trying to attack me. I managed to keep you from doing that, for the most part, but then you headbutted me and I kind of accidentally threw you out the window with how much you were squirming around. You've gotten pretty strong, son, I'm proud of you." he rubbed his nose, a slight hint of blood on his upper lip, "I just wish ya didn't use it to smash your forehead into my nose." he chuckled lightly, taking his mug of coffee and taking a deep drink.

He took his coffee black, which wasn't a problem, with his VIT in the two-hundreds. Still... I was surprised at his stats. I had promised him that I'd let him into The Game, but I'd let that rest for a bit later. Right now, the look on his face spoke volumes of his concern. I decided to speak up, "Sorry, I thought you were a villainess I'm working against." I chuckled jokingly.

He smirked, "I don't know how you could mistake ALL THIS." he gestured to his broad frame, "With a woman's curves, but then again you WERE having a wild dream."

"Hehe, yeah. It WAS kinda wild... and really sad... dad I have to ask you a question." the look he gave me told me to continue, "If... if my mother was in danger, would you save her? Like not only just a damsel in distress scenario, but real, _mortal_ danger. I'm saying that, in this scenario, if you didn't save her, then she would _die_."

He stared at me, then slowly his expression twisted into what seemed like both a fond smile and a hate-filled scowl. He looked out the window at the sun, still low in the sky, and the hazy rays of light made the tear escaping his eye glisten, "Without hesitation..." he said softly. It wasn't just an answer, it was like a promise, whispered and true.

I cringed internally, "Why? Not just why you hate her, but why you would save her, if you hate her. I know it's more complicated than that, so I guess... I guess I'm just asking for you to clarify... why did you two split up?"

"It was... your ninth birthday. You said you wanted to be a big strong Huntsman just like your dad. That moment was one of my proudest, but... what followed was one of my most shameful. Juniper disagreed, she didn't like the Huntsman lifestyle of mortal danger at every turn outside the walls. Going and fighting monsters, it scared her... she's older than I am, by almost a whole decade. She was in school in Atlas when I was in diapers. I had saved her life and she had become more smitten with me. I was her knight in shining armor and because of that first move, we started becoming closer. Surprisingly, it wasn't until she was pregnant with you that she learned the darker, more bitter truth about Hunters..."

I leaned in, curious as to where this was going, "What is that?"

"Heh, it's a concept you know from most of your games, son. Hunters go out and fight the good fight. They protect the kingdoms from the Grimm. They help the people. However, most of all, they _die_. Out of Aura and injured, overwhelmed and outnumbered, or even just getting poisoned by one of those fucking annoying bastards who have the stuff, Hunters _die_. Juni didn't like that. One thing led to another, but after you had said that you wanted to be a Huntsman, and I couldn't bear to disapprove, we started arguing. Words were said, things thrown, hands raised, but we usually made up a bit afterwards, at least enough to tide us over until the next argument... the first time you got a deep bruise from my training, we had a massive argument, I think we even broke a window. You and your sisters were at that church thing, whatever it was, I can hardly remember... but... without that fear of scaring you all restraining us, we went all out, and then I said the dumbest thing I ever have... that if your sisters wished to become Huntresses as well, then I would train them. The next day we didn't speak to each other at all. A week later, you and I moved up to Vale City."

I stared at him, my expression blank, "So... mom didn't want you to 'corrupt' your daughters into risking their lives, regardless of the glory and nobility it held." he nodded, "She'd rather you two be separated as far apart as possible to save them from your influence." he nodded again, "She'd rather you... that... YOU! You took my sisters away from me to give me this life."

He finally spoke again, "I didn't do that intentionally. Son, your sisters were too young to understand what they wanted. Juni was just doing what she thought was best for them. I guess she did that for you too. I didn't always agree with it, but... well, what Juni wanted, I usually gave her. She was-"

"Stop calling her that." I interrupted him forcefully, "Stop calling her that little pet name. It makes it sound like you love her aga-"

He stood up forcefully, knocking his coffee mug onto the floor, "LOVING HER AGAIN WOULD IMPLY I EVER STOPPED IN THE FIRST PLACE!" he slumped back down into his chair, picking up his fallen mug and refilling it, throwing down some paper towels onto the puddle of coffee on the floor, "I never stopped loving her. Just because I was angry, or spiteful, or hateFUL, I never actually truly HATED her. I'd like to thing it was the same with her. We didn't hate each other. We loved each other, but had a personal despisal for each other. At the end of each and every day, we still shared a bed at night. Our emotions drove us apart, not our feelings. Our feelings never died, even if they'd seemed that way. I think... the main thing preventing us from approaching each other on the subject is our fear... I don't know what seven years away has done to her or her psyche... and she must feel the same way with me. It's like our greatest fears are the fears themselves..." he sighed and rested his head in his hands, "It's just so easy to NOT confront her now that everything is probably said and done, that actually confronting her now is just... so far away and it puts a bad taste in my mouth..."

I looked at my father, a man in his mid-forties, yet looking older than Jenkins had. I sighed softly, "I have a quest to bring you to together, dad. Just like every Arc before me, I've accepted the quests I've been presented with, and I've not broken my promise to complete them." I smiled lightly, "It might take some time, but I was planning a trip down to Coldwater, probably after I finish guarding and assisting the aspiring Huntress-in-Training I'm now planning to buy the contract of."

My father looked at me in surprise, "Buying out a contract? Huntress in training? Just what is this semblance of yours getting you involved with?"

I chuckled, "Weiss Schnee herself. She's got the will and I've got a way, so I figured I could help her out. Plus, she's willing to become a Huntress in the name of restoring honor to her tainted family name. In a way, having the bravery to choose taking up this dangerous path in life, in the name of honor, is a lot like what I myself am doing, trying to maintain the honor of the Arc name and being a warrior worthy of my lineage."

Cobalt eyes bored into my cyans, as if my father was shocked at my stupidity and was lecturing me through his eyes, "Son... you do not have to 'try' to maintain the honor of the Arc name. Our lineage is more than warriors, we are heroes. You don't need to swing a sword at some bad guys to be a hero worthy of your name, son. You just need to have the heart and determination to fight for goodness and justice. From what you've told me and messaged me about... protecting and assisting several aspiring Huntresses, following a path to purify a Grimm into a being capable of goodness and love, working to craft a new kingdom to serve as another bastion of hope and light... you've done me and our ancestors proud, more than a hundred, even a thousand times over. You don't need to worry about knighthood, or any sort of oaths or any of that dumb shit. All you need to worry about, son, is staying alive long enough to fulfill your promises. After all, if you're dead, you can't carry out your word, and what have I always told you?"

We both recited the olden words at the same time, "An Arc never goes back on his word." I smiled, "Hey, dad, I'm able to see your level normally now. I have some problems with trying to recruit incredibly powerful people with my semblance, but... I think something might be inhibiting your level, just enough that I could get you into a party." I smiled, feeling like a warm fire had burst inside my heart. I certainly felt a lot better about myself than I did five minutes ago. I had plans in place to help my parents get over themselves and get back together. I would help Weiss grow stronger. I would get Ruby to Aurora. I would keep Yang safe. I would turn the White Fang back onto a path of good. I would kill Cinder Fall.

I would win this Game if it was the last thing I did! Hell, technically speaking it could very well BE the last thing I did!

Well... with some of my goals now a lot less nebulous, I could start turning my dreams into realities.

"Well, that'll certainly be interesting to do. Now then... care to explain to T-1000 and Human Torch duo that are making our breakfast?" he asked with a bit of concern, jabbing his thumb back at my elementals, Crocea and Xiburichu, who had gone to work preparing food while my dad and I talked.

I sighed softly, ramping up the flames that were cooking our bacon, "Elementals. Beings constructed from splinters of my soul and Apparently, Lightning and Metal, the two elements that are lacking in 'nature' things, are highly present in the souls of the Arc family. Other elements seem to be very balanced, from what I can see of you." 35 Metal Affinity and 25 Lightning Affinity, with 10 in everything else? That was the most affinity I'd seen in anyone, including myself! "It's pretty OP... even more than what I have, and I have actual Elementals... *ahem*. There are six magical elements that, according to my semblance, reality is comprised of: Metal, Lightning, Earth, Fire, Water, and Air."

I proceeded to explain the entirety of what I could to him, occasionally stopping to explain something further, or to clarify something. In that time, I found myself gaining another level in Summon Elemental, putting me at 92 and netting me another charge for it. With 24 of them, I distributed them evenly among all six of my summoned elementals.

 **Crocea Mors**  
 **Title: Metal Soul, Yellow Death  
Level: 4**

 **Xiburichu  
Title: Fire Soul, Western Sunrise  
Level: 4**

 **Mystral  
Title: Air Soul, Cold Wind  
Level: 4**

 **Roimontagne  
Title: Earth Soul, Mountain Tosser  
Level: 4**

 **Pluviteus  
Title: Water Soul, Orange Rain  
Level: 4**

 **Juristimunja  
Title: Lightning Soul, True Storm  
Level: 4**

Smiling, I looked at my father, "My summons, my friends, my allies. They each represent some of my experiences. Crocea Mors, the sword and shield that is the legend of our family... when I was first finding out who and what I would become with this power. Xiburichu, the sunrise of the west. When I met Yang, I showed her my power and the 'sun' had 'risen' in my life, I suppose. Mystral, after I'd faced the cold truth of reality not being very much like the fantasy my power would imply it to be. After meeting Blake, the brief 'fight' with Taiyang, I guess I really felt cold after that. Roimontagne, when I set about starting to dominate Eagle Mountain, and I needed to move the mountain itself, I summoned him. Pluviteus, I had breathed light into the orange tree on the mountain, and took its fruit as sacrifice. It rained that day, just like I feel it will today too." I looked outside at the skyline, which had grown slightly hazy, "Finally, Juristimunja. The last piece of the puzzle to find the truth of the Elements. It was then that I knew about our souls and their composition, if only partially. I understood some... some full-formed sense of self. Sense of power, of truth. Dad... when we think of god, what do we think of? It's been so long since I thought about it..."

It was about a full minute before my father spoke, obviously still looking at the Elementals, "Well, son, the lord Monty Oum is usually imagined a man with skin as bright and healthy as the sun, because he's the source of life and the sun provides the light we need to live. They say his hair isn't so much strands of hair like mortals have, but rather a tapestry woven out of all of reality, leaking from his infinite mind. He has an indomitable will and unending resolve. Even creating endlessly, his word is to keep moving forward, to look ahead and find the bright future we all crave." he let out a soft laugh as a droplet splashed against the screen door, "A lot of people say we cling to that image because of some pointless hope... but I say that regardless of if he's real or not, that hope is what keeps the light shining."

I smiled lightly, "Well... I've been thinking over some things, and I've decided that faith, or hope, or whatever the hell... it's probably the strongest thing in the world. It helps us survive with our humanity intact... in fact I'd go so far as to say it's one of the very things that make us human..." neither of us spoke after that, and one by one, my elementals disappeared.

 **Banishing the darkness of despair from your mind and reinforcing your hopes and dreams has increased the sharpness and power of Gamer's Mind! In addition, your INT has increased by 2!**

Yet even beyond my hopes, the rain still fell.

However, it was alright. It really was.

The sun would show itself again soon.

* * *

 _(One day later, Saturday morning, about 10 AM. Vale Airship Docks. Jaune POV)_

I gently used telekinesis to push away the adoring fans, stating some security measures. The others helped cement that fact.

I'd decided to bring some people along, since I had had enough money left over from buying out the contract that I could rent a private dustjet scheduled to take us wherever the tour went. It had taken a bit more planning time than I'd have liked, but it got done regardless.

Buying out the contract had taken more than a little coercion, compelling the man with a large chunk of about 25 million lien, which I convinced him would be far more than necessary for me to pay, since while it would be less than he'd get for the complete contract, he could get more money working during the time he'd free up by getting it off his hands. I had to throw jabs at Weiss to lubricate the transaction with some vocalist tears, but when even _that_ hadn't been enough to convince him, a Gaster Blaster skull staring at him and my less-than-friendly words that followed had convinced him to sign the papers over.

Still, even though things went relatively smoothly and no blood was shed, the time I'd wasted by filing for these arrangements could have been put to better use. I could have trained my skills up more, but at the very least I'd managed to awaken the Auras of nearly ten _thousand_ more square feet of Celeste Field's grass. I didn't know what exactly _what_ I'd accomplish by doing all of that, but it couldn't hurt and it helped level up the skill a lot. My plan was to eventually awaken the Auras of every plant in the forest on the mountain, all the way to the edge of the large plain-like area it had. Who knows? Maybe I'd gain the trust of some nature spirits or something.

Still, that would be a lot of work that would take a lot of time that I couldn't spare at the moment, given that we were leaving for the trip in mere minutes.

I took one last look at my compatriots before we were to board the private jet.

 **Marbel Mayston**  
 **Title: The White Rook of the Flowering Kingdom  
Level: 45 - 48**

I had convinced her parents and Cherrywood to let her go for a week while recording it as a 'business trip'. Technically it WAS business. Gamer business, Hunter business, and in a way, even Kingdom business, since we were in the process of founding a new kingdom in the mountains. She was safe in my care, and we were operating in a completely legal way.

 **Blake Belladonna**  
 **Title: The Nighttime Beauty**  
 **Level: 52**

She had nothing else to do except for clean the castle every day and grind more levels, perhaps read in the library. The castle would still be standing when we got back, and now she had something even better to do: Accompany me to Vacuo to watch over Weiss during her tour, as well as level up against some dangerous desert-type Grimm. She could still read all the books she wanted, given that I could fit a ton of books into just a few inventory spaces, so long as their number of pages was within a certain range, they could stack together.

 **Johnathan Arc**  
 **Title: The Ninth Moon to Illuminate the Night**  
 **Level: 109**

I'd created a new party, affectionately named 'Arc Pride'. He technically had no obligations to anyone except those which he made for himself. He looked incredibly happy, and I was happy in return. His sword and shield, different from the family weapon and yet much the same, were at his waist. Midnight Tide the sword, and Titan's Levee the shield. He was dressed well, which I'd told all of them to do, since we'd be arriving alongside Weiss' jet.

I held Crocea Mors' handle at my left side, having changed into a more formal outfit, including a smart-looking black suit jacket, dark gray trousers, a deep blue undershirt, and my chestplate between the shirt and jacket. For 'extra protection', I wore my bracers and greaves, even though I had Stone Skin and Metal Skin both active and running at exactly one-thousand times their normal power, which still didn't drain out my APR boosted by Wizard v3.

I grinned, feeling power flowing through me as I balanced the flow of Aura into my AP bar with the draining of my various defenses and buffs. I breathed slowly, taking in air and letting out a light frost as I combined my Ki Breathing and repeated usage of Chilly Breath.

Even as water vapor froze in my mouth with each breath, I felt a light tickling on the back of my neck. I didn't need to turn to know what it was.

 **Garnet Arc**  
 **Title: Swaddled in Hope and Fate**  
 **Level: 1**

I had gently nudged the kitten into accepting the party invite, adding her to the Arc Pride party. She had only received the apparently painful soul-embedding sensation for a few moments before collapsing, apparently barely able to stand. Of course, after I'd helped her recover, she hadn't been able to read the tutorial, and so I closed it for her. I was going to make Garnet a super kitten, or at least make her able to withstand any danger she might face. As a practically infantile and depressingly feeble and frail animal, she would need help to survive. As long as nothing hurt her, I could easily help her get levels and become far stronger than any three-month-old kitten had any right to be.

With a small smile, I turned towards Weiss, who looked more than ready to fly to Vacuo by flapping her arms, for all the enthusiasm that remained in her kiss-blowing and hyping gestures. I chuckled, and Mystral gave her the message that the area was safe for takeoff. She passed the message onto the security team, and they escorted her onto the ship. I made a gesture for the others to board our own ship, and both vessels began to ascend, first Weiss', then our own.

I scanned the area with all of my sensory skills, as well as looking through the disturbances in the air and ground, like a sort of Echo Sense and Tremor Sense. All of that combined, I found nothing, so we set off. I knew such checks wouldn't be entirely necessary, but I just wanted to make sure. It was sort of a habit. I'd clear places of all the enemies present before moving onto the next area. It was that surprisingly sad truth that had helped me nearly complete the genocide run in Undervale: my compulsion for game completion.

Putting those thoughts aside, I looked out towards the horizon, chuckling lightly, "Bring me that horizon, boys." I commanded the pilots, grinning even though they didn't seem to get it. I exited the pilot's cabin and walked out into the common area.

Marbel had convinced Blake to play some sort of pen and paper game involving a rabbit, though Blake seemed to be very slow on the uptake either due to the game's inanity or because she was only playing for Marbel's sake. Air-travel tended to accelerate and emphasize cabin fever for a good amount of people, and we'd be flying for good seven or eight hours. Comparing that to about a two-hour flight from Coldwater to Vale City (that is to say, the southern edge of Vale Kingdom to the northern edge) and one could only deal with so much, and only sleep through so much of it.

'So much' being one of my dad's specialties, since he was fast asleep with light snoring sounds escaping his mouth. I found him in one of the four personal rooms on-board, a thing I'd requested since we had four people.

With my checks on everyone, even the tiny Garnet, now complete, I claimed a room for myself and began to meditate, for all it was worth now.

It was time to play the waiting game.

* * *

 **Well, that's FINALLY done. Jesus H Fucking CHRIST on a cracker with a side of trapeze artists.**

 **My week has been all kinds of fig-filled fuckery and my anxiety over getting this chapter done was only matched by my despair at the chapter not being done. Despair is poisonous, it's weakness, it's dangerous.**

 **Despair is what kills people and what I might dare to suspect kills stories too, what with the author losing hope that they can recover or post in time or for whatever other reason. I don't actually know but I'm trying to justify or at least play up my achievement to make myself feel better.**

 **I'm so torn on some things, even though I have a decent progression of story events in my head. I don't know whether to keep him in a pairing or make it a harem, and you all, the fans, seem to be quite divided over that as well.**

 **As such, I'm going to put up a poll on whether or not I should do that.**

 **Ideally, romance and love would be a force to drive Jaune (and his partner or partners)to grow stronger, so he can protect the people he (romantically) loves even better, as well as those he (friendship and family) loves.**

 **Just imagine someone getting a major power boost at a critical moment because of the power of determination (not the Undertale kind, the normal kind) and love. It's like a transcripted anime moment, but probably less awesome since you can't see it, only read the descriptions of it...**

 **Prooooooobably just forget that last line.**

 **Anyways, as I said like four lines ago, I'm going to put up a poll on my profile, and then a secondary poll based on the results of the first poll. I encourage everyone to cast their votes, and the majority wins.**

 **I also plead the remaining minority to not abandon the story just because of this. Please, stay for the entertainment, don't leave because Jaune decides to level up his Threesome skill or something (though that would make for a funny omake).**

 **For those of you worried about the pacing of the story, fret not. The next chapter will encompass an entire week's worth of travel through Vacuo, following Weiss' tour, but not staying strictly focused on that.**

 **Jaune has plans for his friends involving some of his skills that are decidedly quite broken in retrospect. Having your own reserve of special bullshit powers is awesome, but having a squad of people who have the same bullshit powers and fuck up anyone's shit? That's just playing the deck in his favor.**

 **Introduction of Amber, of Velvet, and of the leaders of the other schools. If you're wondering, Almaz Chien is some french and russian combination name meaning "Diamond Dog", and she's an expy of Big Boss from MGSV. Sayon Miyagito is a combination of Mister Miyagi and Shigeru Miyamoto (at least in name).**

 **I suppose I could have done more to flesh out Sayon (his name refers to cyan) as the cooler, calmer-headed, more logical and pragmatic leader, in opposition to Ozpin's hidden agenda workings, Ironwoods "Missiles, more missiles, ALL THE MISSILES", and Almaz' more self-assured confidence and tactile prioritizing.**

 **Sorry if the first part of this chapter seems wonky, too, I had just come off of posting the other chapter and I honestly am wanting to just move past that and onto the next chapter, where more things will happen.**

 **The overall quality of this chapter probably is kinda low, or maybe it's pretty high, I'm not good at judging my own stuff TBCH. I'll leave that to you all.**

 **I'm gonna make the Omake, then do a stat-dump, then get this chapter posted.**

* * *

 _Omake: Not Glass, Not Canon_

* * *

I slipped into meditation easily, losing myself in the hum of the engine as my perception exploded outwards, filled in by my elementals.

I looked at my stats, smiling to myself as I saw them even without opening my eyes.

 **-/\\-**

 **Jade Hex  
** **Title: Grand Wizard of the Elements  
** **Level: 136  
** **Class: Wizard v4  
** **Nickname: Mr. Player Man**

 **HP: 140,000/140,000  
** **AP: 526,000/526,000  
** **SP: 211,000/211,000**

 **Strength: 150 (+500%) (+150%) = 1125  
** **Dexterity: 140 (+500%) (+150%) = 1050  
** **Vitality: 170 (+500%) (+150%) = 1275  
** **Intelligence: 290 (+10) (+500%) = 1800  
** **Wisdom: 290 (+10) (+500%) = 1800  
** **Luck: 117  
** **Charisma: 175**

 **Stat Points: 0**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 6'7  
** **Weight: 320  
** **Build: Med-Heavy Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blonde / Starry Azure / Medium Tan**

 **-/\\-** **  
**

I mixed and matched my Elementals together, combining the ones that created nature, then lava and ice, then I mixed together a storm, all while the will of my soul drove my ship towards Beacon.

I hummed as I felt something rip when I created an Time Elemental... well, that wasn't the best way to describe it. To describe either of those things.

Earth, Metal, and Lightning had come together to form something entirely new. At first I thought it was simply Gravity, since the mass of Earth and Metal was charged with the energy of Lightning to create something like a very, very tiny planet... in the shape of a person. However, it seemed that this extended to time as well, since gravity and the speed of light alter the flow of time. The best way to describe the combination wasn't just with gravity, or with space, or with time... I called it a Dimension Elemental, because it operated in the four dimensions of longitude, latitude, altitude, and time.

I blinked as the thing I first described as 'ripped' was rather more a swelling that was so sudden, massive, and invasive, yet so empty that it seemed that the space around it had simply been torn apart and thrown aside.

Physically, what I saw was a giant ball of electricity, like the time traveling sphere from Terminator, appear in front of the ship. I attempted to will it away, but the force inside the sphere was indomitable, and it effortlessly pulled my poor little bullhead in and swallowed it whole.

...

I felt my senses distort as all forms of time and space lost meaning, the time period in which I was in limbo was both infinitesimally small and infinitely long. I don't know if my mind's speed had been reduced to the inverse of the speed of light, or if my denial of any form of perception, even that of my bullhead, had distorted my timeframe. I waited eons, and yet in the blink of an eye I saw the sun's rays above me.

I was laying on the light gray stones of Beacon's cobbled paths. The uniform pattern of stone slabs beneath me responded to Roi's influence just as easily as I expected. Still, something felt... off. I couldn't sense my party's connections, and that's when I realized something wasn't right at all.

All of my parties had been disbanded. Yang, Ruby, Blake, Weiss, Skyler, Thomas, dad, Garnet, Nora, Ren, Pyrrha, all my friends I'd made and included in my power's influence...

All... disconnected. They must be panicking, trying to figure out what happened. I checked my scroll to find that I had only been unconscious for a few minutes, which was reassuring.

I stood up, nearly bumping into someone as I did, "Oh, sorry." I said quickly, looking at the person.

I blinked, realizing something was wrong as my heart sank to my feet and my eyes read the words above the ravenette's head.

 **Blake Belladonna  
Title: Black Teeth, Gray Heart.  
Level: 37**

Last I'd checked, Blake's level was around the nineties, "Hey pretty kitty." I greeted as I usually did.

Her eyes widened and she took a step back, "What did you just call me?" she asked cautiously, looking ready to strike at me.

This... wasn't the Blake I knew. It was like someone had reset her save file to a previous point and steered her away from meeting me, "You're pretty, so I called you pretty kitty. I like rhyming words, and I believe a compliment never hurts." I said with extremely quick thinking, "I'm not well-known locally, but I enjoy dabbling in poetry." I added as a bit of showing off, thankful that I'd been leveling my disguise skill with my Jade Hex disguise, the dark green locks briefly dancing into my vision before being righted by Mystral.

She let out a small laugh, "Right... you... do that." obviously amused by my silly attempt at being entertaining. It was worth the laugh and the small smile I got, at least.

"Right, I'm sorry for bumping into you. Perhaps we can talk at another time." I said before walking backwards, then turning and walking away, towards the main road leading from the airship docks to the main building.

I'd figure this shit out soon enough, but I just hoped that the others hadn't been affected like this.

I walked out to see an explosion light up, a glass vial of Dust flying out of the burst of fire, ice, and lightning. I grabbed it with telekinesis and pulled it close. I briefly wondered what sort of careless newbie would carry such a volatile substance in such a brittle container, before my eyes widened.

The SDC Snowflake logo, stylized and shrunk to fit, was etched onto the bottle. That meant...

 **Ruby Rose**  
 **Title: The Sleepwalking Reaper  
Level: 49**

 **Weiss Schnee  
Title: The Dusty and Frostbitten Heiress  
Level: 34**

Heh, at least it was still clear that Ruby had a much higher level of skill than Weiss did. Go Ruby, you're still a badass sister-in-l-...

... don't cry, don't cry, man. I won't be crying now. I just... I just hope Yang is okay.

Goddammit, what was going on?

Weiss was talking down to Ruby, and so I stepped forward. Regardless of whether or not she knew it, I still regarded her as a sister-in-law, and I protected my sisters no matter what.

"Aren't you a little _young_ to be attending _Beacon_?" the frosty heiress snapped, and I would have snapped my hand across her cheek if she'd dared talked like that to Ruby before, especially knowing what the young girl was capable of.

"Well I, I..." Ruby attempted to gather together a response, but impatient Weiss interrupted her.

"This isn't your ordinary combat school. It's not just sparring and practice, you know. We're here to fight monsters, so watch where you're going!" Weiss crossed her arms over her meager chest, devoid of the inflating my power had brought to my Weiss.

Luckily, it seemed Ruby developed some backbone after the fencer had struck a nerve, "Hey, I said I was sorry, Princess!" she snapped back, though the jab was light.

I decided to intervene, "It's heiress, actually." I smirked like a know-it-all, because technically, with these two, I kinda _did,_ to an extent, "Weiss Schnee, Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company."

Weiss smiled, oblivious to my venom-laced words, "THANK you. Finally some recognition."

"The same company whose questionable business practices may or may not be perpetuating their own problems with the violent protests for Faunus Civil Rights." I pointed out, staring down the diminutive heiress.

She didn't scare me when she was my version of her, she sure as hell didn't scare me when she was over a hundred levels lower than me.

"How dare-... the nerve of-..." she stuttered to find a response, then snatched the vial out of my hand and stormed off, muttering some choice words about me and my parentage. Heh, looks like she had as much of a mouth on her as my Weiss did.

I looked at Ruby, but worry filled my mind as I thought back to Yang, "Sorry about anything she might have said. I gotta go, though, I'm looking for someone specific." I turned and walked away.

I heard her collapse to the ground in teenage angst and ignored it. I almost turned at the sound of an odd voice reaching my ears, but figured it was just some good samaritan helping her out. I smiled a bit at that, slipping into invisibility and running off, leaving Ruby to her new friend.

...

I internally thanked my Stealth skill letting me easily blend into a crowd even if I mysteriously appeared out of nowhere. I sighed and slipped into the main hall, looking for that striking head of golden hair I'd recognize anywhere.

Recognize it I did, but the words above that head drove a whole box of nails through my heart.

 **Yang Xiao Long**  
 **Title: The Little Dragon of Sunshine**  
 **Level: 42**

She wasn't my Yang, the Yang I'd grown so close to, the Yang I'd killed for, the Yang I'd protected, the Yang I'd taken the virginity of. This... this wasn't my Yang.

Apparently, I was in some sort of alternate reality where I didn't exist, leading my closest friends, even Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren (who I'd spotted among the throngs of students) to not only be far weaker than they had been with my help, but also probably have no clue about each other's existence (except maybe Pyrrha and Weiss, since they were kinda famous). It saddened me greatly. What was this cruel world, where my existence was only cemented a mere twelve minutes and twenty-seven seconds ago? I hated it, as it sickened me to my stomach to think that all of my efforts had been reversed. Erased and disappeared without a trace. I wanted to kill a thousand Grimm to calm my rising anger, and only from the sharpness of my mind did I clamp down on my feelings and prevented Aurora's star-like glow from escaping my body.

...

I saw Ruby join her sister, the two talking for a bit. I turned my ears towards the conversation, sensing their voices and what they were saying. I barely listened until I had to cringe at Ruby's awkwardness.

However, Weiss' sarcasm caught me by surprise, "Yeah! And we can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys like tall, blonde, and... scraggly over there." she pointed her thumb towards someone generally behind herself.

That description, something struck me about that description. I'd heard it before and I didn't want to believe I was hearing it right, but Mystral had never led me astray, and sure enough my heart stopped as I laid eyes on a familiar-looking young man. It was so jarring that I had to look at him fully.

 **-/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc**  
 **Title: The Arc Scion**  
 **Level: 8  
Class: False Knight  
Nickname: Vomit Boy**

 **HP: 550/550  
AP: 0/0 (Locked)  
SP: 900/900**

 **Strength: 20  
Dexterity: 12  
Vitality: 23  
Intelligence: 26  
Wisdom: 11  
Luck: 5  
Charisma: 7**

 **Age: 17  
Birthday: November 20th  
Race: Human  
Height: 6'1  
Weight: 140  
Build: Light Muscular  
Hair/Eyes/Skin: Blonde / Royal Blue / Light Tan**

 **-/\\-**

Okay, that threw my theory of me not existing until now out of the window. I guess... I was in an alternate reality where the Jaune of this world never unlocked his Gamer power, and so these past few months I've-I mean, HE'S been a total scrub. God this was going to be a little confusing, even for my immense mind. I sighed and decided to do as any self-respecting person would do.

I vowed to improve myself until I could accomplish all of my dreams... even if in this case, I was actually improving a copy of myself from a third person perspective.

This was going to be annoying, but if I knew myself as well as I thought I did, then I'd be ecstatic for a way to improve myself easily and become the hero I'd dreamed of becoming.

Oh, well there's Ozpin now. I guess I'll have to listen through one of his lengthy speeches that don't explain anything at all.

* * *

 _(A few hours later)_

The night air was bitter, no doubt due to my efforts to warm it. I sighed slowly, watching my copy stare at the window, clad in a t-shirt and shorts that I'd had spares of, to save him the embarrassment of wearing a blue bunny-slipper onesie to bed. No doubt everyone would joke about it, if what I knew about teenagers was true.

As he read through the tutorial, I helped myself to his backstory. All was the same as I'd known it. We had the same seven sisters in the same order, however, something gave me pause.

 **Though hesitant at first, his mother came around to supporting his dream to be a Huntsman. Despite constant failure, neither of his parents stopped believing in him, though their hopes faded greatly. After years of nearly fruitless training, and painful days without his Aura being unlocked by either natural need or being unlocked by another person, he was sent to Beacon with a simple, but sad message, "We won't be disappointed if you have to come home early."**

The small amount that remained was being written and rewritten as my surprisingly fortunate, yet I supposed also unfortunate copy read the tutorial to its fullest, racking up points in INT and WIS.

Was it that, then? The hands of fortune pulled him away from my situation, with parents divided and sisters long-unseen, but in exchange for growing up happy, he'd ended up lacking the massive preparation I had?

I suppose in the end, it was a fair trade... maybe.

"Why... are you doing this? Why are you helping me?" he asked finally, having finished reading the tutorial.

I sighed, knowing I couldn't tell the full truth, so I wrapped a nugget of it in a blanket of lies, "I see great potential in you, Jaune. Even with your Aura only just unlocked, I can feel its strength. I can sense the potential you have, the potential to become a hero of legend. Your backstory mentions heroes a lot, so I looked into you more. The heart of a hero pumps the blood of a warrior through your veins. All you need is discipline, and strength, and you will go far." I smiled at him, "Plus, you also know a lot about RPGs, whereas a lot of people here have very limited knowledge on them, even the more avid gamers. I figured it'd be easier to explain the system and help you improve if I didn't have to explain a hundred things." I smiled and looked around, "I have spells that can negate the effects of sleep deprivation, if you're game to go grinding EXP. The stuff here is pitifully weak, but- and sorry to say this -so are you." I smirked, "Don't worry, I have a feeling you've got a magikarp type of power."

I, he, Jaune... My copy chuckled, "Hehe, well I guess let's go make me a gyrados then." he looked around, "Um... I need my armor and weapons."

I pulled a minor risk, "I duped them earlier. Here." I equipped the items to his body, including the heavy armor. I then hit him with a few bursts of healing magic, watching the tiredness fade from his body.

With a smirk, I led him towards victory.

Or, if things went unbelievably terrible and for some reason Cinder or Salem showed up, death.

No... no he wouldn't die. I would make sure of it. This was an interesting and unique opportunity to learn about myself, "Come on." I gave him the prestiged versions of the six elemental buffs, then took off at a casual pace of thirty miles per hour, watching him follow at an unsteady, unsure pace, "It's just buffs! Buffs so strong you could survive getting run over by a tank." I called back to him, grinning brightly. Okay, I might have been overshooting it, granted that this copy of me didn't have Gamer's Body, but I don't think we were going to be testing that anytime soon.

He seemed happy with that, especially the massive boosts to his strength, speed, and endurance. I know I would be, at least.

* * *

 _(The next morning)_

I smirked at Ozpin, looking for all intents and purposes like I didn't have a care in the world. To be honest, even after all of the connecting I did with my copy yesterday, I still felt the faint calls of anxiety and depression lick at my mind's eardrums, "I have a question."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow, "What is it, young man?"

I smirked, "Can I have a sip'a that." I asked irreverently, chuckling to myself.

Glynda's eyes narrowed, and almost in retribution, I was flung from the cliff by the panel beneath my feet.

...

Sighing lowly as the wind rushed past me, I spoke one plain, deadpanned word, "Rude." and began turning myself in midair.

The ground, one of my closest friends, stood unassuming as I raced down towards it, ready to embrace it fully.

Then, suddenly, due to Roimontagne's very persuasive voice, the ground moved aside as I continued racing downwards, curving my path back upwards and ascending back into the air through a tiny lake, sending a massive burst of glittering water droplets scattering through the air as I soared.

I sensed my copy and altered course, wishing to team up. With effortless ease, I caught him and willed the wind to bleed our momentum dry, landing softly on my feet, "And THAT is how it's done." I chuckled and set him down, "Come on, we need to find Grimm to kill." I called up Signal, attracting all of the Grimm within a full five kilometers towards me, "Get ready to impress the headmaster."

"W-w-why? W-what's going on?" he asked with a nervous stutter, looking around cautiously, rather than focusing on me and leaving himself open to attacks from behind.

I placed a hand on his head and rolled his head around a bit, "Grimm are coming towards me and you're going to try to kill them."

"A-are you kidding me? I only have 24 STR, 15 DEX, and 28 VIT! I can't fight them all off!"

"Well then use your 48 INT and 35 WIS to figure something out. I'll keep you from dying, and your buffs will help a lot, but it'll be up to you, Jaune. I trust you." I smiled at him, and that seemed to be enough.

I was lucky he'd taken my advice and not spent his Stat Points yet. He'd leveled up impressively last night, thanks to my guidance and ability to control the situation.

 **Jaune Arc**  
 **Title: The Arc Heir**  
 **Level: 27**

I smirked, "Part of being a hero is taking on challenges so that others won't have to. If you kill these Grimm, then the others will be able to safely go through their initiation... plus it's free EXP." I hummed internally, pondering the meaning of the small change in his title. In essence, a scion and an heir were both descendants of a notable family.

Looking it up with my dictionary (I'd 'Read' a few in my time), I found the difference, and what a subtle, but significant one it was. A _scion_ was merely a descendant of a family... but an _heir_ had the rightful ownership of their name and their family's assets.

Royal blue eyes looked up at me, then my copy sighed, _Jaune C: Alright, fine. I should spend my points after this, though. :C_ he sighed, readying his new stance. I'd made sure he had all the biological material he needed to get stronger, _Jaune C: What should I put them into? :C_

A beowolf burst from the brush, only to meet a swift end with a silver flash of an attack. I smirked, _Jade C: You should become physically stronger. I've got mental capabilities covered, you become an absolute tank, man. :C_ I chuckled as, with my buffs on him, he effortlessly bisected an Ursa _Jade C: Y'know, you're really lucky. With how my system works, and the powers I have, it's actually better to get a person when they're lower-leveled, so they'll improve fully from effects of training inside The Game. Others have to adapt from their normal training, to the training they get from The Game. I think it's easier to paint a new picture rather than try to change an existing one. You understand? :C_

 _Jaune C: Yeah, I guess. Alright, let's do this. :C_

 _Jade C: LEEROOOOOOOYYYYY JEEEEEEENNNNKIIIIIINNNNSSSS! :C_

The clearing erupted into chaos as primal compulsions overcame any sort of sense the Grimm may have had. Aura shined bright as it seemed almost like my companion converted each of the beasts into power flowing into his body, each strike recovering more strength than it drained to perform.

A horn was cleaved in half and a grunt of pain erupted from Jaune's lips as he was thrown off his feet by an Unge-wither. I stopped the beast dead in its tracks with stone beartraps, helping my copy keep his wits about himself as we fought off the unholy beasts.

A blistering radiance erupted from my body as my soul was unleashed in a massive blast of light, the sheer power of my light beginning to wither their dark essence into nothingness. I gave the fullest form of EXP sharing to my copy, watching his level climb as he too was bathed in my light.

After a good hundred-thousand square meters of forest soaked up my Aura, I picked up my passed-out companion and carried him onwards. I hit him with the buffs again, to help keep him stable. He could use the sleep.

* * *

 _(A couple hours later)_

The slow progress of the others was logical, as the Emerald Forest was massive, and their only directions amounted to 'go north'. It was alright with me, though, as it gave plenty of time for Jaune to recover.

He was coming back up from sleep deprivation, muscle soreness, and a few other forms of physical stress. I healed him completely, of course, and with the prestige of the prestige of my buff Regeneration, lifeblood and energy returned like tidal waves, compared to a kitchen faucet like the first tier of it.

I had reasoned that he hadn't seen my eyes, since I'd been wearing one of my masks, and so the first person he locked eyes with was Pyrrha (I'll admit, dumping him onto her was a little selfish, as I wanted to be discovered by this world's Yang). All it took was a little convincing and fabricated words, saying that he found her pretty and wanted to know who she was. It certainly helped when my copy had woken up, seen her concerned expression, and asked if he'd died and was being watched over by an angel.

I selected the white queen piece, and while technically partnerless, I still had this world's Jaune in my party.

Still, I guess about sixteen hours of training would be put to the test now.

 **Giant Nevermore**  
 **Title: Darkness there and Nothing More  
Level: 67**

 **Elder Deathstalker  
Title: Imitant Art within Endless Dreams  
Level: 64**

The poison the Deathstalker had would cause intense hallucinations and usually would kill you if not treated very, VERY soon. Luckily I had all the treatment needed.

I held back, providing buffs and healing, but no direct support just yet. I wanted them all to experience this. I saw my copy end up on top of the Nevermore, holding on by his sword. The Deathstalker's tail was attacked by Ren first, then Ruby who cut the stinger off with one powerful swing. Nora smashed the thing while Pyrrha and Yang fended off its stingers momentarily. It seemed that Blake and Weiss were the only ones helping my copy out, the latter enhancing the former's shots with her glyphs to get them a massively increased range and power.

Just then, I saw the beast shudder, and got a notification.

 **Jaune's level increased by one!**

I cheered... then realized that my copy was too far away, and falling too fast into the misty unknowns of the chasm's floor to save him. _Jade C: JAUNE! YOU HAVE TO SPEND YOUR POINTS! DUMP THEM INTO A STAT AND QUICK! IF YOU DON'T, YOU WILL FUCKING_ DIE _! :C_

I raced through the air, then... I saw his HP massively drop while he was still in midair, only a tiny chunk remaining.

I saw regenerative power flood into his HP bar, even as I followed him down into the depths, unable to see through the mist. I heard a great, stony crashing sound, fearing for my companion's life as I raced towards the bottom.

There, I saw him, broken and laying atop a shattered spire of hard rock... wait a second.

 **Jaune Arc**  
 **Title: The Indestructible Arc Knight**  
 **Level: 63  
** **Class: Juggernaut  
** **Nickname: Vomit Boy**

 **HP: 16,600 - 209,623/210,000  
AP: 27,000/27,000  
SP: 23,700 - 281,463/350,000**

 **Strength: 26 (+150%) = 65  
Dexterity: 20 (+75%) = 35  
Vitality: 31 - 300 (+150%) = 750  
Intelligence: 48 (+75%) = 84  
Wisdom: 38 (+150) = 95  
Luck: 9 - 15  
Charisma: 16  
**

 **Stat Points: 275 - 0**

 **Age: 17  
Birthday: November 20th  
Race: Human  
Height: 6'1  
Weight: 145 - 250  
Build: Light Muscular Juggernaut  
Hair/Eyes/Skin: Blonde / Royal Blue / Light Tan**

... son of a bitch! He'd dumped all his points into VIT.

"Ugh... my head." he groaned lightly as he came to his senses, slowly standing up.

"You are now literally one of the toughest people in the fucking world, you know that?" I laughed a little, "Seriously I bet you could survive anything that any of your peers could throw at you." he wasn't healing at the moment, oddly, but that made his current status all the more appreciable, "Your title says you're indestructible, your class is Juggernaut, and you almost took only 400 points of HP damage... out of your 210 THOUSAND maximum." I helped him up, "Come on, champ. You deserve some rest."

He chuckled weakly, "You think it'll make me a better fighter?"

I chuckled with him, "Honestly, bro, with all of your VIT, you'll have time to improve even if a Beringel is trying to smash your face in." I chuckled, "Come on, let's get going. Dinner's on me." I picked him up and flew upwards, towards our friends.

Things would, hopefully, work out for the best.

If they didn't... well, two Jaunes are better than one.

* * *

 **Well, there we go! An omake with its own miniature story inside, rather than a single scene. It was hard writing that, to be completely honest. I knew where I wanted to go, but... getting there was an issue.**

 **Overall, this chapter ended up being at a bad time, when a lot of things were going on at once. I swear, I'll do my best to get the next one out ASAP. As for now, I'll leave this off here.**

 **Vote in the poll on whether or not I should do the harem route or keep him single. I'll probably add another option too, just to keep my paths more open.**

 **Alright, here's the profile dump.**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Wizard of the Elements  
** **Level: 68  
** **Class: Wizard v3  
** **Nickname: Mr. Player Man**

 **HP: 32,000/32,000  
** **AP: 128,000/128,000  
** **SP: 46,000/46,000**

 **Strength: 70 (+235%) (+70%) = 283.5  
** **Dexterity: 65 (+235%) (+70%) = 263.25  
** **Vitality: 80 (+235%) (+70%) = 324  
** **Intelligence: 132 (+5) (+235%) = 452.25  
** **Wisdom: 130 (+5) (+235%) = 452.25  
** **Luck: 111  
** **Charisma: 80**

 **Stat Points: 165**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 6'1  
** **Weight: 215  
** **Build: Med-Heavy Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blonde / Brilliant Azure / Medium Tan**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Alright, I'll see you all next time! Hopefully that won't be near the beginning of November!**

 **I love you all, and I'm sorry for being so emotional, sorry for not understanding you'd be okay as long as I got it out. Sorry for being so sorry. Thank you all for reading. Make sure to review to share your love and/or criticisms, make sure to vote on the poll, and especially make sure to have a nice day.**

 **Well, this is Player 1 signing off for now.**

 **See you all later ^w^**


	14. Hazy Skylines, Glowing Horizons

**10/2/2016: Had to take a bit of time off, but I'm back in the game and ready to rock and write! (sorry for my dorkiness, but hey, I'd like to think that's part of why you people love me so much, ^w^)**

 **10/3/2016 at 9:53 PM: Well... it was gonna happen at some point in the nearly 2 years I've been driving... I was in a car wreck. No injuries, just a lot of money down the drain and a lot of nerves shaken up. My dad wasn't even all that mad at the crash, just concerned if my mom or I were okay and unhurt. I admire his pragmatism and devotion to his family. I hope I can grow into that strong of a man in the future.**

 **10/6/2016 at 3:23 AM: I don't know what happened to this week but everything has slipped by. I've barely made progress. As I type this, wordcount is at 3.0k. I'll try to remedy this ASAP.**

 **10/11/2016 at 8:10 PM: I'm trying my best but I just... I dunno, I guess I'm feeling the pressure to put stuff out, but I only have 5.7k words done and this would be an absolute disappointment of a chapter if it took nearly two weeks to make and all I had to show for it was 5.7k words. Also, some disheartening from various reviews that just... I know it's just hate, but it really stung. However, with the power of OPTIMISM! I'm gonna put my all into making stuff that defies what those haters say!**

 **10/18/2016 at 3:40 AM: The power has gone out 3 times today for absolutely no reason. I've lost what I was typing twice now, as well as this message. Luckily I'd only lost about a couple hundred words, but it still angers and depresses me. I am smad. The power just came on a few minutes ago and I've been getting my comp on again. I find the lack of luck... disturbing.**

 **10/18/2016 at 12:26 PM: WOW! That new World of Remnant, eh? It reminded me that after a while, I need to actually properly map out my version of Remnant at some point. I'll probably make a big AN about it, I guess.**

 **10/23/2016 at 11:49 AM: well, today is kinda just... eh. I'll attempt to finish more of the chapter before tomorrow, maybe even be able to post it tomorrow if I'm lucky and can work on it enough, but right now I just kinda feel... eh. I'm hungry.**

 **11/2/2016 at 1:30 AM: Where has the time gone? God... I feel like terrible for not typing like I should have, but right now my chest is heavy with sleepiness. I'll wake up and start typing fresh in the morning. I'm going to finish this probably on my birthday.**

 **11/25/2016 at 5:51 AM: Been typing the part with Weiss' perspective, and I realize she might be a little OOC or the part might read weird. I haven't typed in 3 fucking weeks. I don't know why, it just... it just devolved into a habit of not typing. I'm sorry everyone, for such an astronomical delay, but I promise I'll get this thing done before it's been 2 full months (so on the 28th) and I'll get to work on the next chapter right away, rather than take a 4 day break. I'm slowly getting my groove back, and I went through and fixed some things. God but I'm tired though, I'm going to bed and then starting back up first thing in the morning, ASAHFP, As Soon As Humanly Fucking Possible. Word count at this moment: 19,380.**

 **12/3/2016 at 3:07 PM: Holy shit, college has been busy. I've been trying my best, and I don't want a total repeat of chapter 8. It's already taken 2 months, I don't want it to take 3. I'm going to do my best to clear my schedule for today, then work on the chapter nonstop. I'm at 21,452 words right now, and hopefully I can get a lot more today.**

 **12/7/2016 at 10:24 AM: FUCKING FUCK! I had at least like 500 or so words typed, and was really getting into my typing mood again, when the FUCKING POWER CUT OFF FOR NO GODDAMN REASON: Currently at only 100 more words than 4 days ago, pissed as hell, and have to go to class. I'll probably put a second thing for today later. IDFK right now... UPDATE AT 12:20 AM:** **FUCK, I nearly slept through my whole class. It was an important class! Well, there's always later tonight. I'll probably get some rest before then, hopefully. I really wish I could finish this shit ASAP. I know some of you readers are concerned, and I am too. I'll do my best, but I can't give an update with just an A/N without the chapter too. It goes against my principals, and it fucks up the order of the chapters too... UPDATE AT 4:44 P** **M: Here's my wish: Finish this chapter before Friday. If I can do that, I'll feel accomplished. My final exam in psych is tomorrow, though, so I'll be a bit struggling to do that. Damn, not the best, but I'll get it done ASAP!... UPDATE AT 11:27 PM: I am fully awake and will probably work until dawn to get more stuff written out. I severely hope so. Today has been a long one.**

 **12/11/2016 at 3:33 PM: Well... I've not gotten more done, and it sure as hell wasn't done before Friday. I'm not letting this go on. I'm going to finish it either today or tomorrow!**

 **12/21/2016 at 9:58 AM: Right... I'm going to just accept I'm a failure and try to get it out before christmas. I think I might cut the chapter short, to reduce the time needed to get it done, maybe end it when he gets the (at least I have) anticipated skill prestige... yeah~. Before the 28th. If I get it before the 28th then it will officially be better than the situation with chapter 8. Chapter 8 took almost precisely 3 months, this will be shorter than that, even if only by a week.**

 **12/25/2016: Merry Christmas :)**

 **12/28/2016: Well, it's officially past the Chate Threshold, in that it's taken over 3 months.**

 **12/31/2016: I'll be honest, I haven't written a single word in over three fucking weeks.**

 **1/1/2017: No surges of inspiration, fucking hell. Gonna do my best.**

 **1/4/2017 at 5:34 AM: Well... I'll do my best to get it out by 1/7/17, because that's 17-17, and therefore a good marker, I guess... *sigh* I'm gonna try. I can do it. I can do it. I can do it.**

 **1/6/2017 at 3:50 AM: Well... another day, another waste of time. I didn't get much done yet, but... at about 7 AM-ish time, around then, I'd done another 2000 words, despite my lack of freshness. I'll do my best when I wake up later.**

 **1/7/2017 at 11:14 PM: Today has been... not good. The brother of a friend of mine might have TB, and aside from that I've been busy doing stuff all day too, so that's not really good at all. I went to a local Healthcare Express because my leg got worse because it's been leaking pus and stuff, and the skin has been coming off when it should have been healing, and just... it's not been a very fun day.**

 **1/10/2017 at 4:42 AM: What happened to the time? The past few days have passed by so quickly, it's insane. I just hope I can finish this ASAP. Just plain ASAP. I'm working on it until I have to go to my college and sign up for some classes. Then I need to go to the Healthcare Express for a followup (the place charges 100 fucking dollars for a visit, plus more for anything done, but thank fucking god that the followup is free)**

 **1/11/2017 at 5:14 AM: I've been slowly squeezing some grease into the very tight and squeaky gears that control the flow of my ability to write. Hopefully I can do a significant amount of stuff in the near future. Wordcount update: Nearly got a thousand words tonight, now at 29.2k... so in the past month and a half, I've written just under 10k words. That's pitiful for what I used to do.**

 **1/24/2017 at 8:37 AM: Well, I started college last week, it's been going okay so far, but I'm not going to push my luck. I'm aiming for 'before February' now. To anyone reading this AN right now, please go back and familiarize yourself with the last few chapters before reading this one, in case you've forgotten where I left off last. I'm hoping that managing to get this chapter out will spark my engine again and reignite my creativity, get the ball rolling and what-not. Get over this massive block I've found myself bashing my head against. Other analogies meaning 'I've been in a stark lack of ideas'. At the very least, I have 31.4k words after writing a good chunk of more content yesterday. I'm getting back into it already, yay!**

 **2/3/2017 at 7:45 PM: Okay... what I said last week was a load of horse shit. I know where I want to end, yeah, but I just... getting there, I'm so close. This omake will hopefully cheer me up when I eventually get to it, even if that will be short-lived because I just remembered, as I was typing this line, what it will contain. I'm just going to... to try. I'm just going to try. I won't give up. I can't ever give up, or I'll lose. This struggle with myself isn't something I want to lose, guys, it's just not.**

 **2/5/2017 at 11:13 PM: Where did the last two days go? Oh yeah, they were bled into youtube videos and sleeping. I feel like my body is finally realizing I can't survive on 6 hours of sleep per night (though Jaune could easily do it, he's The Gamer, I'm just me. Also, Jaune does not need sleep to survive)**

 **2/7/2017 at 7:46 AM: Finally finished the chapter. Fucking FINALLY! WOOT WOOT! Party time, and the party is full of READING~!... okay, pretty boring for a party, but hey! New chapter FINALLY! Final word count is ~40k words. It's just a lot easier to say that than the exact amount it is. We must have a warhammer, because we're at 40k! *insert poorly performed rimshot here for my terrible joke***

 **...**

 **World-building bit: THIS IS NOW OFFICIALLY AN AU, AND THAT WAS INITIALLY BECAUSE I CAN'T USE THE MAP OF REMNANT IN CANON ANYMORE! NOW IT'S ALSO TO ACCOUNT FOR MANY OTHER THINGS TOO!**

 **STRONG!JAUNE AU, STRONG!EVERYONE AU, SPIRITUAL PRESENCE AU, ALL KINDS OF AU THINGS THAT I WILL REVEAL AS THEY BECOME RELEVANT.**

 **This world of mine is known as 'Ex Glacies', though it's not the exact world as I've made it, it's most of that world. I'll make a story with the exact world of it one day, but that day is not today, or tomorrow, or probably even this year possibly, IDK.**

 **For right now, let's just attend to the maps. All you need to do for your mental image of Vale and Vacuo is take Vale and slide it to the other side of its end of the continent, so instead of being on the inner edge, it's on the outer edge. Same with Patch to account for the shift.** **The ocean still has Grimm, but they're pretty rare. Patch is to the east. The kingdom of Vale has ten cities it has managed to build, because they're all covered by a loose, but still viable mountain range. There are overground covered roads connecting the towns down to a certain point. Coldwater has tall walls to the sides of its main roads in and out of the city, but no roof on those walls, because of economy reasons.**

 **Vacuo spreads along the coastal lines of the desert, stretching into some grasslands and even within viewing distance of a massive stretch of mountains to the far far west. The largest settlement in all of Vacuo is Mahlia, which is closest to Shade. Similarly sized settlements are around other locations, like Ra'Nuk, which is closest to the mountainous parts of the country. It's said that many temples lay among those mountains, and their existence is certainly confirmed, but what those temple-dwellers do is pretty much unknown. The general consensus is that they're modern monks, trying to unlock more secrets of Aura, though it's unknown if they're reputation has outlived their lifespans.**

 **...**

 **I'm also going to try to include the thing being small transitioned past in the small transitions, to help make the transitions a tad more obvious, as right now they seem to be a bit too subtle. This should, HOPEFULLY, make the story a tad easier to follow, maybe maybe just maybe. I'm also going to center them, so it's even easier to see.**

 **... (moving past the announcements) ...**

 **Review responses:**

 **ArtanisRose:** Thank you, sir. Even if I hardly remember what I said in my previous response, or what that response was to, TBCH. Actually, looking at it now, I can't even find your previous reviews at all.

 **commandosquirrel (and everyone who has said anything about continuing that Omake, making it into a side-story, or anything of the sort):** I'll make an update on that Omake in the future. Not in this chapter's, though. This chapter's Omake is for an update on a different previous Omake, the one with Celestia.

 **Nexus Bladeguard** : In my head, Ozpin's first name is David. Why? Because his VA also voiced Agent Washington, who's real name was David. That is literally the only reason for that.

 **Ander warrior:** I'm confident I could make a harem work, but what I'm not entirely sure about is how everyone would react to it. I know a lot of people have voted for it, 49 so far as I write this. However, I also have to take into account that that is only 69 (XD lel) percent of the voters. I have to consider the other 31%, and the fact that a 69 isn't even a C-grade percentage. If it was closer to, say, 75% or something, then I'd be more confident in doing it.

 **doubledamn:** Well he might get a quest on the true nature of Dust (which I had to think back on, then realize that I already have an explanation for it in this story's canon). No Dust elemental though. Dust is basically just crystals imbued with elemental power and possessing a charge of powerful potential energy. It's unknown to anyone (in-universe) how they were made, but I know, and one day Jaune will know too.

 **Drunkle Qrow:** Yes, onto being a bodyguard. However, I'm going to have to ask you to stop annoying Jaune, or he'll telekinesis you a new asshole, XD (jk I just had to respond because of your perfect username)

 **-names:** His blood dissipates just like all his flesh. He's never just, like, leaving _dismembered body parts_ everywhere he gets harmed. They disappear into white mist, which while I don't recall if he has addressed it directly, it is eerily similar to how the Grimm dissipate into black smoke. Now then, your next noteworthy thing: Ruby doesn't "want" him. She finds reason to be attracted to him, even if she doesn't acknowledge it on-screen, or even consciously. She wants to prove that she's just as good as everyone else even though she's younger. Jaune is helping her out a lot with that. Continuing on from that, Ruby cannot see her status effects of Silver-eyed Warrior OR Darkened Warrior, or else she'd probably be freaking out wanting to fix it. Right now the 18% chance is x2. It has other effects but they have yet to be seen. Monty in this story's context acts as a deity that represents a beacon of hope, in that people find comfort in believing a higher power is watching over them and protecting them, helping them grow and stuff. It's all for hope, as hope is a powerful thing. Don't worry too much about Chibi Ruby, she'll follow you around like a lost puppy.

 **Lord Of Death and Destruction:** Well, it's hard to explain, but I'll try. So, as you all may know, many gamer fics, from what I've seen, describe increasing WIS as "clearing your mind", and increasing INT as "sharpening your mind". Well, a sharp and powerful mind can resist temptation, and the Seven Deadly Sins of christian faith represent an assload of temptation for various things (sex, violence, stealing, laziness, etc.). When Jaune resists the siren calls, the _temptations_ of these various sins, he is sharpening his mind to resist future temptations and become purer of mind and spirit.

 **grabblers:** I'm glad you're willing to give harems a chance for me, that means a lot knowing I can change a person's mind like that. ^w^ Now of course I had planned for Skyler to accidentally call him 'master' in public, I saw the opportunity early on and I nurtured it. Yangst and Taiyangst are going to be kinda bad, but Jaune will find a way to make sure everyone ends up happy in the end. Glynda maybe, Blake more likely, Ruby and Weiss also more likely, Pyrrha also more likely, Neo probably not (also he doesn't stop at 6'7, hehehe), Malachite twins unlikely (the chances of getting either Glynda, Winter, or Neo are higher than the twins, mainly due to how I didn't even think about them before). And...

... sir, I had to read your review three times because my mind automatically shunted this information aside. Summer and Raven NTR? I'm sorry, but **noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo** that's necrophilia and his girlfriend's _mom_ , and that's _before_ you factor in how _wrong_ NTR is. Those of you who don't know what it is, please do not look it up. You, **grabblers** , have struck a nerve.

 **Dark Durian:** He technically actually could have gotten his dad into the party before, but didn't, for raisins. It's not that he was unable to, it's that he didn't know that he was able to. Either way, I'm still far happier for your review than for grabblers, he/she struck a nerve as you can plainly read in the lines above.

 **hye1995:** Um... XDDDDDDDDDD no. When Jaune says "a pen and paper game", he literally means a game just played with a pen and paper, like Tic Tac Toe, or hangman. The particular game they were playing was a silly little adventure into creativity called "Protect the bunny", where one player is attacking the bunny, and the other person has to defend it. You can draw whatever you want to attack or defend it, like a lightsaber, or an energy forcefield. Catch is, you can't use the same thing twice, no matter how long the game goes on for.

 **Ghostkiller1:** Were they? I consistently have read half'n'half on them being second or third year. Well... regardless, my story my rules, so they're third-years now! Velvet is of course the lowest leveled person on her team, because she is a moeblob, and where the others are hardier and more proactively determined, her determination comes from a reaction of great amounts of badness (light shining brightest in the blackest nights) (right now I'm out of it because of the thing with the car crash, so forgive my loopiness)

 **Saint of vice koncor:** Taiyang is not looking for love, but you bring up an interesting point. Sadly that's not going to be too super likely, given the things going on, but who knows? With how I write this story, it could possibly happen. You are reading too far into some of this. You are comparing what Ironwood does to what Raureif does. Ironwood is a general and involved in robotics and shit. Raureif is a businessman and involved in Dust. Sure they have deals and stuff, but it's not to a butt-buddies extent. I might have been laying it on a little thick, but Weiss' family will be involved in the future plot stuffs. Your allegations on the perception of death are technically correct, in some ways. The death of someone could mean them dying, or the death of their person. For example, if one of the penalties for failure is "Death of Robert Jenkins", that means that there was either a way for Jaune to fuck up so that Jenkins drops dead, or that he loses his mind and certain pieces of his personality, becoming like a whole new person. It's up to Jaune to try to figure out which one it means. Altering someone's soul can alter their identity, as we heard from Ozpin/Glynda/Drunkle/Robodick when Pyrrha was being exposited to. Your viewpoint on the possibilities with Tukson are a bit debunked due to the simple fact that Jaune is now Adam. I am interested in seeing where the story goes too. I know where it will end up, but where it goes is a mystery that I will figure out and then share with all of you, given that I write this shit as I go along.

 **Swarley Stinson:** I already talked to you in private, mister, but I just want to point this out in case anyone else might get a laugh out of it. It's harEm, with an E, not harAm. Haram means the thing is prohibited by islamic law. Funny enough, harems are not haram.

 **Kingofclubs8129:** To be honest, I randomly generated Ruby's birthday as November 11th, then I randomly generated Yang's birthday as December 10th, but realized it'd be kinda neat if their birthdays happened to be 11/11 and 12/12, so I changed it to that. Also, the contrast of Yang being the hothead she is, and being born in the middle of Winter, it seemed kinda funny to me, to be completely honest. So... that's my reasoning, it'd be neat and funny.

 **the renegade soldier:** Sir, I like your enthusiasm, but I'm wondering where you got that Jaune had a laser cannon. He has Gaster Blaster, yes, so I assume you're referring to that? Also, Ruby didn't make the shotgun Tockasprath, she looted it from a massive frog Grimm known as a Mudbull.

 **T51b Moridin:** You, sir/madam, are cool. You're good in my books, reviewing every chapter as you go along, not lacking faith that I'd respond even to old material, as well as new material too. I love reviews, and I love every single one I get (except for those random couple every now and then that are just people giving up because they don't like something that happened, or they just insult the story and leave in the first chapter. Oh well, sucks for them, they don't know what they're missing, *grin*)

 **bryerwilliams09:** Hell yes I am. Good ol' Texas resident right here. Plus, Jaune and his dad were raised more in the south of Vale, which is the America of Remnant. Coldwater is equal to Texas, but compressed into a city of 25 square miles... no, it does not have nearly 27 million people, just a lot of good old-fashioned folks. Also, despite its name, it's not often all that cold. Its name is very literal, as there is a river and a lake nearby, and the river carries water from the mountain to the west, at the foot of which is Icebasin (keep in mind that this version of Remnant has Vale horizontally flipped, so while Beacon is still to the north, Mountain Glenn is to the southwest, rather than the southeast).

 **Never- enough7407:** I usually just normally get all giddy to read reviews, but sometimes, it's not too often, but sometimes a review has an idea that I instantly think would be excellent to do. Your wish has come true, sir/madam, there will be a few POV shifts in this chapter.

 **Akuma-Heika:** Damn you have a lot of questions, sir/madam. I will do my best to answer them all...

Ch2: Cat Magic, the most powerful of all magic, =PPPPP...

Ch3: He didn't have Crocea Mors in his room. He needs metal to summon a Metal Elemental, water to summon water, earth to summon earth, ETC, and he figured Crocea Mors would be the best thing to use... they didn't officially divorce, they just literally physically separated. John and Jaune are in Vale City, Juniper and all the daughters are in Coldwater... Kira is adopted... classes automatically are equipped when they're gained... I don't even remember that one, I think it was one of those a's with a little mark above it... Aura costs 1% of his maximum Aura every minute to keep active (and Aurora, as its prestige, costs 10% of his Max Aura per minute), Summon Elemental's cost is "a splinter of his soul" to make the elemental, and to use the Elemental, it costs a varying amount of Aura based on how much stuff he's doing with the elemental...

Ch4: 24 LUK + 77 Points = 101. There was a +3 for it being the first stat to be raised past 50, which you seemed to miss. That +3 and the +6 from it being the first stat to surpass 100 were both added after the point dump was confirmed, so 101 + 3 + 6 = 110... the Omake is a reference to GTA, where you get your cheats through your cellphone, and also I didn't think of any tolerance-to-stress factor while writing the Omake either... Metal Dust is a convenient and useful Dust. Using it usually makes it create a metal that is like a mix of traits between iron and aluminum, but most of its mass usually disintegrates after a good while... Ruby is Ruby, and adorable...

Ch5: Whitesteel is the metal that Jaune's armor plates are made of, and most of his shield too, it's incredibly strong, but only slightly heavier than steel... the stuff I borrowed from Ryuuji are being expressed in my own personally made ways... his sisters were kids and found being cared for by their big brother to be embarrassing. Goddamn, dude, when they were interacting, Jaune wasn't even 10, and all his sisters were younger than him by at least a year!... AR means Armor Rating... they're not meant to be interchanged, this is all being powered by his Aura Points, no Mana Points involved, but I guess there are a couple of times that slips through the cracks of my rather meager proofreading/editing phase... Xiburichu means "Western Sunrise", the western kingdom is Vacuo. The Xiao Long family is Vacuan in origin. Yang means Sun. The Elemental is named for his meeting Yang. "Sunrise from the West" You get it now, hopefully? (it's kinda hard to put into words)...

Ch6 (and I guess also 7? You need to number your questions better, dude): Kira is adopted... Maybe he'll turn into a Faunus, maybe not, it depends on what all happens with the style and his progression in it.

Ch8: Gamer's Sight translated Belladonna as "Deadly Nightshade". He wasn't even referring to the Black part, except for maybe the shadows associated with ninjas. It's a little bit confusing, I suppose, but it's easy to look past at least. A simple Google search could tell ya that the italian word for Black is "nero"

 **PURVEYOR26:** Maybe, probably, it depends on what we see of them in the coming episodes.

 **Mithos Yggdrasil:** They would be, if it weren't for the fact that there's a difference between what the Illuminati sees as a Wizard, and what the populace sees as a Wizard. To the populace, a Wizard is basically as close to the description of a wizard as you can get in the RWBY world. They are a person whose fighting style relies heavily on Aura usage and most-likely either a reliance on skills with Dust-based weaponry, or a semblance that can be used well in combat. Yang could be a Wizard if she trained her fire-based powers more. Weiss is practically a Wizard with her glyphs and her precise Dust-casting. It all boils down to "To the people in the story, a Wizard is (insert the previous description), not the legit Magic that we know the Wizard in the story to have been."

 **XerzoLotCN:** Right. I'm... I'm going to try to break my self-imposed 'moral code' of sorts. I have a statement in there that says "Don't post an AN update without the chapter attached to it. Don't do it. It throws off the order of the chapters. And that irritates my OCD something fierce." I might post AN updates sometimes, I guess. I'll be sure to do my best to simply update that AN chapter with the actual chapter of story content, because like... yeah. I'm probably not making any sense. I've kinda been slowly losing my mind over the past three weeks, hehe. Hopefully it comes back as I type this stuffs. You didn't overstep anything, btw, I'm glad that people are concerned about me and not just punching a button and demanded more content.

 **duckhunt2048:** don't you call me a chunt, my uncle is a chunt and I love him so I'd rather you not pretend like that's supposed to offend, dickwad... XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD jkjk I just had to reply to your review because it made me laugh out loud IRL.

 **hersiver123:** You're nice. I like you. *gives you a pint of a drink of your choice*

 **Geez, the list this time 'round is long as fuck. 'Tis the price paid for my dedication to you all.**

 **I've noticed that I tend to answer the question, then ramble on about some matter that is somewhat linked to the answer or the question. I don't know if that's informative or if it just turns people off of reading the reviewer responses section, but I've just now fully realized it.**

 **Also, did anyone see the Volume 4 Intro that was posted? Holy shit, Weiss and Blake. Also Yang has PTSD I think? Ruby is fuckin' cool. Nora put neon lights on Magnhild, Ren has grown his hair out even further, and YA BOY got some sick upgrades, looks a lot more mature and cool to me.**

 **Update: well I guess the previous line is kinda outdated as fuck, but I'm keeping it for posterity, or something... IDFK**

 **Update 2, 2/5/2017: Wow... I started typing this chapter before Volume 4 started...**

 **Aaaaaaaaanyways... let's get onto the chapter now, shall we?**

 **Story Arc 2: Playing Prometheus.**

 **Chapter 14: Hazy Skylines, Glowing Horizons.**

* * *

 _(Nearly an hour later, Jaune POV)_

I opened my eyes to see a lithe hand reaching out towards my nose. Cyan met forest green and Marbel smirked, then booped my nose again, "Double boop."

I smirked, then rapidly poked her nose several times, "Boo-boo-boo-boo-boo-boo-boop!" I chuckled and smiled more relaxed and playfully, "So what brings you to my humble abode?"

"I want an elemental." she said bluntly, wasting no time getting to the point, "Can you help me get one pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaase~?" ah, THERE was the girlish charm she attempted to slather on afterwards, to sweeten the deal with her cuteness, tempting me to accept just to make her smile.

I hummed, then thought back to Qrow. He'd seemed fine, even happy that he had an elemental. I sighed softly, then looked at Marbel again, "Prove you really want it." I said with what I hoped was a flat look, staring into her eyes.

She blushed, oddly enough, and looked away, "Do you think I need more Aura?"

"More Aura couldn't hurt. Aura is extremely useful. Increase your INT until you have 15k." I instructed, watching as she opened her profile and began applying her points while I buffed her. I wasn't going to play around when it came to something like splintering my friends' souls. I wanted to make sure that it wouldn't end up being that a splinter was all they had.

Surprisingly quickly, her Max AP rose, and surprisingly few points had needed to go into her INT.

 **Marbel:**

 **Max AP: 9900 - 15,060**

 **INT: 60 - 76 (+25%) = 95**

 **Stat Points: 70 - 54**

With a smirk, she looked at me again, pointing at the number, "So, before my headache makes me scream, please help me summon an elemental." she requested, her teeth gritting as she rubbed her forehead.

I sighed, then nodded. With telekinesis, I shaped the ritual circle out of chalk, "Alright, there you go." I smiled, "Now then, I should make sure you have the elemental affinity to summon an elemental." I checked her soul with Gamer's Sight, or at least checked what I could about it.

Funny enough, her highest affinity (of which she had 3) was with the element Earth, "So if I summon it, it'll give me the skill and then I can make the circle on my own?"

"Yeah, should do. Funny enough, Marbel, your highest affinity is to Earth. Guess you really are a precious little stone." I ruffled her hair playfully, teasing chuckles slipping from my lips, "Anyways, here. This should cover the sacrifice." I handed her a few Earth Dust crystals, just to make sure that the sacrifice would be enough, as well as an amethyst for good luck. When it was set up and she arranged them to her liking, I began to instruct her on how to summon an elemental.

I blinked and watched her slip from her kneeling stance into a swift fall towards a faceplant. I caught her before she could hit the floor, seeing the ritual circle seem to magically combust, turning into an unrecognizable mess of Auric ash. I collected the ash with Dusting and stuffed it into my inventory for now, setting Marbel on my bed.

I heard Garnet meow, and looked over to see the tiny kitten wiggling on the floor, looking happy and carefree. With a tender smile, I reached over and picked her up, "Here's a quest for you, make sure Marbel doesn't wake up scared. I don't know what kind of bad stuff she might see in whatever visions she gets of Earth. It could be epic, it could be catastrophic. I'm going to make sure she comes to understand her power and its limits, okay?" I asked calmly and clearly, holding Garnet in front of my face.

The kitten looked at me, then she hugged my nose and let out an adorable little meow. I sighed softly and petted her, seeing a small Quest window pop up. I had her accept it, chuckling at the silly quest name 'Two Precious Stones: with EXTRA CUTENESS!' I smiled and set her on the bed where she could easily get to Marbel.

I sat back down, getting back into my meditation. I felt the entire world around me through my six elemental senses, and let the energy coalesce into me as I ran my skills at massively raised levels of power.

I'd get things settled one way or another.

* * *

 _(Four hours later, Jaune POV)_

I heard Garnet meow excitedly as I felt Marbel stir the air around herself, her body twitching a bit and shifting positions. I arose with telekinesis, seeing my AP having just reached another 100 mark. Chump change compared to my previous maximum of 128k, but still a good little bit to add. Every bit counts, they say.

Marbel coughed as Garnet nuzzled her cheek, "That... whoa..." she clenched her hand tight and I saw her knuckles press against her skin... er, go white, as most people say.

Brushing off the odd internal correction, I smiled, "So, how'd it go?"

Marbel sniffled a bit, shaking her head to clear it, "Whoa... uh... what'd you say?"

I hit her with Soulforge to fix her disorientation, "How'd the summoning go?"

"Oh! It went... well, I think? I think my elemental is a guy." she closed her eyes in focus, moving her hands out as if trying to manifest her elemental directly.

I gently grabbed her hands and moved them down, "Hold on, don't summon him indoors, okay? Or at least not on the airship."

"Er, right, it would kinda weigh like a literal ton." she giggled a bit, blushing in embarrassment, "So... now what?"

I looked at her for status effects, and found one to worry about.

 **Status Effect: Soul Fray**  
 **Description: The wearing and tearing of a soul that occurs from using an Auric technique that alters one's Aura itself. During this time, many abilities will be nearly useless until your soul recovers. Meditation halves recovery time.**

 **Effects: -90% effectiveness of all Aura techniques and abilities for 4 hours, -60% for another 4 hours afterwards. -75% effectiveness of Aura Channeling for 1 hour, -50% for another 2 hours afterwards, -25% for another 3 hours afterwards.**

So, given what I'd just read, I figured that if Marbel meditated for... about the remainder of the trip, she'd be able to get rid of her reduction to Aura Channeling, and only have two hours of having her techniques (of which I think she only had her Semblance, and the spell Energy Bolt, since she'd wanted to learn it) reduced in effectiveness.

"Well, you'll be a bit hard-pressed to get too much use just yet, but if you meditate for another few hours, until the jet lands, then you'll be mostly fine afterwards." I showed her the window, "This is concerning, but it's not done anything to the integrity or composition of your soul, just implying that it's worn out and needs to recover. I didn't have that, luckily, since my soul is so weird, I guess." I shrugged, "Now then, you get to meditating on the Soul of the World, and I'm going to meet you all in Ra'Nuk. See ya later, off to go fight Grimm." I helped her to start meditating, then teleported out of the ship, trusting my dad to take care of anything that came up while I was gone.

Three hours, I had time.

* * *

 _(About ten minutes later, Jaune POV)_

I struck down another large lizard-like Grimm, barely getting any EXP, but at least I got _another_ fucking Sclatesh, AKA a curved shortsword made of the bones of these Lizalgrunts. It was good quality, but lacked in special traits other than a slight increase to the usage of Fire Magic.

Suddenly, stirring me from my musings, was a rumbling. I stayed calm and got up into the air with my AD Winged Flight, where I looked in all directions and saw a trail of wormsign heading towards me.

 **Wormsign: The visual bulging and breaking of the ground caused by a tunneling creature. The size of this particular trail indicates a creature at least 30 feet across.**

The shifting sands made the trail only reach about a hundred feet before the intense winds swept it away. I rose into the air by about fifty feet, waiting for my foe.

It did not disappoint, as it reached the point where I had been. A spray of tons of sand, chitin, and muscle burst from the ground, right into the lightning-infused glare of my AD Scathing Eyes. It certainly didn't seem to expect that, and chittered loudly, its massive tail waving my way.

 **Elder Desert Deathstalker**  
 **Title: What crumbles All among the Sands  
Level: 72**

It wasn't as strong as a Forest Deathstalker... no literally, it had lower STR than one, due to its lower amount of food consumed. It weighed half as much as its greener cousin, but it had incredibly higher VIT and apparently didn't bleed like most Grimm did, rather its blood was sticky and jelly-like, refusing to pour from its wounds.

It also had a dangerous, Strength-reducing poison in its stinger, as opposed to the weak toxin used by its cousin. I dodged the stinger easily, and Vorpal Sword severed the pointed blade, more like a fat lance than the normal hook-y bulb shape. My Scathing Eyes didn't do as much as I liked, in fact it seemed like this thing was immune to neurological burnout, for... some reason. I didn't know how, but it did.

Still, I managed to scorch its armor and part of it glowed red with extreme heat. Juristimunja helped me widen my followup gaze, which nearly made the stinger burst from the extreme temperature. I actually melted one of its pincers, then decided to dive bomb it, using Shocking Steps to deliver a devastating axe kick and send its stinger through its own back, followed by a punch to one of its eyes, bursting the burning red, soulless orb. I looked at one of the others, and paused only briefly.

It looked back at me with some degree of intelligence, shaped into a more knowing hatred than normal. It wasn't just angry, it was angry AT ME. It wasn't mindless hatred of humanity, this thing either knew something about what it had seen, or was mistaking me for another blond-haired martial artist.

I drew Vorpal Sword again and swung, the blade cleaving through its bone plates more by brute force than actual cutting power, like a butter knife being used to cut hard cheese. I drew my arm back, Heavy Hauler running at ten times its normal power, and swung it down again and again.

After about four or strikes, I broke through the plate and cut deep into its flesh, scrambling its brains and vitals. True to Gamer's Sight's word, its thick, jelly-like blood stuck to Crocea Mors' blade before slipping off due to my elemental's control.

 **Your level increased by one!**

 **You gained 310,000 Lien**

 **You gained the item "Peincia"**

 **You gained the item "Stalphlot"**

I smirked, my arm flexing as I swung Crocea Mors out with a good ton of force, causing the thick fluid sticking to it to be thrown off, dotting the sand with clumps of moisture before the disgusting fluids disappeared into nothingness.

I checked the world map my semblance had provided me, atmospheric imaging devices having given the people of Remnant more accurate maps than ever before. The addition I gained from my semblance was the ability to locate myself wherever I went. If I formed Crocea Munja, then I'd also be able to tell directions like a compass, as well as have at least a vague sense of my altitude based on the gravity of the planet's core. With the magnetic skeleton-like creature directing me, I began making my way further west.

Humming lightly, I passed by distant villages while keeping the sand solid under my bare feet, not wishing to ruin my shoes. I broke sandstone, and sandstone sheared away sheets of skin off my feet before they instantly repaired themselves. While I moved, I briefly considered going back.

While I'd informed Yang, Ruby, Skyler, and Thomas that I'd be away doing business with Weiss' music tour. Sure, I had brought along my best friend, a girl who technically owed me far more than I'd normally be comfortable holding over someone's head, and my enthusiastic father with me, but...

At the same time, I'd left behind my girlfriend, my girlfriend's sister (Who I already felt was a sister to me. She'd accepted me easily and enjoyed my presence.), my 'project' of a friend, and my business associate. Sure I gave the appropriate hugs and kisses before leaving, but it still pained me a little.

I loved everyone on these two ships and back home, each in their own ways. My dad was my dad, no explanation needed. Blake was a good person who wished to fight for what's right, for the good things in life, without resorting to the terroristic means of the White Fang. Marbel was my first and, until recently, _only_ friend in the city, we knew each other very, very well, to the point that some things just weren't worth stressing over, like when I'd accidentally shown her my junk. It was an accident, I didn't intend for it to happen, and that's all we needed to know for each other. I suppose her tomboyish nature made her a lot easier to deal with too.

Yang was my girlfriend, and had shown me a new way of living, and I'd done the same for her. She was like a second sun in my life, giving new light, color, and vigor into everything when she was around. Sure my life didn't depend on her, but a large amount of my happiness did.

Ruby was my girlfriend's sister, so it was good that we got along. I was patient, fair, and kind to her, as much as I could manage to be. She was a hurting soul, and as long as I could do anything at all to help relieve the pain, I'd help her.

Skyler was something special, and I don't mean that in the affectionate way. She was something to be kept secret for the time being, at least to most people. The fact of the matter is that I might not ever be able to reveal her backstory safely, and that was even assuming that what I did ended up turning her into a human by some means.

Thomas had begun to grow into a good friend to me. Sympathy only went so far, but where it trailed off, the man had certainly picked it back up and continued carrying it with a strong back. I could see him and myself managing to turn the Fang around, back to looking for the righteousness they once sought, rather than being fueled by anger and hate like they had been in the past years.

I pushed those thoughts aside as I pushed my fist through the faceplate of a King Taijutsu, not even bothering to read its stats as I tore its first head to pieces, gauging that at maximum speed, I'd reach the city in less than an hour.

I might even break the sound barrier if I put in all of my effort.

The second head received slightly more courtesy as I finished my train of thought.

 **King Taijutsu**  
 **Title: Ruled by Calm Hatred**  
 **Level: 64**

What a philosophical title.

 _*BWUAAA*_

Too bad philosophy can't defend against twenty Gaster Blasters to the face.

Air turned to plasma in their mouths as my left eye blazed with arcane rage, "Get dunked on." and all at once, they fired.

I smirked at the creature's neck, since it didn't have anything left of its head, and dropped to the ground to pick up the loot.

More lien, as expected, but the other items were more odd.

 **You got the armor "Rashcale"**

 **You got the Grimm Mask "Empecoiler"**

 **You got the weapon "Toachon"**

 **You got the item "Skill Book: Shining Armor"**

I learned the skill without giving too much thought to it, gaining it at level 13 with Intermediate Scholar absorbing more information. Reading the description and effects filled me with joy. It basically applied most of the personal defensive abilities of my Aura to my armor, as well as let my Aura repair my armor if it got damaged, similar to how Gamer's Body would repair any bodily harm. I'd replaced my clothes several times now, but luckily this would eliminate that need, as well as potentially eliminating the need to maintain my metal armor. It was especially useful with my whitesteel plates, which were currently gleaming in the sunlight and had taken on a cyan tinge from my Aura. Not needing to replace the rare material was an incredible boon.

The armor I'd received was a somewhat garish checker-pattern scalemail suit, providing significant defense against blades and even projectiles, but it was full-body. I was tempted to see what would happen if I cut off the legs of it, but decided against it. I'd find another one before potentially destroying the one I had.

Empecoiler was a snake-like mask, of course, but it also was split down the middle into two halves, one white black accents and crimson markings, and one black with white accents and burning red markings. Its effects were pretty hefty, and I contemplated letting Thomas use it. However, while its boosts were very useful, the drawbacks were pretty intense, and apparently with the effect 'Duality Crown', you HAD to pick between Chaos, which would double your effective STR, but halve your effective INT, and Peace, which did the vice versa.

Toachon was cool, though. It was a whip-sword, like the one from Soul Caliber. It was massive, the blade alone was forty-eight inches long and split into twenty-three sections each about two inches long, with the base being an inch and the tip being five inches. My immense STR let me wield it with one hand easily. Sheathing it on my back using a metal clasp I quickly made from some steel, I chuckled softly as the surprisingly cool desert wind blew against my face. I was currently fighting against timezones, as we were going to arrive in Ra'Nuk at roughly the 'same' time as we left from Vale City.

I could not fully push away the slurry of thoughts over the friends I'd left behind in Vale, so I decided to make a small minigame for myself.

Starting now, every battle I got into, I'd put a point into WIS to help my logical side keep up with my train of thought. If I could increase my understanding and mental clarity, it should help me stay focused on things and not get into internal spiels over hypothetical issues and other things that didn't matter.

Plus, it boosted my magic power, and my APR, and I could always use more of both. With a smirk, I reupped the skills that would boost my speed, and took off across the sands, solidifying the ground below me and giving myself a strong tailwind.

* * *

 _(About 45 minutes later, Jaune POV)_

 **Owanshee**  
 **Title: Wizened by scribbled Dunes**  
 **Level: 65**

 **You gained 220,000 Lien!**

 **You gained the armor "Winlesune"**

 **-/\\-**

 **Lizalgrunt (x20)  
Title: Drawing the Front Line in the Sand  
Level: 43-48**

 **You gained 910,000 Lien!**

 **You gained the weapon "Sclatesh"**

 **You gained the item "Scurry Potion (x9)"**

 **-/\\-**

 **Lizalwart  
Title: Atop the masses in the Sand  
Level: 62**

 **You gained 410,000 Lien!**

 **You gained the weapon "Gransclue"**

 **You gained the armor "Sphinreber"**

 **You gained the item "Lunge Potion (x2)"**

 **You gained the title "Guardsman"**

 **-/\\-**

 **Elder Deathstalker (x3)  
** **Title: What crumbles All among the Sands  
Level: 70, 71 and 72** **  
**

 **You gained 930,000 Lien!**

 **You gained the weapon "Sturkani"**

 **-/\\-**

 **WIS: 130 - 138**

 **Stat Points: 170 - 162**

 **-/\\-**

Remembering everything with perfect clarity, I reviewed the knowledge I'd gathered.

Owanshees were, as I had seen, a massive owl-like Grimm with jarringly pure white faces compared to the surrounding feathers, which would have stood out against even the night sky. They hid inside sand dunes and came out to rain sand and death on their unsuspecting opponents. The 'armor' I'd gotten from it was a shield that was apparently made out of its wingbones and a slab of sandstone.

I recalled the range of levels I'd seen in the Lizalgrunts and I further understood the hierarchy of their advancement line after meeting the Lizalwart. They appeared to be warriors, almost like soldiers in an army, who could shape sandstone and bone into basic forms, and seemed to have a knack for stealing things from people, judging from the tattered clothes I had found on their bodies, as well as the worn-out pieces of armor and various weapons aside from their Sclateshes. The Lizalwart was taller and beefier than its lean and mean lessers, though it had only a slight decrease in relative agility and speed. Its most notable features were its larger capacity for creating sandstone from sand, the spines running down its head and back, its viscous spittle, and the metal equipment it had. Gransclue was made out of its hand, able to conjure small particles like sand, dirt, and dust. Sphinreber looked like almost like a mix between a spartan helm and a pharaoh headpiece, with a bony, fin-like spine replacing the fur-like plume of a Spartan helm. Both of them also seemed to reward a massive amount of Lien, almost as if they were magically paid for their power levels.

I'd also gained the title of "Guardsman" for defeating one of each of the four 'dark guardians' of the desert. It allowed me to mark a place or person, then granted me a boost to my five battling stats when defending that place or person.

The weapon I got from the Elder Deathstalker was basically its spear-like stinger turned into a long, stout, layered lance. It could poison people with a Strength-reducing toxin that lasted days, with some alteration based on your VIT.

Putting on the brakes, I stared at what I was seeing in the distance. A small ranch composed of a tiny barn, a house, and a pen, all built around an oasis, with grass and small trees growing barely a hand's width from the edge of the glittering pond. Several camels stood idle in the pen, and the house looked abandoned.

As I stared at it, I picked up details that just seemed... wrong. The barn was far too tiny to house a substantial amount of food, the camels didn't blink or move other than turning their heads occasionally, the trees and grass didn't sway in the wind, and the house looked ransacked...

The tingling of Sense Danger suddenly compelled me to pour Aurora into Magic Eyes, which produced an odd effect. The ranch shimmered and seemed to vibrate, shaking from side to side like ripples in water. Almost like a...

 **Magic Eyes has detected an illusion! The illusion you are seeing will appear quite distinct to the real things you are seeing.**

Some sand shifted off to the side, and then a loud, grotesque squeal pierced the air.

 **Boarbatusk Raider**  
 **Title: Hungry Stomach and Gnashing Teeth  
Level: 38**

Crocea Mors scored a deep furrow through the beast's armor and flesh as it used the dune nearby as a ramp, rolling with great speed.. A burst of blood was knocked from the huge gash when it landed, and its eyes bore into me with greed, hatred, and intense hunger.

Its fur was far longer than a normal Boarbatusk's, trailing several inches from its skin as it billowed from the winds lifting it into the air. Its mask had cracks in it that seemed to be repaired with those same burning red markings, and its tusks had serrated back edges. Bits of sand and desert grass were stuck in its fur, and its stout, squat form was heavily muscled, to the point I'd be willing to say it could feed ten men and not be joking. Of course it would depend on what the men did for a living, their body size, their stomach size, and- FOCUS!

Gaster Blaster met the Boarbatusk's face and burned off a lot of its fur, the wind carrying the twice-over disgusting stench of burning hair away from me. Its HP had drained significantly, and I used Vorpal Sword to cleave through its neck. Its head made a bristling crunch as it fell into the coarse sand.

I picked up my loot as the ground desperately drank the smoking blood of the pig-like Grimm. First came a nice little chunk of Lien. Next came Ragrinsign, a pair of bracers that I might put on at some other point. Finally came Theroder, a rare item that looked like a simple ragged (yet functional) brown cloak that was held together by a rough rope looping around through the neck of the hood.

I put on the cloak with a smile, feeling the magical shadow cast by the hood now covering the upper half of my face. Oddly enough, the cloak also gave a +1 to all of my elemental affinities, for some reason. I guess it 'stole' them from... the world?

Ugh, even for someone with a supermind like mine, this shit was confusing sometimes.

Brown was a combination of all colors mixed together. Red and Green made brown, Blue and Orange made brown, and Purple and Yellow made brown. All of those colors were the same as those of the elements. It made sense in a vague way, one that required more than a couple of steps of logic to figure out.

Still, if I just put the hood down, then I didn't need to worry. Personally, I felt it made me look more badass. If I got another to test, and dyed it blue, then I might be able to make it match my style. It was pretty distinctive, though, so I'd only be able to wear it as myself, in case I ever set up multiple personas to work with, for whatever reason.

It wouldn't hurt to try to run multiple identities, but I'd need items, weapons, armor, and other such things all separate from others, including separate semblances. As myself, I already had shown control over space and the materials the world was made of, as well as the ability to learn information magically (though that was only to the headmasters), so I wouldn't be able to do that while in another persona unless it could be explained away as Dustcasting, or part of 'my' semblance. For example, telekinesis could explain a lot of things, and since I didn't have to worry about Mindflayers eating my precious psionic brain, I could do whatever I wanted without any fear, so long as it could be explained with telekinesis.

With a grin, I put another point into WIS as I came back to my senses. I heard a low rumbling and still felt the buzz of Sense Danger in my perceptions. I reached out with Roimonstral and sighed. More Grimm waiting for me in the sand.

I had spent maybe all of about four seconds contemplating everything, as well as doing the maths, and I was ready with Crocea Mors in hand.

What came at me was the stuff of nightmares.

 **Miraganger**  
 **Title: Hopeful Dreams under the Deadly Sun**  
 **Level: 72-84**

There were sixteen-, no, only seven of them, nine were illusions. The levels of the real ones only ranged from 72 to 78, with one being the former, two being the latter, and the other four leaning heavily towards the upper end of that scale.

They were, indeed, the stuff of nightmares. Long, gaunt faces with disturbingly human-like skulls, except their jaws opened up a full foot and were held together by a few ebony webs of meat. They were clothed, actually properly clothed (if in the sense that a hobo was properly clothed) with weathered articles stolen from murdered humans. Some wielded rusted, worn, and battered weapons like old swords, staves, and clubs. Their physical stats were in the two hundreds, with DEX at around 260, and VIT around 270, where as STR ran around 210. Their INT scores were in the low-to-mid 20s, but their WIS scores averaged in the high 50s, meaning they could draw in a lot of worldly power.

And draw it in they did, as they all had the ability to conjure their namesake, mirages. I sighed and drew back, calling up my various buffs and Ki effects to boost my strength and speed to incredible levels to match up to their incredible durability.

I swung my sword at one of them, shattering its rusted, decrepit sword in their hands as another came up behind me, only for its club to break on my Radiant Mane. I chuckled and Gaster Blaster's bony face met its disturbingly human-looking skull-face, the uncanny valley being purged by cyan plasma.

I chuckled and began tearing at the others, however it wasn't until the last one that I was given reason to pause.

"You... you!" the Miraganger spoke, in perfect, unbroken English.

I paused, "Me. What about me? How do you talk man's words?"

"I learn, we all wait for blood, much time between, learn to read man-speak. Learn to speak man-speak. It help lure people. You, you dangerous. Light burn, ow, ow ow ow!" the vile beast shuffled back, trying to get away from my glowing sword, which was arcing with dozens of tiny bolts of electricity.

I ceased my conjuring for the time being and took in this one's appearance. It seemed to have ragged robes stuck together with dried bodily fluids as the 'glue' of the grotesque, mismatched clothing, "How you make these illusions?"

"We... do. We not know, we just make. We..." for a moment, I saw a spark of intelligence and wisdom in its eye as I influenced it to think of the complex matters it was involved with.

Sadly, it seemed my Luck had run out, as instead of having an existential crisis, it went into a rage and nearly caved my face in. My defensive buffs held strong, though, so I was able to counter attack by chopping its arm off and lunging back, getting a Gaster Blaster ready. Ten goat-like skulls hung in the air, mana gathering within their bony maws.

It stood up, reaching its arm out and, to my surprise, let out a battlecry as ichor-like fluids shot out of the wound and coalesced into a solid, fully functional limb. It flexed its fingers, then picked up a fallen sword and held it in both hands. My fine eye for detail picked out that while the arm had grown back, it had grown back a couple of inches shorter and a tiny bit thinner, so while these things could regenerate their body parts, it wasn't perfect by any means. It worked, but... it didn't really matter. It wouldn't survive long enough to potentially regrow that arm to its full size and strength.

 _*BWAAAOOO*_

Ten Gaster Blasters opened their mouths, cyan lasers ripping the Miraganger apart. I grinned and watched as it fell to the ground, only a sliver of HP remaining. I raised Crocea Mors high into the air, the blade shining bright silver, and brought it down onto the beast's head, chopping off a huge chunk of it.

It went still... then suddenly jolted and started to scramble for my ankles, "Shit!" I quickly brought my blade down, again and again, shattering its skull into a hundred pieces.

It wasn't clean or efficient, but hey, it worked in the end. I can't believe I fell for a jumpscare like that, but I brushed it off and collected my loot.

 **Your level has increased by one!**

 **You found 1,050,000 Lien!**

 **You gained the armor "Headema"**

 **You gained the weapon "Levagre 5"**

 **You gained the weapon "Witsmes 35"**

 **You gained the weapon "Avtaklo 30"**

 **You gained the item "Skillbook: Illusion"**

I raised an eyebrow, looking at the surprisingly fine weapons. Except for some minor abrasion damage, they were in excellent condition. That was confusing as, with the exception of the cloak from the Boarbatusk Raider, all the armor I'd found was only in okay-ish condition, and the weapons were pretty crap compared to my main stuff. What was more confusing than that, or the numbers in their names, was the fact that they were a dagger, a revolver, and an automatic assault rifle.

 **SYSTEM UPDATE: Combo Counter added**

I consumed the knowledge of the skillbook, gaining it at level 15, while reading the details of the combo counter. Apparently it could affect some weapons and skills, and I had unlocked it because Avtaklo had a function where it gained +1% damage per number on the combo counter, so a 10 hit combo would deal 10% more damage, a 36 hit combo would deal 36% more damage, and so on. When it was equipped, however, my combo could be broken by a miss, hitting with another weapon, taking damage, or going more than 7.5 seconds without getting a hit off. Under normal conditions, the only limit for the combo was a 5 second timer.

I lowered the visuals on the combo until it was at a point where I could see it, but it wouldn't obscure anything. With that done, I hummed at the skill window for Illusion.

 **-/\\-**

 **Illusion (Active) Level: 15, Exp: 34.62%, Cost: Varies.  
** **The ability to bend the shape of Light in order to create falsities. By grasping what is real, one can craft new imagery in order to create illusions, distorting the truth the naked eye sees.**

 **Allows the user to create visual illusions.  
** **Cost increases with the volume, width, span, breadth, depth, detail, and quality of illusions.**

 **-/\\-**

It didn't give any hard measurements or limits, only things that would influence the cost of my illusions. I hummed in thought, then activated all of my Ki skills and Aurora, then cast an illusion around myself to appear normal. I didn't see any star-like corona or glowing hairs, so I grinned. Now at least I didn't have to worry about the visuals of my skills, if nothing else. I maintained the illusion, keeping the shining lights out of sight.

Applying another point of WIS for this battle, I took off, recasting my buffs again and pouring on the speed, ready to get to Ra'Nuk ASAP.

* * *

 _(At the airship docks of Ra'Nuk, Marbel's POV)_

I groaned lightly, grasping my chest where I still felt the effects of Soul Fray. I don't know if Jaune did it a different way, or if it's just his power preventing him from having to deal with stuff like this, but he certainly didn't seem to have any problems with summoning HIS elementals.

Romargust, that was his name. I could see his 'title' too, almost like *I* was the one with Gamer's Sight, except it was pretty limited.

 **Romargust  
Title: White Foundation.  
Level: 1**

Apparently it was referencing an ancient leader named Augustus, his kingdom, and the stone I was named after. I couldn't help but sigh. I don't know if sometimes Jaune's semblance is just goofing around or it has legitimate reasons for doing what it does. My semblance allowed me to do a charge move like a rook in chess, but I don't think a tower of a garrison or castle was worth naming a piece of my _soul_ after an empire.

I guess I'd just do what I always did and trust Jaune (and by extension, his semblance). I mean, it'd be a bit cooler if I got to name my Elementals, but hey, Jaune didn't get to name his, and I don't get to name mine. They pick their own names, I guess because they have their own minds.

 _'So tiny, hard to grasp'_ I heard the decidedly male voice say, my head faintly aching because I could feel the entirety of the sand below the ship, including the sandstone. I could feel it and almost felt like I could grasp it, I _could_ grasp it, but it would slip between my fingers. Huh... I guess that made sense, since it was sand I was dealing with. Jaune had a skill that let him combine his elementals and Earth + Air = Sand. If I wanted to control sand, I'd have to get an Air elemental and somehow make it and my Earth elemental mix together.

The problem was _actually figuring that out_. I could ask Jaune, but without understanding it myself, I don't think I could get it.

I sighed again, putting my hands into the pockets of my leather jacket. Jaune (somehow) made us each some clothing better suited for moving around in the desert, but Ra'Nuk was the westernmost city in the world, if you took Vale as the center like most maps did. We were actually in the Vacuan grasslands, nearly a savanna, so sand-travel wasn't a problem. However, the next city would be in the savanna, and then the next would be properly in the desert, and the nearest settlement to Shade Academy.

Blake had hogged the books all to herself, so I didn't really know what to expect here, but I decided to just roll with it. Yang and I shared an important trait, the ability to go with the flow.

The ship's doors opened and we exited out into the bright sunlight, my eyes briefly burning before adjusting to the light. It was hot, but it didn't hurt to be outside like I expected, and the air didn't taste like bitter dust that would make me want to throw up just to moisturize my mouth. Weiss' ship would be landing in a minute, but it was up to us to secure a perimeter, I think. Usually when defending a place, soldiers always say 'secure the perimeter'... or at least they do in movies.

I looked up and saw Jaune falling towards us slowly, obviously under the effects of Featherfall. Those buffs of his are insane, but damn are they useful. Once you get used to them, they're not bad at all, except Featherfall. I guess it was a case of opposites being incompatible, because I had an Earth-based semblance, I figured, and Featherfall kinda ruined the mega-powered charge attack I had by reducing my forward momentum and speed, since it basically made your body act like a feather being thrown through the air. It kinda sucked.

I pushed the thoughts out of my aching head, because while contemplating the actual effective value of being able to be thrown around and not take damage, versus it basically being a gigantic momentum dampener/makes you act like rubber, was deep and interesting, it wasn't my style. My style was getting into what I was assigned and doing it well.

Jaune turned towards the three of us, "Alright you three, we need to secure a perimeter so Weiss can get on the ground safely." he said with a friendly, but firm voice, "If she gets hurt, we could get jailtime for negligence, I think." I think not, but he was probably right. His INT was pretty fucking high, so I trusted he knew what he was doing.

 _Marbel C: Weiss, we're gonna secure a perimeter so you can get on the ground safely, kay? :C_

 _Weiss C: Oh! Thanks. Hey, Ruby, Yang, do you hear that? We're landing. :C_

 _Ruby C: Yay~! Send some pictures, okay? Today's been booooriiiiing~. :C_

 _Yang C: Yeah. Also, don't even think about making any moves on my boyfriend, alright? He's MINE. :C_

 _Weiss C: I wasn't planning on it, Yang. I have too much respect for Jaune to try to hit on him. :C_

 _Skyler C: You hit him, then I hit you. I am sworn to serve and protect Master Jaune. :C_

 _Weiss C: AH! You've been silent all day! :C_

 _Skyler C: I was reading. Too busy to talk. :C_

 _Weiss C: Er, right. I'm not going to 'hit' him, nor am I going to 'hit on' him. The two are different. :C_

 _Blake C: You all are lucky he ignores this chat 24/7. He's summoned those weird skull things again and if he lost control of them because you're saying some shocking stuff, he'd probably end up murdering at least a hundred people. :C_

 _Yang C: Murder BAD. :C_

 _Ruby C: Murder VERY BAD :C_

 _Skyler C: Your grammar is bad. I say this and I'm learning english from child books. :C_

 _Yang C: PFFFFFFFT! Oh wow, Sky, god now I can't stop laughing! I didn't know you had jokes! :C_

 _Skyler C: It was not a joke. :C_

 _Weiss C: Remind us to teach you about humor. Jaune is probably only having you learn intellectual things. :C_

 _Skyler C: Intelligence is intellect, I am raising my intellect. :C_

 _Yang C: Okay, tomorrow, I'm gonna try to get you some experience with people things, not just lame book smarts. :C_

 _Ruby C: Aren't you studying right now? :C_

 _Yang C: I gotta pass my tests! :C_

 _Weiss C: You two deal with your studies, I'll deal with my fans and whatever other complications may arise today. :C_

 _Marbel C: I'm sure Jaune will fix whatever happens. :C_

 _Blake C: Hopefully he'll fix whatever happens. :C_

 _Marbel C: I have faith in him. :C_

 _Yang C: I do too. You three are fiiiine~ :C_

 _Blake C: Four. His father is also here. :C_

 _Yang C: Then you'll be double fine, if Jaune takes after his dad, then they'll both keep you all safe and sound like you should be. :C_

 _Ruby C: Yeah! Jauney's awesome! He and his dad'll take care of everything. :C_

 _Blake C: If you say so. :C_

I sighed, elbowing Blake in the ribs, "Trust me, Jaune's going to handle this fine. Look." I pointed out towards the docks, where... two, five, eight, eleven... twenty five groups of... ten... where two hundred and fifty floating Gaster Blaster skulls stared ominously at many citizens, making them all cower back. It wasn't the nicest way to keep them out of the way, but it worked pretty damn well.

Blake groaned next to me, and I looked at her, "Don't worry, okay?"

* * *

 _(Ten seconds ago, Blake's POV)_

I watched as Jaune gathered together at least two hundred of his blaster skull things and challenged the raving fans into a massive staring contest. In my mind, I imagined lasers flying forth and vaporizing innocent people into ashes, a dangerous smirk on his face.

I groaned, the thought of Jaune turning into Adam more mentally than physically present in my mind. I pushed it away just in time to hear Marbel's words, "Don't worry, okay?" she looked confident that our blonde leader would keep control of the situation. I wasn't so sure, he was kind of impulsive sometimes.

That could be good, sometimes, like what I'd seen when he'd introduced me and Weiss.

 _... (Flashback~) ..._

 _Weiss looked furious after learning of my previous affiliation with the White Fang. She began spouting offensive remarks and racial slurs, cursing the White Fang and calling them monsters._

 _I clenched my fists, but paused when Jaune stepped inbetween us and turned to face Weiss_

 _"Now Weiss. I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed." ouch. I could feel the sting of his words even from 180 degrees away, "Now you see, you're kinda being a massive bitch. Blake isn't the White Fang, she doesn't deserve your anger and spite."_

 _"She was still a part of them! How in the hell can you trust her so easily?" the heiress demanded._

 _Jaune took off the reading glasses he'd put on while going throughsome papers for Weiss' contracts. He folded the glasses up slowly, almost menacingly, "Now Weiss. I was raised with traditional, good-hearted values and I take neither pride, pleasure, or satisfaction in hitting a woman." I moved to the side to look at Weiss again, only to nearly get hit with Weiss' thrown body as Jaune backhanded her across the face so hard it made a resounding smacking sound, her body lifted a few inches off the ground and a few feet to the side, "But I DO believe in whipping some sense, decency, and discipline into a child, and you're acting like a child right now. Blake may have been a part of the White Fang, but she saw that their methods were wrong, that a violent and antagonistic path was wrong, and she left. They weren't being freedom fighters, they were being bullies and terrorists. Her wholehearted abandonment of that life, cutting cold turkey and quitting... it says that despite her previous involvement, she has some good morals and a sound mind. You'd do well to learn by her example and grow out of your previous fanatical ideals, growing up as a person by taking the moral high road and looking beyond the dirty past that a person has, and instead looking at WHO they ARE, rather than WHAT they WERE."_

 _I couldn't help but smile at how honestly and fervently he defended me, and I found more than a little bit of satisfaction at seeing the sheer shocked look on Weiss' face as she stared at Jaune in shock and awe. She cradled her cheek and found herself speechless. When she finally spoke up, it was with a meek, submissive voice, "Y-you're right." then she looked at me with pleading eyes, "I'm sorry, Blake. I was raised better than to be so hasty in my judgement and be so rude with my words." she lifted herself to her feet, "I've done my family a disservice and a dishonor, and I humbly ask for your forgiveness." she even BOWED to me._

 _I was well and truly shocked. I hadn't expected her to take the hit so well, or the explanation so to-heart. I guess Jaune's CHA isn't all just in his face and alluring musculature, "You're forgiven, Weiss. We all say things we shouldn't, and if we were damned for our regrets starting tomorrow morning, we'd all be burning in hell before lunchtime." I said with a slight humorous tone towards the end, hoping to lighten things up. Damn Yang for her corrupting influence, now I was finding it harder to handle silences!_

 _Weiss smiled at me, agreeing with a relieved tone. Suddenly, Jaune pulled us both in for a hug, congratulating us for getting along, since he liked to see all his friends getting along. It was actually pretty embarrassing, so I quickly began squirming to escape him, but his STR was just too high, and he held us close for FAR too long, and only slowly letting us go._

 _I definitely did NOT scamper away like a frightened kitten! I just backed away quickly so he couldn't smother me in his rock-hard muscles._

 _... (Present~) ..._

Okay, I'd be lying if I said I didn't find Jaune attractive. Sure, he was impulsive, but he strove to do the right thing, for honor, justice, and righteousness. Attractive mentally, like a follower to a leader? Yes.

Attractive physically, like a boy to a girl? Yes to that too. I knew the boundaries, but that didn't prevent me from knowing or acknowledging that he was _really damn handsome._ I would like to have him, but he didn't want me, so I just put the feelings aside where they weren't to be acknowledged. I stood there in front of Weiss' docked ship, just a few feet from the base of the exit ramp, "Welcome to the ground." I greeted with a small smirk.

Weiss smirked back, "Glad to be back." she replied with a small laugh. I was glad Jaune had helped Weiss and I get over our initial differences, else we'd be walking on eggshells around each other... or worse, walking through minefields.

I sighed again, looking at Jaune, who began clearing a path with his blaster skull things, "Looks like it's time to go."

Marbel nodded, "Yep. Come on, Weiss."

John laughed a little and gestured with his beefy arm, "Come now, girls, this way. The hotel awaits!" he said cheerfully, and I found myself getting infected by that cheer.

I didn't let it show except for a slight smile, "Let's get going then." we set off down the path our 'dear leader' had cleared, still standing there with a playful smirk on his face, a large amount of the skulls disappearing, but there were still enough to make trying to get through the perimeter seem like a terrible idea.

Most of these people were just civilians, and honestly I thought about messaging the idiot to try to make the things look less creepy. It wasn't going to give a good image if we walked through the city flanked on all sides by a protective barrier of goat-dragon-thing skulls. Civilians tended to freak out at such scary things. Even a lowly Beowolf was enough to send normal people into a frightened panic.

 _Blake W: Jaune, try to make those things look less scary. You're frightening people. :W_

 _Jaune W: I really hate to say it, but it's better they're frightened than confident that they could get away with something :W_

 _Blake W: Oh... well, still, it gives a bad image :W_

 _Jaune W: Oh fine. I picked up a skill that should help. :W_ I watched as the skulls each retreated from the edges of the crowd for a few moments, before suddenly, before my very eyes, additional bones appeared, followed by what could only be described as a sprouting of lean muscle and shiny scales all over their bodies, as if they were building themselves up magically. Through some means, probably his bond with Yang, Jaune was transforming his blaster skulls into dozens upon dozens of slender dragons of various colors.

"The dragons are protecting the white songbird. Please clear the way." he called out, but it seemed some people didn't want to comply, "You'll all be able to see her much easier when she's on stage tomorrow night. Please clear the way." that managed to clear the way, and it seemed the better nature of some people led them to try to get others to comply as well, the massive main street clearing as the 'dragons' adjusted to compensate.

I looked at Marbel, then at John, then at Weiss, the latter of whom was just exiting from her ship with a few bodyguards surrounding her. Tall, burly, gruff-looking men with weapons. Given her more personal status as the SDC heiress, it wasn't too far-fetched that she'd shell out some extra lien for stronger security. Then again, only 20% of efforts get 80% of the results, and given there were dozens of various little security details perched around, and only four of us, I'd say we fit that measurement quite well.

I looked at the guards, a small amount of Jaune's findings with his Gamer's Sight being available to me. These men averaged at around level 20, while Weiss herself, the lowest leveled among us, was at 35. It was almost sad, really, but the masses behind that wall of dragons were all less than level 10, which made it hard to imagine that they could do too much without some coordinated effort. As far as I knew, the presence of the White Fang in Vacuo was limited to just a couple handfuls of troops who were micromanaged by one of the generals. Jaune could confirm that quickly, since he now knew everything that had been written down. Sure, Adam preferred actions to words, but information was a weapon he also knew how to wield. No doubt Jaune knew how to assassinate those two generals and solve the problems they'd caused.

Then again, given his... nature, made especially clear at how he had one of his dragons lower their head to be petted by a curious, naively fearless young boy, I became very sure that he'd try to reform them first, killing only as a last resort. Sure, he had no qualms about killing, and my own qualms had become meek and quiet over the years, but his damned belief in second chances and new beginnings would lead to something bad happening. Why did such an incredible power like this Game, have to fall into the hands of someone who was so painfully idealistic?

 _'But it made him give YOU a chance, at least.'_ the treacherous part of my mind reminded me. Sometimes, when I was bored, I'd count my sighs. Sadly, I'd lost count at this point, as another sigh left my lips while we all began moving towards the convoy. I was surprised this many people had come here just to see Weiss arriving in the city, but then again, I wasn't very experienced with the popularity of fame and fortune, or even so much as being known among the civilians. I preferred to stick to the shadows, out of sight.

I didn't hate people, per se, though I didn't have too much endurance for conversation (even after all this 'training' Yang has put me through), I just didn't like the noise. Jaune had the patience to meditate for two whole weeks, only stopping to eat and drink. If he needed to be quiet, he could be quiet. If he needed to wait, he could wait a damn long time. He'd make a good stealth and espionage agent. Hell, he technically was making a good one now, since he was posing as Adam and playing the part of being in charge of the entirety of the White Fang.

We made our way to the cars, Marbel, John, and I getting into one armored car, and Weiss and Jaune getting into the other. It seemed excessive, but I guess Raureif Schnee wasn't one to skimp out on his heiress daughter's safety. It made sense, then, that he'd wanted to discourage her from taking the path of a Huntress, one known to have led to countless deaths throughout history.

The life of a singer was hundreds of miles from the threats of the Grimm. She'd never be awash in blood and ichor, rather she'd be awash in the blinding white of the spotlight, waiting either to retire in old age, or for some tragedy to befall her. It was a life of stagnation, and weakness.

I could see the fighting spark in Weiss' eyes after she'd promised not to be so harsh from now on, and to strive to improve herself. I couldn't help but smirk a little, amused at how the tables had turned, and a Schnee was awaiting the judgement of an untrusting faunus.

I sighed again, holding Jaune would soon take us out to kill Grimm. I could vent some frustration right about now.

* * *

 _(a couple seconds later, John's POV)_

I sighed, looking out the window. Why'd I have to get stuck in the car with the little rock and the emo kitten? None of my jokes would work here. I wanted to be switched, but rules were rules, I guess. I wasn't always keen on following ALL the rules.

Sure I worked with the police a lot, to the point where they probably knew me and my son just as much as those on the Most Wanted list, but as a Hunter I had a lot of leeway, all the way up to the old Double-0 classic privilege: license to kill.

Now of course I didn't find _joy_ in killing my fellow human beings, nor did I find satisfaction, pleasure, or pride. Killing someone was always saved for later, when things broke down and the situation couldn't be resolved peacefully. I always worked towards peace, but I was more than prepared for war.

 _ **Enchaine Valeur  
**_ _ **Description: A set of heavily compressed bracers, anklets, and a necklace worn by John Arc. When used with the Arc Family Gift, they can unfold into a suit of fully articulated full-plate armor. The best way to protect yourself is to work towards peace, and prepare for war.**_

 _ **Effects: 1000 Armor, no change to mobility.**_

I'd honed the armor with over a decade of work, making it not only fully mobile, but distributed the weight evenly enough that it didn't feel like weigh enough to slow me down at all, or at least by any significant amount of time. Sure I might get a slightly slower speed on, say, a marathon, but I'd be good to go for a long, _long_ period of time.

Say, if I was chasing someone, and we were running for about... 6 hours, I might end up a quarter-mile behind them, but that's assuming the chase even lasted for that long. When I chase someone down, they usually end up getting taken down pretty quick.

Sighing, I settled slightly deeper into my seat. At least these fancy cars were comfortable, if nothing else. The bulky armor they had was practically a waste. Bullets could be aimed, but not exactly directed, the foot-thick armor plating would stop it, but would it stop an Ursa's claws? More importantly, what about the weak points, the door's hinges? The door could be ripped out easier than it could be penetrated. While even lighter armor could deflect the thick, more cleaver-like than blade-like claws that Beowolves and Ursae had, the creatures of the desert didn't care much.

The disturbingly humanoid Lizalgrunts and Lizalwarts, the accursed Deathstalkers, the annoying Boarbatusks, the sneaky Taijutsus, and a few more. Many people thought the desert to be a desolate wasteland of sand and heat, but there was a lot of life in the desert, it was just relatively sparse. Yes you could look in some directions and just see miles of desolate sands, but it wasn't just a lifeless ocean of the stuff.

I rested one elbow on the edge of the window, laying my cheek in my palm as I looked over my profile.

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Johnathan Arc  
** **Title: The Ninth Moon to Illuminate the Night  
** **Level: 109  
** **Class: Cleric v4  
** **Nickname: MeDICKal ASSistant**

 **Hit Points: 157,000/157,000  
** **Aura Points: 205,000/205,000  
** **Stamina Points: 263,000/263,000**

 **Strength: 180 (+360%) = 828  
** **Dexterity: 140 (+235%) = 469  
** **Vitality: 224 (+360%) = 1030.4  
** **Intelligence: 132 (+235%) = 442.2  
** **Wisdom: 110 (+360%) = 506  
** **Luck: 80  
** **Charisma: 93**

 **Age: 45  
** **Birthday: February 26th  
** **Height: 6'6  
** **Weight: 300  
** **Build: Heavy Extreme Muscular  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blonde / Royal Blue / Veteran's Tan**

 **-/\\-**

I chuckled briefly at my listed nickname, the last nickname given to me by my friends at Beacon. My semblance was the rare healing type. With endless practice, I could mend wounds almost instantly. I don't know what it would do to Jaune, who healing from physical damage instantly and seemed to only take damage to his HP, which was mediocre compared to my own. Then again, he had 80 VIT and I had 224.

Jaune... I was proud of him, I truly was. I might have been disappointed at his lack of progress before, but I never once wasn't proud of his dedication and determination. Something was going to break through eventually, either his Aura would burst forth from his soul to protect him in a time of mortal danger, or I'd have to unlock it before he went to Beacon. He'd be weaker than most everyone there, but he'd build up quickly, his large soul bolstering his strength, speed, and endurance.

Still, as his father, though I was brimming with pride that he'd grown so much this past month or so thanks to his Game power, I was still worried. His base INT, the thing that would boost his maximum Aura, was about... 65% higher than his VIT, the thing that altered his max Health. However, despite this, his max Aura was nearly four times larger than his max Health. I don't know what exactly to make of that, but it's clear that something about his soul was inhibiting his physical growth.

I sighed. He was tough, that much was sure, and he had a lot of skills, he'd shown me plenty of them, but I couldn't help but worry.

Is this what Juniper felt like? Worried that our son might grow strong, but faint of body and easily killed? Years of training and effort dumped down the drain by a lucky Grimm, not to mention even more years of caring for and raising a child. I sighed again, closing my profile and contemplating what I'd do next. When you were a Hunter, and you no longer had ties or anything (you would be willing) to do, boredom set in quick. I'd contemplated what I'd do next for hours on end before, finally settling on going and finding something to do besides just sit and _think._

Too much to drink can make you unfit to go and drive, too much to think can make you unfit for normal life.

"H-hey, John." the little rock said, and I looked at her in acknowledgement, "Why do you have that nickname?"

"Heh, THAT is quite a story, Marbel." I ruffled her hair a bit, smirking, "When I went to Beacon, I made some friends, and I had a semblance for healing people. Hunters get hurt all the time and usually make a full recovery in a matter of days, VIT-based recovery be damned. I joked around with my friends and we poked fun at one another, but I always healed their injuries. One of them once got a bite taken out of his ass, which I healed, and another got a bruise on his junk, which I also healed. That was at the same time, and the third friend said that I must be a MeDICKal ASSistant." I couldn't help but chuckle at the memories. Taiyang was pretty funny sometimes, and Qrow and Ironwood should have been watching their backs and fronts respectively. Luckily a good group always has a healer in it.

I laid back in my seat, trying to relax a bit more. I was worried, to say the least. These children were under my protection, and compared to myself they were indeed _children_ , and given the number of people and the power of the Grimm should one appear, I didn't know if I could protect them myself.

Heh, that was a question every Arc fretted over, _'Can I protect the people I'm supposed to?'_

The answer was always more cruel and morbid than we'd ever be comfortable with.

 _'Not everyone, not always.'_

It was so simple, but so impossible to swallow.

 _'No, I can't have missed anyone.'_

 _'Too bad, there wasn't anything left to be noticed.'_

Ugh... thinking on it hurt my head. Like I said, it was impossible to swallow.

But sometimes you just had to, in order to stay sane, you had to accept that there was nothing you could do. Some people were completely gone by the time you arrived, and an idealistic Hunter quickly had to adjust to the fact that when all was said and done, some homes would be empty.

A vast majority of Hunters, so vast that the only reason why it wasn't every single one, was the fact that the alternative group even _exists,_ a majority of Hunters have what I'd call 'HALP Syndrome'. Hope Abandoned, Lowered Power.

If I had to hanker a guess, I'd say I was that rare one among all of my friends from Beacon, me and maybe Summer too, if I was lucky. We were of a rare few who could always perform at peak capacity because our mental drive and motivation to succeed never wavered no matter how much we failed.

Even when saving people, a lot of Hunters never performed at peak capacity, just due to the lack of hope.

Tragic, really.

This ride is going too slowly for my tastes, plus the time it takes to open the door will impede my ability to protect. Those who didn't understand a threat were almost always ill-prepared for it.

"I'm going to go the rest of the way on foot, okay? Relay that to the other cars." I said to both my fellow passengers and the driver, then I opened the door and dived out, sending a small solid burst of Aura at the door to close it behind myself while I rolled to my feet and began running, easily keeping up with the relatively slow pace of the automobiles.

Casually jogging ahead, I chuckled and grinned widely, waving at Jaune and Weiss inside of her car. Getting a smirk and a wave back from my son, I took off ahead, activating my Aura, which caused my body to cast off a blue glow.

I was a good strategist, definitely. I had a fast mind for it, and an even faster hand. I made my way towards the hotel, keeping a lookout for anyone who might have been threatening our precious cargo. No alleyway chargers, no snipers, none of that stuff. I trusted Jaune to have more than enough power to keep Weiss from being harmed by whoever would want to attack her.

I kept moving forward.

* * *

 _(A few minutes later, Jaune's POV)_

I received a message, which was a bit of a surprise. What was more surprising was that it was on Adam's scroll.

 _The Troop: Hey boss! I got a notification that you're in town. Following that Schnee girl? We should totally attack her convoy!_

 _Adam: No. They have Hunters protecting her now. From what I can see, the cost of killing her now would be at least 1.5 casualties on our side for every 1 person we kill on theirs. Keep low and simply observe their movements. They have 5 people, 6 including the value of her normal guards, versus our (what I remember) 12 that includes me and you._

 _Adam: We stick to the shadows and wait to strike. Go home._

 _The Troop: Alright boss, you're the boss after all! Wanna come by for a meeting? I have some fresh watermelon waiting._

 _Adam: I'll consider it. The journey was... a hungry one. I'll rest for now._

Hungry for knowledge, more like. I kept Illusion over my scroll to hide what I was typing, sending a quick message to Weiss, _Jaune W: We're being watched by the Vacuan White Fang. A group of about 11 elite faunus soldiers. I could easily kill them all, but I don't want to right now. As far as my information goes, the White Fang is important for the dark side's plans. :W_

 _Weiss W: The dark side... the one being led by Cinder Fall? :W_

 _Jaune W: The very same. Keep calm, I'm going to teleport. :W_

I felt the power cover my body as I gathered the energy together, then I disappeared in a flash of light.

The world warped and went dark for an instant before my eyes adjusted to the new image before me, Gamer's Mind and some actual experience preventing me from being disoriented by the sudden shift in location.

I appeared on a rooftop next to the convoy's path. I hummed, looking around. To support what my physical eyes saw, I gathered some focus to look through the eyes of the element. I felt rapid footsteps footsteps and a disturbance in the air that both weren't placed somewhere they should be. I focused on them and found the disturbance to be a person wearing tactical gear.

 **Lima Temvun**  
 **Title: Toxic Sounds sicken the Mind  
Level: 69**

She was moving inside a currently unoccupied building, ready to disappear from sight should she be spotted, all thanks to the illusion semblance of her friend not too far away.

 **Lucen Mirros**  
 **Title: There are worlds up above, there are worlds inside  
Level: 86**

I wasn't surprised, to be honest. He had a higher level due to his ability to cast illusions of incredible detail. I had no doubt that if I killed him, he'd drop a token made from his semblance that I could absorb and boost my level in my own version of the skill.

At least, it would be easy to kill them both if it weren't for their third friend keeping watch on the inside of the building, if where I assumed her face's shape was pointed at was correct.

 **Greyna Vakanz  
Title: From Nowhere comes the Storm  
Level: 75**

Simply put, she had the ability to teleport. It also worked on Dust and could activate it at her will. Naranja might have been listed as obfuscating incompetence, but he had certainly proved his worth with how well he picked his troops.

I watched them under a cloak of invisibility, idly noticing a new level in Stealth and a bonus of reducing the traceability of my fingerprints and footsteps. I didn't really care about that much anymore, mostly because of how everything has changed.

Simply put, I'm a wizard and a knight. A wizard knight if I might say so, and I _will_ say so.

I'm not a master thief, nor an invisible spy. I'm also not a politician, nor a king or a lawyer or even just a fucking bookkeeper. I'm a warrior. I fight the bad guys and save the day, and the rest of the world recovers in the wake of my saving touch.

I'll build homes, I'll cure diseases, I'll dispense justice, but I'll be damned if I'm going to be sucked into the world of laws, rules, and regulations.

Yes, there are laws, and rules, and regulations, and I'll respect them, even enforce them, but I'm not going to waste my time sitting down and writing this shit when I could be going out and building houses, or providing some magical medical care, something else important like that. It just didn't appeal to me. It wasn't who I was.

My intelligence would go towards learning about the world and learning about magic. My wisdom would go towards understanding the world and what makes it function, working with the elements.

I was going to do my own thing, AKA work with magic and kill Grimm. I didn't care about that boring councilman shit.

Kindness for the innocent, wrath for the wicked. That was what I wanted.

Sighing, I dropped off the rooftop with Featherfall on, drifting slowly towards the ground while willing the wind to blow me along the path of the car, following in the air with a watchful eye. I saw my dad running along the road in the distance, and smiled.

Leave the lookout to the Arcs, folks. We'll keep everyone safe here.

 _... (After going to the hotel) ..._

I walked through the doors of the empress suite, a small smile on my face. The three agents had left without any trouble after merely only observing the heavily guarded convoy for a while and, presumably, leaving because their mission was only reconnaissance, not assassination. Weiss was safe for today, though I didn't know how long that safety would last, but I'd prepare for when shit hit the fan. Part of that preparation began now.

 **Elemental Summoning Circle: A ritualistic circle created in far gone ancient times to transfer a sacrifice of magic to the spirits of nature. Usage of special meditative states, sacrifices, and this ritual circle had allowed people to open their souls and color their light with the elements of nature, creating an Elemental from the soul within.**

Maybe it was just psychological barriers that had made me so hesitant to try this with the others. I wasn't sure exactly, but after seeing that Marbel had only received a status effect for her troubles in summoning an Elemental, and not a very intense one at that, and Qrow having had survived his own elemental summoning and further development without any problems he'd cared to divulge, it was clear that this whole Elemental Summoning wasn't too dangerous to do. If all evidence was truthfully pointing where I thought it was, then the negative effects of the summoning would only be minor, temporary inconveniences, which were far outweighed by the powers that were granted.

I looked around and once again noted that the living room of the penthouse suite was massive. There had been guards dotted around, but I'd ordered them to leave us alone for a while. I didn't want anyone who wasn't part of my group to learn about this technique. It wasn't exactly something that just _anyone_ could be allowed to learn. The world would be a lot less safe if these secrets got out.

Sure, I adamantly didn't concern myself with the details of politics, but that didn't mean I didn't know the risks of this type of information getting out. This was the kind of shit that started underground 'freedom fighter' groups, or gave shadowy organizations a distinct and dangerous edge, or worse, founded fucking _cults._ This simply was NOT information to be messed with, which is why I was relieved that there were no cameras in the room. Merely casting illusions to conceal the circle from all views but mine and Weiss' worked nicely for a cover-up, "Alright, Weiss, I want you to take these water dust crystals for the sacrifice, and just to be safe, also use this additional gallon of cold water to make sure the sacrifice is enough. I don't know if my soul's strength or just my semblance allows me to summon an elemental without too much sacrifice, but I don't want to know what happens if it fails. Too much supplies is better than not enough, I always say."

Weiss nodded, following the instructions I gave to her as she knelt on the circle, focusing her aura together and channeling it into the runes. I watched them start to glow a soft blue, recalling the solid orange that had emanated from Marbel's circle and humming softly as I thought. Just as with Marbel, Weiss' small frame slipped from kneeling to nearly faceplanting, and it was only by my intervention that her pretty face didn't have a sudden meeting with the hard floor.

I set her down gently on the couch, then began to meditate while continuing to suppress my Aura, my focus dancing around atop various trains of thought as I contemplated my next moves.

I hadn't seen the advanced forms of Mirangangers yet, but knowing the basic ones could draw in power to create actual illusions, if only ones you'd have to be unobservant to fall for. As the stories of mirages went, most people who saw them were blinded by the desert heat and sun, which were too distracting for them to notice the details that would let them know that the mirages were indeed mirages. Given the danger they posed to people, and the bullshit they seemed to be made of, I had made sure to gather whatever loot they could offer. Given how my power seemed okay with granting me the bullshit stuff that enemies had (and my characters in games would normally be unable to gain for whatever reason), evidenced by the Illusion skill book, as well as several examples of things like that before, I could fairly assume it was safe to say that I could gain whatever power their advanced forms had through another skill book, assuming it wasn't just a prestige of Illusion.

Jumping to another, similar topic, Summon Elemental was pretty close to prestiging. I don't know what new skill would be or what it would do. It should make a logical leap, like Sprint did with Run, or the flirtation and romancing skills did with their predecessors, or most notably what Aurora did with Aura. Hopefully it would enhance my existing elementals, or at least give me more charges to apply to them. Unlocking new elements, now that I thought about it more properly, probably wasn't going to happen like I would want. I might get lucky and get a Wood, or straight up Nature elemental that could control plants. I could possibly gain the ability to get a direct Aura elemental, or even a Mana or Ki elemental. THAT would be... pretty broken, actually, and while the game was generous, it still kept things relatively fair. All my skills were things that were possible by means of either one's aura and/or semblance, intense study and shaping of the soul, or whatever magical essence allowed the Grimm to draw power from the world. I could only assume the essence the Grimm had was the same that allowed me to recover my aura so quickly, if what Skyler had said was true. It also probably helped me not have to worry about auric exhaustion. I had noticed that while the others may have raised their WIS, they sometimes did not recover Aura at the rate they should have at some particular given times, most notably right after intense training. The inward flow was reduced from what it should have been, at least when it was made clear they were taking longer than 16-25 minutes (depending on the multiple of 10 their WIS was on, higher meaning shorter recovery time) to fill back up on AP.

With a soft sigh, my thoughts then turned to the others, primarily the girl of my dreams. I would work out something to help Yang keep herself safe. Maybe an upgrade for Ember Celica to give her a shield. She also liked Iron Man, so maybe I could make her some sort of powered armor too? That'd be really cool, and I was 99% sure it would make her happy. Hell, even without the possibility of powered armor, just some plain, well-made armor would warm her heart because it would show how much I care about her safety. Plus, it would just _be good_ for her to have, even if...

... shit, her semblance! It pained me to see that her semblance was based around her feeling and receiving pain, but I guess that's just the low luck of her life having taken effect before I showed up. In a way the power could be conceived as noble, if you altered the way you looked at it to something not so direct. Her semblance was to take the pain of damage and add it to her strength. If you gave a peripheral view on that perspective, you might conclude that her semblance would drive her to get onto the front line of the fight and take the hits for her allies, sustaining the damage herself so they didn't have to. She wasn't a tank per se, but she was the toughest of the entire group besides my dad, Thomas, and of course myself. Granted we were all big strong guys who were buff and built to tank things, and she was only a very solidly built woman who seemed to draw equal parts of being a natural beauty and a star athlete.

She would never be the toughest, _and she was never intended to be_ , it seemed. If she was meant to be among the physically toughest people, through ANY means, then her soul's elemental affinities would have formed with her points gathered more towards Metal, Earth, or even Water, rather than primarily Fire. With Metal she would be able to endure, with Earth she would be... well my own evidence suggests otherwise but come on, it's EARTH, it's bound to increase health points or something. With Water, she could heal herself much faster than other people.

However, she did not. What she had was a whopping 50 Fire Affinity, followed by her second highest number being 10 Air Affinity, then surprisingly 5 to Water, and 2 for the other three elements. That must have been a product of my balancing her soul out with the six elemental buffs. It was reassuring, at least, that I was helping her become stronger not just through levels, but in matters of her actual soul.

I hummed softly, thinking on what I'd seen of Marbel's soul. She only had three elemental affinities, a 30 in Earth, now 40, a 15 in Lightning, and a 5 in Air. Was it a sign of a weak soul, that she had only three affinities and a total of 60 points? No, she had a bit more Aura than Yang, despite being eight levels lower, but that was more from her higher INT. Yang had a total of 71 affinity points across all six elements, but over two-thirds of those points were in only one element.

But what exactly was all this speculation even FOR? For Marbel's sake, is what it was for. If my life was a game and there was already a story written out of it, or at least a direction my personal plot line would be going in, then it stood to reason that those around me would be tightly tied to me and my growing power, right?

The speculation I had was about the fact that Marbel seemed to just... lack. She had very good stats now, able to trounce star athletes to what I could only assume was easily an olympian level, it still stood that she had a relatively weak Aura. The starting level of a completely balanced soul would, assuming I was the prime example, grant a total 150% boost to the first five stats. However, Marbel only had a total 100%, and... actually, at a total 430% increase, she was ahead on passive boosts.

I don't know what it is, then... something about her just didn't seem very... _right._ It was like...

Like she was intended to be an unimportant NPC who would pop up only occasionally, possibly play damsel in distress, and maybe even help me out here and there. She was meant to be important in my 'early game', but come late game I'd probably never hear from her at all. I guess I broke that mold, then. I set her apart, and even though I'd done my best thus far, her skill levels were paltry compared to the others. Granted some of my own skill levels were paltry, but I had training with plenty of spells.

Goddammit... just... something about Marbel didn't add up. It was like something was out of place with her. I don't know what exactly, but I know it's bugging me. She was my friend, however, and no matter how much my nerves complained, I wouldn't let go of our friendship.

I sighed again, and moved my mind to a different topic. Stone Skin and Metal Skin were getting closer to prestiging as well, which was kinda exciting. I could only wonder what they'd turn into. Would they grow deeper than just my skin? Would my muscles become made of stone and metal as well? The first examples that jumped to my mind were becoming almost golem-like, and becoming like the terminator. That reminded me that I'd have to find books on things like industrial machinery. While doing everything manually was just fine, being able to synergize my abilities was invaluable. Just being able to mix two elements together to directly control more complex forms of matter rather than having to indirectly manipulate them was a massive boon. I hummed softly as I thought about what just a few changes could do for my spells.

I was vaguely aware of pneumatics power, but didn't have a very good idea on how it worked. I'd found that I'd been able to 'Read' some normal books if they contained knowledge that the game deemed useful. I was pretty sure that some of that shit was useful. Being able to cast Mana Rope and being able to cast Wrecking Ball were both individually useful, but the idea just popped into my head to use them simultaneously like a giant bastardized flail and produce far more damage than the base Wrecking Ball spell would imply.

I smiled. More damage was always great, especially when it was done through clever means. Hell, using magnetism with Crocea Munja, I could probably start emulating the theoretical technology in Mass Effect if I tried hard enough.

I hummed and clamped down on my thoughts, deciding to only focus on spell combinations rather than let my focus wander and possibly break my meditation. With Ki Breathing going, and my elementals reaching out and playing with nearby forms of their power, I let everything else fade away for the time being.

And I waited.

* * *

 _(Four Hours Later, Subterranean Suite, Weiss POV)_

I watched as Jaune summoned a pile of rock from an Earth Dust crystal, gesturing to Marbel to summon her elemental with it.

I looked at the iron tub of water in front of me, having been instructed to do the same.

I focused hard, trying to communicate with and summon forth my elemental, Eismeer.

 **Eismeer  
Title: Chilling Waters  
Level: 1**

His title wasn't impressive, especially given that his name mean 'Ice Sea' in my family's native tongue. Still, I was able to see his 'stats' with an odd sort of... 'accuracy'. In fact, I'd almost say it was like being able to use Jaune's ability of Gamer's Sight, if only a small amount of it. He didn't have particularly impressive stats compared to those he was around, but the spread was... odd, to say the least.

I wasn't the most well-versed on 'stat builds' and things like that, but I could guess at what worked based on what was needed for a person of a class' description. Eismeer's main stats seemed to be DEX, VIT, and WIS, like some kind of... ironclad rogue. It was hard to tell, until Jaune had given me some crucial insight.

Not only did mankind level and have stats different from the builds of the Grimm, but Elementals seemed to be drawn up based on an entirely different system. As such, and just running my mental train of thought through the possibilities, I came to the conclusion that Eismeer's stat build was focused, to my bemusement, on a quite literal 'Water Elemental class'. That is, he was fast, healed quickly, and was deeper of mind than, say, an Earth Elemental.

Speaking of, I heard the pile of rocks rumbling as it seemed to raise itself up, and I focused more intensely on summoning Eismeer, not wanting to fail where Marbel succeeded. Suddenly, a howl broke out throughout the massive suite, usually reserved for people with important business but were more concerned with their safety than their comfort, like I'd been with choosing the Empress Suite.

Eismeer reared up briefly, and I blinked in surprise at his appearance. White-water formed a layer of sleek fur, an abyss-like black formed two eyes, from which shined two rings of the same shade of blue as my Aura, forming startlingly odd eyes just like a mammal's. I couldn't tell, however, if it was meant to be a fox or a wolf, his features seeming to be a mix of the two, leaning more towards wolf with his cute little head, but more towards fox with his adorable fluffy tail that waggled around like a flowing river, elegant and graceful, like myself. His eyes adjusted, blinked, and the blue lights expanded adorably, making him look so innocent and so CUUUUUUUTE~!

Oh my god I need to hug him! I rushed forward and wrapped my arms around him, feeling the soft, cool, moist 'fur' he had, and nuzzling him, "You're so cuuuute~." I made a sound that was definitely NOT a squeal of joy! I mean... he's just a cute doggy, and I am a Schnee, we are strong, firm of mind, and we do not squeal. Technically Eismeer was a Schnee too, given that he was birthed from my soul, so he should be the same.

Marbel looked at me, as did the pink pinpoints of light coming from the rough, faceted eyes of her 'elemental', which appeared to be a thick, nondescript man-shaped thing made of shafts of stone that were absolutely massive, probably a foot thick at the narrowest. What I could only assume was a unicorn horn jutted out of his forehead, looking strangely... image-completing? Looking at it on him, I felt that he wouldn't quite look right without it. It seemed Marbel and Jaune agreed.

Wait, why is Jaune grinning at me? Does he like Eismeer too? "Staring is rude." I reminded him, hoping to deter him from looking at me with that stupid grin.

"Holy crap, there's actually a real, feeling girl under all that ice." WHAT? _Marbel_... how DARE you?!

"What did you just say? You little... GRRRRR." I resisted the urge to lunge forward and snatch her face up in a death-grip, instead only gesturing like I was doing so, then getting the (admittedly very petty) idea of making Eismeer go over and shake some water onto her, "I'll have you know that despite my status, I am a perfectly mentally functioning young woman. Sure, I might not be the best at making friends, but I am not an unfeeling zombie going through the motions. I joined this group on the willing invitation of its leader and I have my own goals which you'll find are similar to his. Therefore, disrespecting me is also disrespecting the reasoning and judgement of your leader, as well as the virtue of his goals." I stated matter-of-factly, because those were all simple facts. Despite her supposed INT, Marbel didn't know enough to make a proper judgement.

"Jeez, Dust almighty, Weiss, it was just a joke." she tried to backtrack, holding her hands up in surrender, but I was having none of it. I was about to give her another verbal lashing, when she continued, "I know you're an important part of this group, for reasons Jaune understands and has... _briefly_ explained. I was just poking fun at'cha. Yeah, you've made a lot of progress and effort into getting along with all of us, especially with Blake, but you're still pretty cold sometimes. I was just exaggerating for a joke. It was supposed to be funny."

"I laughed a little." Jaune admitted, and I glared daggers at him. Traitor!

"Well... I suppose I can forgive that. Humor is commonplace, after all, and it helps some people deal with things. Next time, though, please don't go making fun of my... lack of experience dealing with people I could stand to be friends with." I sighed, nearly wilting at the realization of my own statement. God I sounded like a loser, didn't I? Just another thing to add to the list of things I was jealous of Jaune for, his ability to make friends.

Another thing was his level of power. Even if he'd only been training for what amounted to- if I wasn't mistaken -a month and a half now, it still counted far more than what it seemed like, given its worth. He'd made the most out of this month and a half, already approaching the level of his father, who has been a full Huntsman for over two decades. His Gamer semblance had been an incredible means to train and better himself, providing everything in numbers and concepts, boosting him and providing, even at base, priceless and invaluable abilities as those of his Gamer's Mind, Gamer's Body, and Gamer's Sight.

He was a warrior, through and through. He was strong and kind of heart, but didn't take anyone's bullshit, not even mine. My cheek still stung from that hit. It damaged my pride more than my face, meant to inflict pain more than it meant to actually injure me. Despite the emotional stress he put me through, I had not shed a single tear in the moment. I'm still a Schnee, after all, we don't cry.

"Don't worry, Weiss, poking fun and making jabs is part of any healthy friendship." I flinched as Marbel put her arms around me, pulling me into a hug. I didn't do hugs, she knew that, but... actually, she might have been doing it to annoy me.

"Well, I hope you don't mind pranks, then." I smiled, now feeling a little more relaxed, to even my own surprise. Mischief leaked into my smile, "I've been told I'm the queen of pranks."

"Hehe, well better than being the queen of ice." Marbel released me and stepped back, looking at her elemental. I took the opportunity to look at my own.

Eismeer walked over and gave my leg a nuzzle, _'Soooo... cuuuuute~'_ meanwhile, Marbel's ugly behemoth of a creature just watched its hands flexing and relaxing like an idiot.

"I'm not an ice queen, and I very much don't appreciate how you all call me that. I can be friendly too." I was NOT pouting, not at all! Schnees don't pout! "In fact, I swear I'll make you all feel that we're such good friends that you won't even be able to live without me!" hahahaha!

MWAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAAA~!

* * *

 _(Jaune's POV)_

 _'Frickin' Undyne logic. Hehe, still funny to look at, though.'_

I smiled, watching Weiss make an almost cartoonishly villainous conniving face as she twiddled her hands and seemed to plot how she'd make the others into 'desperately close friends'. I hummed a little, focusing on cooking dinner with the ingredients I had. God was my Inventory OP in and of itself. I might have had amazing combat skills and spells, but the base abilities of The Gamer easily gave me massive advantages against my peers. Granted, I wouldn't be able to use some of them in public or anywhere where I had the chance of being recorded, but I'd accepted that long ago. With Crocea Mors and Xiburichu working on dinner under my instruction, and Marbel and Weiss interacting their elementals and leveling up their Summon Elemental skills, I left them to work it out themselves, trusting their intelligence and wisdom to help them not fuck things up. They already knew not to show anyone they had control over the elements, or at least not any more control than could be explained away as comprehensive dust casting abilities.

With that out of the way, I focused briefly and Teleported myself onto a nearby rooftop, ready to go scope out some Grimm towards the west, where the hot, humid grassy plains gave way to mountains whose humidity was thick and temperatures were oppressive. I began running, making a leap across a gap, when suddenly...

Yang's image appeared before me, showing her beautiful grinning face and perfectly falling hair. I hummed softly, smiling and broadcasting to only her, "Hey babe, what's up?"

"Heeeeey byabe." she replied with a slight slur to her speech. I rolled my eyes with a fond smile, leave it to Sunny to get drunk on the weekend, "Just having a bit of girl time, y'know~!" she reached over to someone off the screen and pulled Ruby and Skyler into the shot, "Sky here said you were teaching her about stuff and things about being a human and since she's gonna be a girl, I figured me and Rubes could teach her a thing or two about being a girl." she gave me a big, goofy, cheesy grin, and hiccuped adorably, "Just wanted to say heeey~!" she waved her hand rapidly at me, clearly not in complete mental control of her actions.

Ruby sighed softly, "I taught her how to wear a scarf. Yang wanted to teach her how to binge drink. I guess I'll have to drive us home..."

I shook my head, smiling at her, "No need. Actually, I think that depending on what kind of night it is back there, it'd be for the best if Skyler flew you both back to Patch. I'm sure your dad will freak out if you two don't come home tonight. Just make sure, Skyler, if you're going to fly them home, don't be afraid to take the scenic route to avoid detection, if you know what I mean."

"I DO know what you mean, actually! Yang has taught me a lot of phrases, m-" she let out a sound of surprise as Yang accidentally slapped her in the center of her chest with the back of her hand in the process of giving me a thumbs up.

"She's gooootttt thiiiiis~." my girlfriend said in a dismissive tone, still grinning like a fool, "Anyways~, see ya when you get back~! I expect a hug. If you don't give me a hug, I'll hurt you." she shook her fist at me, glaring with one eye and giving half a pout.

"Heh, the only way you could _really_ hurt me is by being sad, sweetheart." I smiled affectionately at her, puckering my lips slightly.

"Well I meant that! I'll be really sad if my boyfriend doesn't give me a hug after he gets back from being gone for so long." she puckered her lips too.

We both leaned in and, though it was ultimately just a bit of pretending through the screen, shared a kiss. I smiled and waved goodbye to the other two, "See you all later, girls. I won't forget that hug, love." I threw a bit of London into my words at the end, flashing her a grin and a wink.

Yang grinned back and winked too, "Good, don't. See ya later." the other two said their farewells and the screen disappeared. I closed my broadcast as well, turning my full focus back onto traveling the rooftops, keeping an illusion around me that masked my physical appearance as, at most, a blur of colors, and at least as a distortion of air.

I hummed, then decided that I'd done well enough with my recent endeavors to deserve a bit of a treat. Thinking of the only thing I could, I opened my profile and tapped a couple of points out.

 **WIS: 138 - 140 (+5) (+235%) = 485.75**

 **Stat Points: 162 - 160**

Feeling the new surge of power flow into me, I quickly ran the mental math and found that I was now recovering more than my Max AP every minute with Wizard v3 in use. It came out to about 107.8% to be exact. Around 146.6k AP per minute to work with.

So I worked with it.

Focusing on Aurora, I continued my usual flow of channeling all my Ki Skills simultaneously at ten times their power, and thus ten times their cost. Even then, that only cost me about 60.4k, leaving me with well over half my AP still flooding in. I took care of a bit of that by running Stone Skin and Metal Skin simultaneously at 200x power, costing 17.2k.

With still another 69k left to work with. That much power gave me room to boost my various senses, Elemental Aura, Magic Eyes, the Azure Dragon techniques, my buffs, and Summon Elemental all to massive power levels, though I still left enough to keep the skill Aurora itself running actively, and a small reserve of power for dishing out attacks. With my massive INT enhancing my mind, and Gamer's Mind keeping me calm and logical (most of the time), it was relatively easy to figure out, ending up being no more difficult than an economist arranging a budget on a chart.

With Mana Barrage, I could go from a normal warrior, to a pair of rapid-fire magical cannons, blasting enemies to pieces with various spells. Anything that survived long enough to get to me was probably something I shouldn't be fighting.

I let out a low breath as I Power Jumped into the sky, flapping my draconic wings and flying away from the city. I focused my telescopic vision on the ground, listening to the the buzzing of my lightning wings, and the whistling of the artificial wind I was creating to make myself go faster, which stacked nicely with Feather Fall's effect.

Ki Breathing filled my lungs with additional power, just to supplement my already overly substantial gains. It nearly boosted my minutely APR to a solid 147k, only a few points shy of it. I had a couple of ideas on how it would prestige, now that its level was in the 70s. It may just boost its power to give a higher amount of APR boost, plus another one or two more abilities, given its placement in the Aura folder, under the subsection Ki, as opposed to subsection Aura for the actual skill Aura. Having prestiged Aura, I had the insight to hanker a few guesses as to how Ki Breathing would prestige.

There were what the numbers said, which was the increased boost to my stats, but also the physical functions. Whereas Aura was a soft, but vivid glow around me, like a corona of a candle's flame, Aurora was a wild and powerful bonfire, shining outwards like the corona of a human-sized star, flaring and whipping outwards and looking pretty cool, but intimidating. By that scale, I could also assume that Aurora's prestige would be scaled up accordingly, probably growing to the relative might of a forest fire. It was an almost scary thought.

Ki Breathing currently drew air into my lungs, and by using a small amount of startup AP, it allowed my breaths to draw in spiritual energy as well as normal air to feed not only my body, but my soul as well. Perhaps Ki Breathing 2.0 would draw the power into more internal organs? I had a feeling about it... and Magic Eyes' recent level 35 bonus gave me vague projections on the improvement patterns a lot of my skills would have, which filled in a lot of information that had been outlined by a previous bonus that tracked the original numbers my skills had, such as Ki Breathing now providing 370 AP/min, but originally only giving 10. Very useful, and some skills only had perhaps one or two numbers to track. With my intelligence bolstering its effectiveness, it was easy for these 'vague projections' to give me highly accurate information that could be judged easily.

Sure, it wasn't much, but it was more than nothing. Information was a powerful weapon, but so were weapons themselves. Sure, I could do things more efficiently with a bit more effort, but I knew that hitting things a lot made them eventually die. My skills leveled up to make that simpleton's strategy more efficient on its own, even without anything resembling intellectual refinement, like being tactical and/or completely accurate with my bombardment. If I ever bothered to refine my process, I'd probably get a volcano-sized upwards surge in combat effectiveness.

It just... wasn't needed at the moment.

When the time came, I'd do what I had to do to win, no matter what. When this all started, I was joyed to find out that it was right up my alley: An adventure RPG. As more of the game revealed itself to me, I only found my excitement and joy growing stronger. I had a chance to do great goods for the world! Any normal Grimm was little threat now, as I'd raised my level of power far beyond them. Any enemy that I faced now would need to have some serious powers, like these apparent 'magical Grimm', and probably would need some hardcore healing factors too. I already had enough power to stand among full Hunters, and had saved some lives already. The Game, for the crap I gave it, DID allow me to do so, SO much more. I'd grown stronger. I'd come to understand a lot more about how the world worked. I'd saved lives already. I'd fallen in love...

Speaking of love, and saving lives, one thing that it did was help me form the compromise between my desires and reality. If I had my way, then the girls wouldn't be pursuing these Huntress careers. The fact of the matter was for all my power, I couldn't stop the girls from wanting to become Huntresses, or pursuing that goal. Honestly, they'd probably hate me for trying. The other thing was, while they didn't have nearly my level of effective power, they weren't helpless. Still, despite their skills, they were vulnerable. Marbel, Weiss, Blake, my sisters, my girlfriend, my girlfriend's sister, even my parents and my girlfriend's father and uncle, they were all far more vulnerable than I was. Loss of blood, of limb, of _life,_ it was a much more real risk to them than it was to me. I didn't know what would happen to me when my HP hit 0, but usually the main character dying meant a Game Over in a lot of games that had you collect a party. Meanwhile, party members could be revived with some items or spells. It was shown to happen in real life, with 'dead' people being resuscitated and brought back to life, some Hunters have even survived their hearts ceasing to beat for a short time, just due to the resilience of their souls.

Thing was, I didn't care to test that theory. In battle, with my allies by my side, my shield and sword would always be at the forefront to tank as many of the hits as possible. I'd protect and tank damage for my allies just so they wouldn't have to get hurt in my stead, because I'm a knight, goddammit! I'd do my goddamned best to protect people.

If I couldn't protect them, though, then that compromise I'd realized would come in handy; I'd help them gain power so they could defend themselves if I wasn't able to, for whatever reason. The world was too dangerous, the threat of the Grimm too ubiquitous, to hope that leaving them locked away in some metaphorical or even literal fortress would work. A Giant Nevermore could land on that fortress and crush them, then what? I'd have doomed them because they thought they were safe and the world proved them wrong in a fatal way. In a way, I'd have been the one to kill them, not just the Nevermore. The thought put a bitter taste in my mouth, and that wasn't just the scent of rotting wood and growing flora in the air, as my lightning wings carried me over the forest.

I sighed, I didn't even know where I was going exactly, just exploring and filling out areas on my map. I could already sense things around me with my Elementals, why was I bothering with this?

 **Kitsuninja Jounin**  
 **Title: Shadowclad Master of the Arts  
Level: 82**

The beast crashed into my face fist-first, seeming to appear out of thin air. The hit sent me into a controlled crash down to the forest floor below, my body shocked from the impact. I landed on my hands and knees, gasping for air.

 **Ki Breathing broken! You have gained the status effect "Aura Confusion"!**

I focused hard, looking at the ten-foot-tall beast in front of me, pieces of bark clinging to its fur in places that slightly resembled armor, rune-like symbols roughly scratched into the wood. It glowed with a powerful dark presence. I tried to breath, but the air turned to plasma in my mouth as a restarted Ki Breathing was suddenly flooded with lightning. My hand raised and a Fireball formed, before exploding forwards as my Aura seemed to shake and tremble like a lake upset by an earthquake, unable to form or shape itself properly, which was making techniques bleed into others as it couldn't seem to set itself straight.

I cast my buffs on myself, only to turn my leg to stone and my arm to iron as Stone Skin and Metal Skin no longer got their power flow, the sudden cut leaving me immobilized.

Wow, Luck, way to jump back into shitting on me. I could still somehow see, and I felt my arm get torn away by a jab to the elbow before my Aurora exploded around me, stone falling away as cyan light covered my body. With quick and careful motions, I drew Crocea Mors in a Quickdraw Strike, focusing as hard as I could to use Power Strike, enhanced by Aurora. I sliced through the Kitsuninja's arm, severing it at the elbow even as it tore a chunk of my face off. All of my Ki Skills surged in like a flood of lava, except instead of molten stone, my body was filled with molted agony as it surged with far too much energy, briefly stripping me of skin as my blood nearly boiled with the heat. My AP was down to only about 40k, my health and stamina both dropping quickly. To make matters worse, I could see black fluid surge into the empty space left behind by the Kitsuninja Jounin's severed arm, forming into a thin and bony, but clearly functional hand.

Funny how things went wrong so quickly.

"NO!" a voice shouted, shortly followed by a sound of splashing liquid. The Kitsuninja's back burst into flames and it fell towards me, still conscious enough to swing its claws at me.

I swung my 'claws' right back, the Azure Dragon's Three Claws and Shocking Steps slicing its arms to ribbons and tearing its chest open with an X-shaped double clawing motion, then grabbing Crocea Mors out of the air where it floated thanks to Crocea's influence, and a swift, powerful strike severed its head. Dropping to my knees, I exhaled sand as I forced my Aura to at least stay still.

 **Your level increased by one!**

Okay... one thing was duly noted, some status effects scaled to my increased power level. Even ripping my own heart out wasn't as painful as coughing up sand, blowing my hand off with a fireball, and my skin bursting off my muscles like a popped balloon. Shit like that made me thankful Gamer's Body still worked despite my Aura Confusion, and Gamer's Mind would help me get over it. Nightmarish stuff.

"Azure Dragon Trainee, are you alright?" the voice said again, and I looked up at my savior. God did I feel like shit now. And I was just saying how it would take a very powerful Grimm to take me down. I guess that's why Ki Breathing's description said it was used during lulls in battle, when your Aura was confused, shit could happen that would probably kill you.

 **Moyoshimono Hoshi**  
 **Title: The Will to feed the Flames of Ascension**  
 **Level: 91**

Cinnabar Star, his name meant. A disciple of the Vermilion Bird. He looked far older than his supposed 36 years implied, but the answer laid within one of the skills he knew. I couldn't see all of the details of the Vermilion Bird style, but one ability he possessed allowed him to burn up his Ki to permanently increase his power level. From the looks of it, he'd only used it a few times in his life. Scary to think what a skill like THAT would prestige into, assuming it even did, "I'm alright enough. I could use a little help, though."

He nodded, looking at me while shouldering his massive katana and helping me stand with a single hand. I took in his appearance as the level of light my eyes received slowly raised with Magic Eyes coming back online. He wore a long red jacket with two brown belts holding it together, black pants with a light gray stripe running down them, black leather boots with steel plates attached, a leather gauntlet on his right arm, black glasses over his eyes, and single leather shoulderguard with a gold pattern sewn onto it. He didn't much look like a monk, but then again the first mental image I had of one was a bald man in a brown robe who knelt before altars of candles, praying to either wooden totems or stone statues of gods. Still, they were technically religious, and the general consensus was that whatever gods there were, they want us to be kind to one another, and be uplifted by camaraderie. With that in mind, it wasn't too much of a surprise that one would help what looked like a weary traveler in need.

I followed him, slowly but surely regaining control over my Aura as our path sloped upwards, eventually passing over the tops of the trees below as the forest slowly thinned out while we climbed the mountain. He led me slowly but surely, a flame in his hand. The other, which looked like it was held in a sling, slipped out of his coat and offered the heavy jug at his side to me, "Drink, it feeds the body and soul."

I took a sniff of it, Gamer's Sight identifying it as **"Samurai River" Sake** , a powerful alcoholic drink that had been infused with Aura to enhance its effects. It would help recover my HP and AP, though I'd take a hit to my SP. I scanned it closely as I took a deep swig, the smooth, slightly sweet flavor sliding down my throat easily, before filling my belly with warmth. I could see why it reduced one's SP, this stuff was relaxing to drink, yet also energizing, like your energy was burning away, but it felt too pleasant to make you care. My SP restored itself anyways, but at this point I'd already painted the picture of a person needing help, and accepted Moyoshi's offer. I took slow swigs, enjoying the smooth flavor as the alcohol helped me relax. My mind slowed slightly in my relaxation, and I found that I'd already hit Tipsy on my Drunkenness scale.

I bit back a chuckle at that. It was hard to believe I still had the ability to get drunk. Not even Captain Atlas could do that, or at least the comics claimed. I hummed a bit as my mind wandered to various pieces of entertainment media. I knew I had better focus in battle, able to target my opponent and aim everything I had at them, I wouldn't fool myself into thinking I'd be as distracted in the heat of battle as I was in calm times. I sighed softly, the path steepening to the point that the rough stones paving it had become solid stairs. I hummed, my nightvision allowing me to see the temple in all its subtle beauty.

It looked like a mixture of the sort of 'carving into a mountain' temple, with a surface appearance of a wide-bodied pagoda, the ratio of floor area to roof area made a bit more reasonable. The night was just starting, after all, though to Yang and Ruby, now that I thought about it, it was probably too close to 8 AM to get proper sleep... shit, I almost didn't account for time zones.

Back to here and now! The walls were a light, creamy brown, the wooden structure was stained a dark brown that I could see was a mixture of normal stain and Earth Dust, not only making the structure far more solid, but giving it incredible fire resistance too. I hummed a little, sensing more people up there. I wasn't able to tell who, just able to sense their Auras and the disturbances they made in the air, but it was two people.

Moyoshi sighed, seeing a light on in one of the windows, "Come on now, weary traveler, you're probably hungry." he reached back and gently grabbed my wrist, leading me in a slightly straighter gait as we ascended to the temple. The underground sections I was able to sense with Roimontagne, but sadly Xiburichu and Crocea Mors were still in summoned form back at the hotel. They had dinner done by now, evident by the thanks the girls were giving me. _Jaune C: It's no problem at all. You two needed food, and Weiss needs to check that the preparations at the concert hall are being made properly. It's nearly too late to do that. :C_

 _Weiss C: Shit! I need to get to that now! Can you give me a speed buff? :C_

 _Jaune C: No, but you should be able to get there if you leave soon. Make sure to chew your food. :C_

 _Weiss C: I know how to eat properly, I am a lady who was raised with manners after all. :C_

 _Jaune C: Pretty bad ones as far as I've seen. Work on that, hehe. :C_ I opened my broadcast to her and gave her a joking smirk.

Weiss opened her broadcast to me and pouted angrily, _Weiss C: I will hurt you :C_

 _Jaune C: Heh, I'll just get my defensive skills leveled up then. :C_

Weiss visibly let out a very un-ladylike growling sound at me, then shut off her camera. I did the same seconds later, a small chuckle escaping my lips, "Heh, thank you sir."

"It is no problem. Someone so young having mastered the Claws, the Steps, and the Wings, it's remarkable." he said in a pleasantly surprised voice, smiling at me, "You must have an excellent sensei."

"I'm self-taught, so I guess with my sensei being myself, I did pretty well." I chuckled and grinned at him, "My semblance helps me learn."

"I can see that. To find the texts, read them, and understand the knowledge enough to develop the techniques properly... astonishing." he opened the door and led me inside the well-lit building, the comfortably soft lights giving the area a relaxing feel.

He led me over to a low table and we sat down. I noticed three plates set at the table, the space directly in front of me empty, "Two others, I assume?"

"Ah, yes, they've boarding with me for years now. Sad sight those kids, but they are happy and have access to modern amenities and such, enough that they won't be stunted in their growth and can live in society healthily." he cleared his throat, turning his head towards another area of the above-ground temple, "Ren! Come set another place at the table. We have a guest!" he called out in a firm, but gentle voice.

He gestured to me, pointing at his sword slung he still held over his shoulder, before sliding it into a reverse grip and setting it on the floor. I nodded, unclipping Crocea Mors and Candidus Murus from the left side of my belt, then doing the same for Murasama and Sandrust on the right side. I patted my armor, it disappearing from my chest as I sighed lowly, "You wouldn't happen to have mithril, would you? Or know of any locations of dragons?"

Moyoshi hummed, and I glanced to the side as another figure appeared in my vision, a boy my age with long black hair tied into a ponytail, a lock of pink-dyed hair to the side.

 **Lie Ren**  
 **Title: A Blossom of the Wind  
Level: 35**

He was slender, and looked kinda effeminate, if it wasn't for the fact I could see that he was male on his profile, I might have mistaken him for a girl at first, "Well howdy." I greeted with a grin.

He shook a tiny bit, then sighed, pointing to a banner posted on one of the four pillars in the corners of the square carved into the center circle of the floor, the shallow steps putting it about six inches below the rest of the floor. My eyes scanned the words quickly, "Oh." I looked at the other three banners as well.

 **In night, we shine dimly, quiet in words and slow in motion, it is a time for rest.**

 **In dawn, we shine with growing, once again fueling the fires in our bodies, it is a time for renewal.**

 **In day, we shine brightly, body and spirit pumping through all that we do, it is a time for action.**

 **In dusk, we shine brightest, doing all we can before the light fades, it is a time of closure and settling.**

Huh. Well, it was nighttime, so it was time to be quiet. I settled down and watched as Ren laid a small set of dishes and utensils in front of me. I smiled at him, speaking much more quietly, "Thank you."

He had only a slight smile on his stoic face as he replied, "It's no problem. You're our guest." he stood up, bowed to Moyoshi, then returned to what I assumed was the kitchen. I couldn't sense the utensils at the moment, or any flames, since Crocea Mors and Xiburichu, with their small and simple minds, didn't have too much capacity for thought. Still, the sheer distance they were able to be from me and still be summoned was amazing. I made a mental note of that, it could be useful in the future. Still, I needed them back with me. I instructed Marbel to put the barrel of steel into the inventory, then looked as the other person joined us.

 **Nora Valkyrie**  
 **Title: A Warrior of the Hammer  
Level: 37**

I smiled at her, "Well howdy." I greeted in a slightly hushed voice, giving a wave.

She gasped loudly, "NEW PERSON!" and shouted, surprising me. I quickly read over her profile in the second or two it took her to speed over to me and shake my hand rapidly, "Hi how are you what's your name you don't look Vacuan I don't think I've ever met someone with yellow hair before it looks nice you're pretty tan too but your face doesn't look Vacuan where are you from what's your name wait did I already ask that sorry I kinda repeat myself sometimes when I'm so excited to meet a new person hiiiii~!" I forced her arms to stop shaking mine, though it was a bit of a tough fight, "Wow you're really strong."

I nodded, having been able to follow everything she said, and smiled as I replied, "To answer you in order. I'm good, my name is Jaune, Jaune Arc, I'm from Vale, it's called 'blonde' and the hair color isn't too too common actually, I work in the sun a lot and my semblance helps me heal so I got a tan easily, I'm still from Vale, that hasn't changed in the past five seconds, my name is also still Jaune Arc, that hasn't changed in the past eight seconds, repeating yourself is fine, but try to speak clearer when you do, I'm excited to meet you too, you seem pretty fun, and I work out a lot."

"Wow! Well Jaune-Jaune, my name is Nora Valkyrie, nice to meet you, you seem pretty fun too." she grinned brightly, her volume thankfully ahving dropped enough that either it was at an acceptable level, or Moyoshi just gave up trying to burn holes in the back of her head with his eyes and accept that this was as close to 'quiet' as the orange-haired girl would get.

"Nora, no yelling." Ren said as he returned to the room, holding a large pan of some spicy-smelling food, setting it down at the center of the table. My Sight told me it was rice with vegetables and chicken, with some goat's milk mixed in to make it a little creamier. He dished it out to the four of us, the servings large enough to fill a grown man, but there was still some left in the pot. I looked at Moyoshi and nodded as Ren poured us all drinks, a hot cup of tea.

I sniffed it. It smelled good, but had no sugar. Thankfully, a spoonful of sugar covered the lack of sweetness, as Ren seemed to pick up on my qualm, and another was given to Nora... followed by another, but Ren's firm stare dissolved Nora's displeased pout as she didn't receive how many ever sugars she desired to get. A bit of flavor text on the tiny dish told me they chose sugar as Nora could not cook and the amount of things you didn't have to cook to eat, AND could eat with pure sugar on it, were severely limited. Honey was sticky and 'never again', which had me suppressing a chuckle.

Pluviteus and Mystral's combined power made my Icy Breath form a light frost on the teacup as I blew on it, cooling the drink to an acceptable temperature, which was icy cold. The only way to drink tea. I took a sip, swishing it around in my mouth slightly to get the taste of the much sweeter and stickier sake out, then swallowed, taking a few more sips to properly clean my mouth out, then lowered it and smiled "The tea is excellent."

Ren and Nora gave me wide-eyed looks, which made me pause and read all three of their backstories a little more thoroughly.

Moyoshi saved me the trouble of scanning through the many paragraphs, "Children, it's fine, he does not know our ways. Jaune, in this temple, I as the sensei take the first bite or sip to start the meal. It is a lesson of discipline."

"Oh, I'm sorry." I apologized, setting the cup down back on the small dish, "I didn't mean to offend." damn, where did my manners go? Oh right, they're from Vale. I didn't know all the customs here, so it wasn't something they'd probably hold against me. Plus I'd only be staying for a little while, so it wasn't like it'd be too important anyways.

Moyoshi shook his head, waving the notion away with his hand, "You are forgiven. It was a simple mistake anyone could make, it does not make you any lesser. Let us eat." he took a sip of his tea and we all began our meals.

 _...(A few minutes later, after the meal)..._

I left a few pieces of rice stuck to the inside of the bowl, which was a good move, as Ren's look told me. Of course, Nora probably left one single grain in her hunger. The tradition was to not completely finish your food, instead leaving some bits and pieces that were meant to be an offering of thanks to the gods, whoever they were, for letting them have the fortune of enjoying this meal. Fairly objective beliefs when it came to spirit, as opposed to the beliefs of subjective spirituality found in showing kindness and good will unto others most people around the world believed in. Then again, Vacuo had a more spiritual culture to begin with, in fact they were said to have been like that since their inception.

Ren took the dishes and the now mostly empty pans to the kitchen, while Nora stood up and grabbed my hand, "I'll show you around, Jaune! Now that you've eaten and drank, you should be plenty strong to see the place!" she grinned brightly at me, reminding me of Juicia when she ate too much sugar, and I couldn't help but smile and laugh.

"I wasn't too weak to begin with, your master basically forced me to accept his hospitality." I clarified as I followed her, easily keeping up with her energetic pace.

She showed me outside to the greenhouse, which surprised me. There were many fruits and vegetables growing in there, the scent of dirt and salad filling the room. They were well cared for, which is what Gamer's Sight told me. I considered unlocking the Auras of them all, but withheld the urge. This was not my place to act freely, and so I would do the right thing and not act freely.

Next on the random path Nora decided to take me on was the well, followed by the front room again, then the 'zoo'.

The 'zoo' was simply a room with many animals held in pens and spacious cages. I noticed a few wolves, some big cats, snakes, birds, goats, and other sorts of stuff. Then, I noticed something and my heart nearly stopped.

Garnet, she was here! I must have forgotten she had been napping in my hoodie! Shit shit shit! And she was stuck halfway through wiggling herself through the thick wire fence and into the pen containing a few wolves.

Suddenly, I heard a loud shout in the other room, then felt two spiritual presences slam into me. Crocea Mors and Xiburichu, they had finally gotten back to me. With Crocea's influence, I moved the wires aside and grabbed Garnet away and slammed my hand down between the kitten and the approaching wolf's head, throwing the predator away with a powerful, concentrated burst of wind. I glared at it with danger in my eyes and growled loudly, making it cower away, "Dammit. Garnet, why did you wander off?" I softened my expression and voice as I lifted the tiny kitten and gave her a look as if expecting an answer.

"Mew~." she meowed sweetly at me, nuzzling my warm thumb as I held her in one hand. I sighed, deadpanning at her and hitting her with Gamer's Sight.

 **-/\/\/\\-**

 **Name: Garnet Arc  
** **Title: Swaddled in Hope and Fate - Blanketed with Good Will and Fortune  
** **Level: 1 - 35  
** **Class: Kitten  
** **Nickname: Lil Furball.**

 **Hit Points: 20/20 - 350/350  
** **Aura Points: 50/50 - 400/400  
** **Stamina Points: 10/10 - 600/600**

 **Strength: 1  
** **Dexterity: 2  
** **Vitality: 2  
** **Intelligence: 1  
** **Wisdom: 1  
** **Luck: 25  
** **Charisma: 30**

 **Stat Points: 0 - 170**

 **-/\/\/\\-**

I hummed, then sighed softly. She was only a few months old, but still probably now had enough durability to match a grown cat, or even a dog. Actually, the wolf I'd intimidated only had 100 HP. I suppose Grimm were stronger, then. Sighing, I poked her forehead gently, "Don't run off."

Nora looked like a balloon that was about to burst the moment my eyes saw her. It seemed I'd caught a crucial moment, because a second later she let out a high-pitched squeal and nearly ripped Garnet from my grip, "D'oooooohhhhhhh she's so CUUUUUUUTE~!" she grinned brightly and spun around with Garnet in her hands.

I used my Telekinesis to get Garnet back into my much more careful hands, "Don't do that, you'll scare her." I gently pet the now distressed kitten, her little legs wiggling around as she tried to right herself. Teeny tiny claws scratched against my skin, but did nothing to harm me. I sighed softly, holding the kitten closely and comforting her, "She's only a couple of months old. I'd forgotten she was sleeping in my hoodie pocket. How she was unhurt I don't know." I hadn't fallen on my stomach, thank god, in fact I'd say my Luck saved Garnet's life, as no hits had been aimed at wherever she had been on my person.

Sense Danger informed me of Nora's intention and I rapidly slapped her hands away, preventing her from snatching Garnet away, "Stop. Listen, I'm normally very responsible with her, you can trust me on that. This was just a mistake. I'll be returning her to my group when I return to the city. For now, I'm going to keep her on my person so she doesn't wander around and get herself hurt." I reached behind my head, past my shaggy hair, and placed her into my hood. I smiled as I felt her wiggle around a little, getting comfortable, "Don't try to take her from me. Just don't." I let my eyes glow briefly to show the anger she'd excite from the act, "Now come on, what's next?" I let my anger fade away, giving her an easygoing smile.

Nora easily brushed away her slightly hurt look and smiled upon realizing that I'd let the subject drop and not stay angry. I hadn't quite read through all of her background information, but I could guess she had some kind of problem with grudges or needless anger. I didn't blame her. Anger wasn't really something you should throw around willy-nilly. It's a dangerous thing when left unchecked, "Right, let's go!" she grinned once more, clearing the air as she grabbed my hand and bounded towards some other part of the temple.

I saw the prayer room, Moyoshi's room, the armory and the attached smithery where their weapons had been crafted, and the ritual room.

I hummed, recognizing the symbols for fire and air traced into the patterns of the ritual circle. It was carved into the stone floor, made permanent by that regard. I hummed and took a step back, looking at the symbol as a whole.

 **Ritual Circle (Vermilion Bird of the South): A ritual circle used by Master Miyoshimono, disciple of the Vermilion Bird of the South, to meditate on the energies of the world and understand the knowledge of his style. The symbology matches the elements Fire and Air, and the rest seem to channel energy from the planet itself. Meditating inside this circle will provide special effects related to the Vermilion Bird of the South.**

I hummed, reading over the extra bits of info outside of the main window, then mentally copied the entire circle into my memory, ready to put it down somewhere else. I could use more skills, but I should work on the ones I already have first.

Truthfully, it came down to my ease of casting above all else, that determined how well I could operate my skills. While I had more than enough mental power to cobble together the auric formulas into more powerful forms, layering them over themselves hundreds, thousands of times, my aura required more than that to actually do it.

With my high level in Aura Channeling, as well as the boost from Battlemage and Ki Body (though the latter only affected spells cast on my body), I had a total of 2000% ease of casting. I could, therefore, push myself to a bit over 5000x power with my skills if it were possible.

The unfortunate reality of it was that I just... _couldn't_. It wasn't for lack of trying, it was because the skills literally could not be pushed that far. They were too clunky to be pushed that far, too thick to be layered that many times, too structurally weak to squeeze together into something that strong. I did what I could, but there was only so much I even COULD do. 200x power with Stone and Metal Skin was the limit, it felt. I could force some more layers onto there, probably push them both up to 300 if I really tried, but it just wasn't really worth it for the effort. If I wasn't surprised like earlier, and let my Ki Breathing fail like I did, then I'd be fine. It wasn't really some sort of cheap cop-out, it was just an unfortunate circumstance, which happened to remind me that I was still vulnerable if I wasn't careful. I couldn't let my guard down.

I had to remain vigilant.

With a single, slow breath, I turned from the potential source of new power, and followed Nora back up to the main building of the temple.

 _...(after a few minutes)..._

I smiled and waved back at the three as I departed from the temple, watching Nora cling tightly to the object I'd given her. As it turned out, she was a fan of the White Songbird, but never got to go to any of her shows. I knew Ren would be pulled along for the ride, and bid him good luck.

I turned away from them finally, smiling and feeling a warmth in my chest. I walked down the path until I found a nice boulder to mark my takeoff, then summoned my draconic wings and jumped into the sky, a shining point of light as I began flapping my wings rapidly, accelerating to nearly the speed of sound as I overcharged them.

* * *

 _(The next morning, Jaune's POV)_

I hummed as I ate breakfast with the others, Garnet drinking some formula I'd bought back in Vale. The girls adored the way the fuzzy jellybean seemed to hug the bottle as it drank, not letting go until it had drained it entirely. I smiled and levitated the bottle away with my Telekinesis, chuckling as Marbel cooed at the sweet meow Garnet let out immediately after, "You know I wonder if Blake would give the same reaction if we gave her a bottle." I chuckled, my tone implying nothing more than poking a little fun at her.

She deadpanned back, but the look in her eyes told me she caught that I was just joking, "I'm not a baby, Jaune. If I was, though, I _might_ react in a similar way." she blushed, probably remembering some embarrassing moment from her past.

I smiled and pulled out a random dust crystal, "Well luckily I happen to have synthesized this De-aging Dust crystal. Let's see how effective it is." the others shared a few laughs at that.

Blake raised an eyebrow, "Oh really? The words above it say it's Ice dust." I heard Marbel nearly snort at the witty response.

I shrugged, "Well I think if we froze you in time and thawed you out in say, 20 years, then you'll definitely be younger than us." I smirked at her, earning some more laughter from the peanut gallery as they found the ridiculousness of the idea quite humorous. I put the dust away and sighed softly, smiling at everyone, "Well, enough chit-chat let's make a plan for today, then. We have until five o'clock to train, because that's when Weiss' performance starts. We should finish at about 4:30, which should give her time to get there, get prettied up, and get on stage on time." I smiled, "Well, at least a couple of us." I poked my eggs lightly as I smiled. The picture in front of me was worth far more than a thousand words.

Weiss was smiling, as was Blake, both happy to have friends, even if the only three present were a girl two years their junior, a boy who had done his damnedest to improve their lives for no reason other than hating to see their wasted potential, and said boy's dad, who was a Huntsman and seemed aloof, but doting and caring at least. Distance was not an issue, as Ruby, Yang, Skyler, and Thomas could simply turn on their cameras and say hello, or use the telepathic voice chat, or use the text chat. Sure, the Game gave us all a way to increase our power massively, but a more easily enjoyed benefit was its ability to let everyone be connected and grow close.

My dad was chugging from a glass of what Gamer's Sight told me was **Hanate** , a Vacuan alcohol that was generally considered okay to drink at breakfast, but only if you're a parent. The drink was made with citrus fruits, made similar to a sweet **Sake**. It was smooth and usually had a sweet and sour taste, with only a slight bit of alcohol, so as to barely give you a bit of a buzz. It was consumed to give your spirit extra fuel to deal with the increased burden of being a parent, as well as supposedly promoting your health. My high-ish level of Gamer's Sight told me that long-term benefits did include increasing your Max SP.

I hummed a quiet tune, the EXP for , drinking my herbal tea and seeing the three girls talk about life, though I did feel bad that I'd tuned them out to look through my skills and make a mental list of what I would train today. The levels of all the spells in my Bolts folder averaged to about sixty-seven. Shots averaged level twenty-three exactly, but half of the skills were at twenty. Blasts averaged at a paltry six, pitiful compared to the others. I decided to train those, as well as continue training Summon Elemental to eventually prestige it. Thing was, that 'eventually' was now 'soon'. Thousands of steps had been taken, and the journey was now almost complete.

I smiled, then my dad spoke up, "That sounds like a plan. Any thoughts, girls?"

Blake shrugged, "Well, I think Jaune should remember that we're supposed to be her personal security entourage, meaning we should all be there. It should have been easy to recall, what with his ridiculous INT and WIS." she admonished, giving me a pointed look.

"Right, right, there would be trouble if that happened. Well, thank you for being on top of remembering that. I guess I was too focused on what training I'd get done today. Anyways, let's get started ASAP, then." I stood up, leading our ensemble outside the room, looking at the two guards, "Miss Schnee wishes to go see the sights of the city. We'll be accompanying her, don't worry." I informed them, giving a charming grin as I led us all to the elevator, down to the lobby.

I had cast an illusion over us the second the elevator opened, all of us weaving our way out past a single person trying to get in. After that, it was smooth sailing, timing our movements just right so that we'd be able to get outside without detection, then we entered the nearest alleyway, floating up on solidified platforms of air as Mystral formed the 'invisible jet', scaled up to fit the group.

I briefly pondered the thought that the process of switching charges from a complete balance between all of my elementals, to pouring the power into a single elemental, even to the point of draining the others to their minimum, was now so smooth and easy that it was more effort to think about how easy it was than it was to actually focus on doing it. More than likely it was my Ease of Casting at work, but regardless of reason, it worked.

I notified the others to start putting on some sunscreen, because going out into the desert wasn't going to be easy, especially with how pale Weiss and Blake were.

 _...(A few minutes of traveling and sunscreen application later)..._

My willpower forced the solidified wind to push us out towards the desert, my hopes rising as I sensed several Grimm as we flew further from civilization. I waited a little while longer, getting just enough EXP for Summon Elemental to get to the next percent towards the next level, then looked at the others, "I'm going to dismiss this platform in a few seconds. You all have landing strategies, right?" I asked with a smirk.

Marbel opened her mouth to speak, but all that came from her lips was a shrill scream as we all began falling from the sky. To her credit, she fought off the panic and I saw her rapidly open her profile and pound a few extra points into her INT to help her think. My descent was slowed by Featherfall, and I watched as her Aura flared up, a flash of light erupting from her as she aimed her fall. I'd dropped us over a small group of what looked like a random gathering of some various Grimm, and she slammed right onto a poor, unsuspecting Lizalgrunt knife-first. It was clever, using her semblance to suddenly charge towards it, then get a burst of 'retreating momentum' just a bit weaker than her 'assaulting momentum', which gave her a far better position as she flipped in the air and landed on her feet, scraping her stance together quickly.

Blake's own aura glowed very subtly, and I saw that she also had the ability to reduce its visual effects. She leaped upwards as her clone dissipated, the copy crashing against another Lizalgrunt, which looked confused. She landed elegantly on her feet and immediately charged at it, slicing into its unprepared form and breaking through its moderate, but highly insufficient defenses with somewhat considerable effort.

My father simply tanked the fall, landing and sending sand spraying everywhere from the fall. Immediately Mystral swept up Roimontagne's body in her winds and the resulting sandstone dragon blocked the flying particles from raining down on the rest of the party, myself included, with a mere flexing of willpower. I saw him practically tear his dark blue sword from its sheathe and bring his shield to bear by immediately bashing the face of one of the Grimm inwards.

Weiss seemed to be the only one who was unprepared to fall from a great height. I chat-whispered to her with a shout to use her glyphs as platforms, or something. Sadly, it was a testament to her inexperience that while she cobbled an effort together, her hastily made glyph broke from her momentum crashing into and then through it. I sighed and Roimontagne crumbled away from Mystral, crashing down and cobbling himself back together quite rapidly. Weiss' screams were not mitigated even as the wind around her twisted and blasted upwards in deliberate and purposeful resistance to her fall. Her descent slowed to a crawl as I cast Featherfall on her, and she landed safely on her feet, though her legs nearly gave out before she could catch herself. She calmed down as I saw Blake and my dad cleave through most of the remaining Grimm, "Calm down!" I shouted to her, drawing both Vorpal Sword and Crocea Mors.

The heiress opened her eyes as her scream cut short, then she blinked and quickly readied a stance, "I'm... safe?" she asked as she looked around, seeing the remains of the Grimm dissolving into smoke around her.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair, "I wasn't going to let any of you actually fall, except my dad since he actually wanted to. I'm not cruel, I'm just teaching you with great amounts of encouragement. Now then, get ready, a Deathstalker is approaching."

The others got into position as I hummed softly in concentration while Roimystral stood over me with his large sandstone form. I could feel, in my soul-enhanced perception, the sand shifting as the massive scorpion grimm effortlessly dug its way through the land. However, far sooner than I imagined it planned on surfacing, I focused all of the available charges I had into lifting and throwing the beast from the ground and into the air. With it flying through the air, the fact that it was level 70 was lost as several hundred Energy Arrows were launched towards it, most of them simply pinging off of its tough bony armor, but a few dozen made small cracks where they struck more truly than the others, marking out a rough pattern of slightly weakened points, which I used Illusion to mark on its back, signaling the others as to what the new marks meant.

My father practically swooped in to block its pincers and tail, leaving the others free to attack it as they wished while I lifted myself into the air with telekinesis, gathering energy into my hands to unleash two of my blasts. When they were charged up, I flung a Tornado across the ground and set it alight with Fire Blast, creating a flaming whirlwind that slammed into the massive side of the Grimm, not really an achievement as it was probably only slightly less easy to hit than the broad side of a barn, but it still worked, scorching the armor on its sides and creating stress cracks in the bony material.

Another pair of blasts came into being, and I warned Marbel to remove herself from stabbing the thing's eyes out. She jumped in time to avoid the stinger stabbing at her, as well as Wrecking Ball smashing down on top of the top of the thing's head and sending out several thick cracks through its armor, though that was mostly due to my using Aurora to increase the effects drastically. Before the ball dissipated into silver and purple energy, I sent Lightning Bolt at it, sending surges of debilitating electricity through its body, though it seemed to have a bit of resistance to the effects due to some odd Grimm trait that involved its acclimation to a desert environment.

That didn't matter as a massive wave of water rushed over it, hiding jagged stone spikes that stabbed into its underbelly. It was too massive and heavy to be thrown away, so the spikes punched through its chitinous exoskeleton and trapped it.

It let out a hiss that was loud enough to make my ears ring briefly before Gamer's Body mitigated the problem. I forced what air I could with Mystral to contain the sound before it affected the others too badly. Weiss and Marbel recovered seconds later, but I noticed Blake was stunned, her cat ears drooping. I frowned and rushed to her side, letting the other three handle the Deathstalker while I gave a supercharged Soulforge to Blake, noting a bit of moisture on her head. A touch revealed the fluid to be red, blood from her feline ear drums getting damaged. She'd have some ringing for a while, but it wouldn't be permanent by any means.

I heard a rustle and a loud ***CRASH*** and looked to see that Weiss had trapped the beast's tail to the ground within a massive boulder, while Marbel had stabbed out its other eyes and my father had cut off one its of pincers. Thick, gooey ichor poured from the wounds, a darker yellow than the fluids in Grimm from the forest, since they had less water in their bodies.

Seeking revenge for Blake, the Vorpal Sword and Tenshi Katana formed in my hands as I lunged towards the beast, delivering an axe kick empowered by Shocking Steps onto one of the weakened points of its back, followed by supercharging Blade Mode and severing the beast's tail into several segments. I followed up by smashing a pre-formed Dawn Breaker into its back several times, at the same time throwing down several Wrecking Balls to further damage its armor where the hammer and my own Strength did not reach. I twisted my body easily with my DEX and boosted flexibility, spinning and using the power of physics to convert torque into striking power. I felt my nerves shriek with energy as massive forces were thrown around with ease, sending more cracks through its armor.

My fist struck the heavily damaged plates and Mystral worked together with the combined Xibuviteus forced steam to flood into the cracks and boil the carapace underneath. With natural compounds dissolving away, they easily blasted nearly all of the huge chunks of bloodied bone plates off of the beast's back, stripping it clean of its armor. I called the others to come in for one final strike to finish it off.

With great accuracy, credit to Blake for aiming correctly despite the lingering damage to her balance, we all carved out a vicious pattern across its back as it gave its last, heavily muffled by Mystral, death cry. We lowered to the ground as its body dissolved into smoke underneath us, and I let out a heavy breath, "Nobody hurts my friends like that." I said with finality, spitting on its corpse before jumping off.

Weiss' complaints about getting dirty were cut short as she saw the sticky fluids disintegrate out of her clothes in seconds. She sighed and looked at me, "What was all that about?" her eyes were set on me with a piercing gaze.

I hummed, noting that the girls' levels had all increased, if by varying amounts. I let Pluvistral cool the air around us as I answered, "One of its hisses made Blake's ears bleed." I pointed to the lightly twitching appendages as I spoke, "I healed her, and got revenge." my words held no less conviction than they would have before our victory.

Blake's response was a slight blush and a smile, "I'm fine, Jaune." she assured me, but even if I could see the status effect of her minor hearing damage, I could hear in her words that she was not fine.

After all, she had spoken with nearly twice the volume she needed to, just to hear herself speak, "No, you're not." I said, my voice lowered to half its usual volume. I saw Blake narrow her eyes a bit, trying to read my lips, and I sighed and walked over to her, "Dad, keep an eye out, we're stopping for a second, getting a bit more mentally prepared, and Blake is getting _healed_." I could see a protest forming on the ravenette's lips, and I struck it down with a soft rub to her cat ear, healing the furry appendage directly, "Marbel, check our water supplies. Weiss, psyche yourself up and steel your resolve. Blake, stop squirming!" I said the last part a bit louder to get the message through to her, pushing my healing spell into her.

Now that I thought about it, I realized that I only really had one actual spell that properly healed someone. Sure I had Rejuvenating Breath, but that was more of a quick recovery spell rather than one that actually healed. I had Regeneration too, but it was more of a crutch, something to keep you from falling as fast while it was active. I needed to fix this current dilemma, figure out new healing spells that could do more than just bolster their aura and rapidly regenerate cells.

That unfortunately had to wait for a bit, as I wasn't going to test this stuff out in the field when we had a mission and a time limit. I'd run through some stuff in my head, sure, but I had to stay focused on our training.

I patted Blake's head softly when I got the pop-up that the status effect was healed, "There you go, all healed up." I smiled and turned to the others, "Alright team, let's get going. I'll do my best to keep us cool out here, but trekking through the desert isn't something to take lightly. We'll need to stop in about two hours to reapply sunscreen, and I'll be sure that the two of us with water elementals will keep us hydrated throughout our journey." I instructed, pointing a deliberate and expectant look at Weiss.

She nodded back, and I could see her already starting to think about how to best figure out the best way to tackle that problem. It would catch up with us eventually, though I had a strict policy I'd keep myself to. I'd make the situation require them to grow and adapt, but I wouldn't push them to the point that they'd hurt themselves. I was hard, but fair, and protective. They needed to grow stronger, that much was certain, and already progress was being made. They'd all leveled up from killing that Deathstalker, Blake once, Marbel twice, and Weiss three times. We'd need to seek out and slaughter a couple hundred more if we were to train solely on them to level up, but I had other plans.

We wouldn't be able to push ourselves to such a level today, or even tomorrow for that matter. We had places to be and things to do, and sadly our training was not the focus of this trip. Didn't stop us from doing a lot of it, but it would certainly cut us short for a good little while. At least until the summer. When summer hit, we'd all surge into the tier of legends, or die trying, and I wasn't planning on letting anyone die on my watch.

Of course, to be honest, I knew that even with months of practice, our personal levels wouldn't go so far. We still had things to do besides train, even with all the free extra time we'd get. It was... not the easiest truth to swallow, but it was one I had to accept nonetheless. Floating above the ground, I led the group as I thought over what to do.

Not only did we still have human needs, but the others were vulnerable, and the power we'd be throwing around would, without a doubt, grow to be too great to handle when it was fresh out of the oven. We had two different types of training to do: Training to increase our power, and training to increase our control over our power. It was simply how things had to be. You take someone who's weak, and suddenly make them able to throw three tons of weight around like it's nothing, and even if you gave them instructions, they still wouldn't _understand_ their newfound strength. They'll need to learn to control that strength, and we'd do that with the simplest solutions I could think of.

Exercise and sparring. Finding their new limits through measured exercise, and exploring the possibilities they've unlocked with those new limits. Sadly, we weren't quite at the stage where we could just _do_ that, but we could work our way around it. I could repair the land as we destroyed it, even heal the trees and grass, but it would take time. Hours between matches, even.

Though, technically, I suppose, the time added would be a negative asymptote. There was only so much ground that could be ravaged and destroyed until ALL of it was. With Earth Dust crystals and time, I could perhaps repair the ground throughout the night while the others slept, giving a lot of time to grow and develop my elementals. The problem was that such a thing would have to be done outside of the Eagle Mountain forest, because I had plans for it, and destroying the forest would kind of ruin those plans.

We fought against several more little groups of Grimm, EXP trickling in as the creatures of darkness were vanquished by blades, bullets, and the elements. With each victory, I increased my WIS by one point, as a way to drive myself to do more.

Nearly an hour of traveling, with several more battles with Grimm along the way, had led us to something... odd.

We were moving far faster than anyone should through the shifting sands of the Vacuan desert. Key word being _should,_ the rules were bent because of a few things. We all had high DEX scores and were moving on foot, rather than a vehicle that would be bogged down into the sand. We were traveling light, transporting only ourselves and our weapons. My elementals... I realize that my wording for it wasn't exactly correct now. I wasn't _solidifying_ the sand, it was already solid. I was more holding it in place so that it acted as one solid piece, rather than millions of tiny pieces. The same went for air when I created the 'solid' wind platforms and the 'invisible jet'. I also managed to force the sand to accelerate our pace by moving along our path, like a conveyor belt.

A small number of other factors added to our speed as we passed over dunes and near the occasional wide, canopy-like trees that were sparsely dotted around the golden expanses, but when I found that we'd already made it nearly one hundred miles out of town, I was a bit surprised. Of course, that didn't make THIS make any more sense.

A tiny village of sandstone huts, probably only big enough for fifty people, with patches of black sand dotted around. It almost looked like a small outlying village for the citizens of Vacuo, except for one crucial detail.

Kitsuninjas were the 'citizens'.

We all watched with an increasing level of creeped-out-ness as the tall, bipedal fox creatures walked the sandstone 'streets' like people would. My telescoped vision came in handy as I saw some... disturbingly human-like acts being performed. One kitsuninja pulled a bucket of somewhat dirty water from the well, setting it down and walking away, like it had been _instructed_ to do that, but didn't understand what needed to happen next. A small orange light of earth-element magic caught my eye, and I saw one of them patting sand onto a house, almost like it was mimicking a carpenter hammering nails into a wooden frame, but instead it simply slapped sand onto the sandstone wall and the grains melded onto the structure. A look by one of the other huts showed that few even had small stalls, where small and large trinkets of made out of glass, metal, or cloth, were being traded for either one, or two chunks of sandstone, in some sort of oversimplified form of an economy.

I glanced at the others and saw that only my father didn't look like he was in the middle of a disturbing nightmare, "What is it?" I asked him for the others, keeping my voice low.

I ignored a few louder sounds from the town, once I saw that they weren't coming our way, and my father stroked his bearded chin, "It's a village, obviously." he said with a small smirk, then grew serious, "It's far more complex than the few Shadowtowns I've seen and heard reports of. If you're wondering, then hold your horses because I'm getting to that. Shadowtowns are.. an anomaly.

As you know, larger and more powerful Grimm sometimes come to 'command' the smaller ones. It's said that out there, there might be some sort of very intelligent Grimm that understands people. Shadowtowns are the only real evidence we have of this, however. For unknown reasons, an older and more powerful Grimm that has observed a town or village in operation will attempt to grow stronger by making its own little town with some of its lesser fellows. At most, what has been seen is Grimm walking along the streets, some of them occasionally carrying things, and a few even do tasks that mimic a trade, such as holding scavenged weapons atop a flat rock and bashing them with their fists in similar motions to a blacksmith, or mashing wood, mud, or other materials against the houses in similar motions to builders.

At night, they go into their 'houses' and waiting for daytime. Wait, not sleep, I found that out the hard way when a group I was with tried to destroy a shadowtown a few years back. The Beowolves were instantly ready to fight. If no travelers or Hunters come around, however, then the larger Grimm goes around and growls some orders to those inside. It's been seen with, as I mentioned, Beowolves, and it's been seen with Ursas, it's even been with _Cavalisceras_ , and as you all can see here, it happens with Kitsuninjas too. Not sure how many types of Grimm are even able to do it, but any record of their existence is classified Hunter intel. You're not allowed to breath a word of this to any civilians, or even your fellow classmates at Beacon, understood?" he used his 'dad voice' near the end, fixing us all with a firm gaze.

We all nodded, and I began gathering massive amounts of Aura together with Aurora, and gave him another glance, "And the black sand?"

He sighed, "Said to be the site of a tragedy that the Grimm performed. It's unknown what exactly causes it, but 'special' Grimm like a Kitsuninja are said to be able to cause it to happen. They break people's souls as they escape the corpse, and the negativity 'bleeds out' and stains the earth permanently with dark energies, like a curse. It is, therefore, called 'Cursed Earth' most of the time. This much cursed earth, though... the Grimm that set all of this up probably killed all of the original inhabitants of this village and bled all of their souls out.

 **You have detected a highly dangerous Grimm presence 150m away!**

I turned to look, "I just detected something, hold on a second..." I stared hard at the village, but saw nothing, "It's... it's there, but it's hidden in one of the houses. The popup said it's a highly dangerous Grimm."

The others went on high alert, and I focused as hard as I could, switching to Thermal Vision, but all I saw was red. It had a massive amount of empty space in the middle, sadly, only showing what was very hot or very cold. It didn't matter to me, I had my spell charged to the point where I could barely hold onto it.

Jumping out from behind the dune, I threw the charged orb into the ground.

In an instant, Stalagmite Strike began rushing towards the town, fanning out from the point of origin and breaking the huts into pieces. Sadly, only a few of the nearly forty kitsuninjas were struck by the stone spikes, one getting a broken leg and two others getting jabbed in the chests. The others rushed out and charged as I evaluated the situation from much closer up.

 **Kitsuninja Chuunin (x38)**  
 **Title: Dark Dojo Destroyer / Atop its own Roof / An unknown Thief / Tainter of the Oasis  
Level: lowest 62, average 64, highest 71**

Already, energy had been gathered together for a Power Strike against the single **Tainter of the Oasis** , the one that gathered the buckets of water. I had chosen it simply because it had the highest level. I read through its abilities as I charged towards it, realizing after a second or two of observation that it had seemed to have grown to understand how water was important. Was that why these villages were created? To teach the younger Grimm and expand their minds? I saw the ones marked as **An unknown Thief** all focus on my dad, apparently knowing that a larger amount of things needed to be applied in order to take a larger sized thing. It wasn't perfect logic, as a very large man wasn't guaranteed to be the most powerful of a group, but it happened to work in this instance. Aside from myself, my dad was by far the most powerful among us.

I had already renewed everyone's buffs before I revealed myself, just to be sure they'd be safer in the fight. Focusing on my enemy in front of me, I saw blue magic lash towards me, a whip of water stinging at my arms as Crocea Mors lashed out with a Quickdraw Strike. The kitsusninja's head rolled off its shoulders as it fell. My eyes widened in shock as its headless body lashed out in my general direction, before it fully fell, slumped in the sand and disappearing in smoke. Even if it could use healing magic, it still couldn't survive without a head.

I fired a trio of Lightning Bolts at several charging kitsus that were headed towards the girls, slowing them down and burning away some of their HP. I assessed the four 'merchants' attacking my father and figured he'd be fine. I spun and lunged towards another Kitsuninja, this one at full health, that was coming down towards Marbel.

 ***BWEEOOM***

I heard the magical sound, followed by a ghostly gasp-like sound that rang through the air. In an instant, I saw the ruined remains of the village around me become empty; there weren't any kitsuninjas or allies in sight. I was alone. It was just me, the ruins, and the suddenly dark, ominous, orange and red colored sky, like the sun had bled all over its path to the horizon. The light in the sky was dying, but everything around me was completely illuminated. I sensed the highly dangerous Grimm presence again, and turned in the direction it was coming from.

Stalking out of a ruined hut, standing upright at nearly fourteen feet tall, was a massive humanoid with a long, white bone-plate face.

 **Miraganger Star**  
 **Title: The Dancing Ruler of the Acacia Valley**  
 **Level: 95**

Its pitch black maw opened to an almost disturbing width, and a shriek tore through the air. It reached under its cloak, drawing a massive, curved sword from the darkened confines. As its cloak opened up, I could see that its figure was slightly feminine.

I sighed, ignoring the sudden... whatever this was. I guess it was like a boss room, or a special dungeon arena, or something of that sort, "So... you're a dancer, eh?" I crossed my arms and began floating with my telekinesis, ten Gaster Blasters materializing around me.

The Miraganger let out another shriek that, thanks to Mystral's influence, bent around my body, missing me completely.

I smirked, unafraid even as flames roared to life along the sword it held, "Well then, let's dance!"

She shrieked one last time before charging at me, and I pushed the button one more time, a grin plastered across my face.

 **By raising WIS above 150, you have achieved new heights!**

* * *

 **Well... there's the end!**

 **Minor cliffhanger, ending before a more intense battle. I'm tired and I'm going to get some sleep before I attempt to even START writing this battle. I'm going to make my best effort to make it lengthier than others, which IIRC the average length of a battle I write is about... 2-4 paragraphs of actual content. *sigh* Whatever the number is, I'm going to try my best to dedicate a whole segment to it.**

 **Onto... stuff... I guess... I hardly remember what I used to do. I need to get back into this stuff better.**

 **So... Marbel and Weiss both got an Elemental. Jaune has staved off the White Fang for now, but he has to maintain that, and keep up his appearances as both Jaune Arc and Adam Taurus.**

 **Did I make a stupid excuse for him to put his points into WIS? Probably. What I also probably did is make a decent excuse for him to put points into it, since he's extremely stingy with his points despite the fact that he has so many of them (about 150), so he made an excuse to use them. Of course, that excuse is that he wants to get to 151 so he can get the new skills and also increase his APR, since that allows him to do a lot more cool shit with his spells, which is useful since he's going to be cultivating the image of a Dust Caster, and a bit of a Wizard too.**

 **To remind everyone, yes there is the story of the Wizard and the four Maidens, but in the modern interpretation and connotation of the word, a 'Wizard' is someone who fights mostly with their Aura and Semblance. Weiss could easily be a Wizard-type Huntress, so could Ren with his excellent control over Aura and ability to project it. A Wizard does not necessarily need to be a squishy, hat-robe-and-staff equipped fighter. Yang has been developing her control over the fire of her semblance, SHE could be a wizard too!**

 **So... yeah... wizards~. Woo~**

 **Now then, uh... right. Ren and Nora. They have a home, yes, shoot me. I stated in the beginning AN that this is now fully AU. Vacuo (not Mistral) represents Asia. Mistral represents Europe. Atlas represents... Germany, Canada, and Las Vegas all at once (slums, corruption, and tons of lights). Vale is, of course, the best country on Earth, AMERICA~! (yes I am an American, yes I am proud to be one, no I do not hate other countries, I just don't feel like living in them).**

 **So... anyways... Moyoshimono. He looks pretty much exactly like Auron from FFX. He is, as you read, a disciple of the Vermilion Bird of the South. Yes, other martial arts in the same vein as the Azure Dragon exist, specifically the other three directions for the Four Symbols in Chinese mythology. In case you don't know them, they are Azure Dragon of the East, Vermilion Bird of the South, White Tiger of the West, and Black Turtle of the North. Jaune is, of course, focusing on Azure Dragon of the East.**

 **We saw some more perspectives. I hope you guys liked those, I did my best with them. Weiss is a bit intoxicated by Jaune's Charisma, and also realized that what she'd said was wrong. Did it warrant a slap to the face? Probably not, but she knows she'd probably slap someone if they said similar things about her, after a significant verbal lashing of course.**

 **So... yeah. I hope it was worth the wait. I'm going to get the next chapter out before the end of the month, and if I'm lucky then it'll be before this time next week. I'll do my best, guys. I'm getting back into the flow of writing, so yaaay~.**

 **Now then, the omake that I've been looking forward to all this time.**

* * *

 _Omake: A New Prologue_

* * *

 _(years into the future)_

Celestia Arc was having a fun day. It was chilly out, so she got to wear her new favorite hoodie, the one her daddy made for her for her birthday. It was a bit big, but her daddy told her she'd grow into it, that way she'd be able to wear it for a really long time. She loved that about Jaune, er... daddy. She still found that a bit weird.

 **Jaune Arc**  
 **Title: ?**  
 **Level: ?**

 **Yang Xiao Arc**  
 **Title: ?**  
 **Level: ?**

Since when did they have names like her friends? She thought they were mommy and daddy! It was confusing, but she understood it after a lot of thinking.

They were HER mommy and daddy, but they had their own names, and not just the little ones they called each other like 'honey', or 'sweetheart', or her silly daddy calling mommy 'baby girl'.

Mommy wasn't a baby, she was! It made her question how smart her daddy really was, but he HAD to be smart, in order to make such awesome numbers thingies on her hoodie! It made her stat thingies really high, just like those achievements!

 _ **Cloudy Dawn Horizon Hoodie  
**_ _ **Description: A yellow, orange, and red hoodie designed by Jaune Arc and made specifically for you. It is infused with powerful, highly advanced elemental power. It is infused with Lightning, Earth, and Fire magic. It resonates with your soul, granting only you a special extra power.**_

 _ **Effects: +400% Effective STR, +400% Effective DEX, +400% Attack Damage. (Only for Celestia Arc) +50% Ease of Casting, Doubles APR.**_

 **-/\\-**

 **ACHIEVEMENTS UNLOCKED!**

 **Miss Knowitall: Decline the Tutorial 10 times. (Bonus: +10 INT)**

 **Big Heart in a Small Package: Let love reinforce your internal light, even from a young age. (Bonus: +25% stat training speed)**

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Celestia Arc  
Title: The Gamer  
Level: 3  
Class: Beginner  
Nickname: Little Sunshine**

 **HP: 150/150  
AP: 0/0  
SP: 200/200**

 **Strength: 9 (+400%) = 45  
Dexterity: 12 (+400%) = 60  
Vitality: 6  
Intelligence: 20  
Wisdom: 5  
Luck: 21  
Charisma: 15 - 20**

 **Stat Points: 0 - 10 - 5**

 **Age: 4  
** **Birthday: September 9th  
Race: Human  
Height: 3'0"  
Weight: 40  
Build: Preschool Girl  
Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blond / Deep Indigo / Pale Youthful Pink**

 **-/\\-**

She felt awesome! She got a couple of Vitality points from running around and playing with her Aunt Ruby, and those achievements gave her boosts too, and she even made her Charisma higher so she could be pretty like mommy! Now, with all those stats, Celestia felt like she was as tough as a superhero, and could beat up ALL the bad guys! Sadly, she couldn't beat them up in the house, mommy got REALLY mad when she tore that magnet guy to shreds.

It wasn't HER fault that he was made of paper and floating on the wall!

 _... (The next morning) ..._

Her birthday had only been a month ago, and already her special power gift had grown to be super duper AWESOME! Speaking of Aunt Ruby...

 **Zwei  
Title: Ruff and Tuff  
Level: 30**

"Puppy~." she greeted cheerfully to the small dog, hugging it and happily accepting the licks to her face.

Ruby smiled and softly patted the little girl's head, "Hey there Celly. Sorry, but you're gonna have to spend today with me, having loads of fun and maybe eating ice cream and cookies, sorry about that." she giggled as the young, so-far unrevealed Gamer girl's excitement practically lit up like a firework.

"I accept the apology!" Celestia grinned brightly, "Can we go to the park and maybe feed the duckies too? They're probably really hungry." she felt bad for the ducks. They had to live on bread crumbs that old ladies gave them.

Bread crumbs are tiny! How did they even live like that? She'd fix it! Just as soon as Aunt Ruby stopped laughing at her...

...

Celestia threw out another little chunk of bread to the ducks, watching them waddle over to it before gobbling it up, "Teeheeheehee, gobble gobble gobble." she smiled, imitating the ducks to the best of her ability.

Aunt Ruby smiled, "Kyeeheehee, yeah, they're sooo hungry. Good thing we came along and fed them." she smiled and rubbed Celestia's head softly, "That's what a good Huntress does. You're going to be a good huntress, aren't you, Celly?"

Celestia smiled brightly, "Yeah! I'm gonna be the bestest Huntress since my mommy was! I'm gonna be big and strong and pretty just like her, and I'll beat up ALL the bad guys and save the day~!" she flexed her little arms, a grin plastered across her face.

Ruby covered her mouth, but it did nothing to negate the snorting laugh that escaped. She pulled Celestia into a hug, smiling, "You're gonna go far, Celly. You've got such a big heart I'm surprised it can fit in your chest."

Celestia smiled, "Daddy says that my heart doesn't need to be super big to be super strong. He says I got a heart like him, and his heart is so strong it sounds like thunder, but it isn't scary at all!... er, not that thunder is scary! I'm not scared of thunder!" she couldn't be a superhero and be afraid of storms, that wasn't allowed! She had to be brave and stuffs!

Ruby smirked, then set Celestia down, "Oh? So then you don't mind me doing... THIS?" she stood up, turned around, and zoomed off, and less than fifty feet away, a thunderclap sounded out as she broke the sound barrier, quickly making her way around the lake.

Celestia's ears ached from the sound, her body hurt, her HP had dropped down a hundred points, but she got another point of VIT out of it. Still, it didn't stop the tears that were prickling at the corners of her eyes.

Ruby slowed to a safe stop, only to immediately be stabbed through the heart with regret when she saw Celestia about to cry. She bit her lip, hoping she could fix this and leave no trace, or else Yang wouldn't trust her with Celestia for months! She walked over and gently picked the young girl up, rocking her in her arms, "Ssshhhh~, it's okay, Celly. It's gonna be okay~."

Celestia could hardly see through the tears as a sob wracked her body. Her mind kept telling her that the pain was gone, and her body agreed, but she wasn't really listening. Her words came out in a garbled mess, but she eventually managed to make something coherent, "A-a-aunt, R-r-r-ruby~, y-y-you're s-s-s-so m-m-m-meeeeaaan~."

Ruby pouted, then hugged Celestia close, "No, no~, nuuuuu~." she wiped Celestia's tears away, "I'm sorry, Celly. I didn't mean to hurt you, I was just being a big ol' dummy. I'm sorry~." she continued to hold the crying girl, rubbing her back to sooth her.

After hearing the apology, Celestia found herself calming down incredibly quickly, her sniffles dying down and her tears nearly stopping completely, "I want another ice cream." she said with a tiny pout, nuzzling her head into the crook of Ruby's neck.

Ruby nodded, "Of course, sweetie. What kind do you want?" she stood up and began walking back towards the cart of the ice cream salesman they'd bought from earlier.

Celestia hummed, wiping her tears on her sleeve and sniffling back the bit of snot that escaped her nose, "Chocolate orange swirl."

The older woman giggled upon hearing the request. Truly, she was Jaune and Yang's daughter. She paid for the new ice cream, adding a bit extra to convince the man to just mix the two flavors together since he didn't have any swirl like her niece wanted, but it wasn't any trouble for her or her wallet. She relocated to a nearby bench and helped Celestia get a taste of the new ice cream, "Here you go, sweetie."

Celestia smiled upon seeing the ice cream cone. She didn't just like it because it tasted really good, it had other benefits too.

 ** _Chocolate Orange Swirl Ice Cream  
Description: A cold, creamy treat consisting of chocolate ice cream and orange ice cream mixed together near-evenly, creating a combined flavor that's rich, tangy, and delicious._**

 ** _Effects: Restores 50 HP. (Based on Stats) 1% chance to increase VIT by 1 point._**

If she ate enough of them, or just got lucky, she'd get a free VIT point and be an even tougher superhero! Already her mood was brightening up immensely. She hadn't gotten permanently hurt by the thunder, and now that she thought about it, it wasn't really too scary either, just really loud and hurting.

 **By facing and overcoming your fears, your mind has been sharpened and your INT has increased by 3!**

She already felt a bit smarter, like she might even be able to count to four hundred, which was a lot higher than her record of sixty.

"So, Celly, what are you going to be for Halloween?" Ruby asked, walking while holding the little girl's hand.

Celestia's fears instantly returned, "I-i-i'm going to be in my room playing video games. Halloween is scary~." she shook with fright. Those pumpkins with faces with very frightening! Not to mention the ugly green ladies or the ghosts!

The huntress rolled her eyes, "Of COURSE your alternative is playing video games. You must have gotten it from your father." she giggled.

Celestia raised an eyebrow, "Daddy taught me about the PC master race."

Ruby rolled her eyes again, "Consoles are better." she let out a little giggle

Celestia pouted, giving Ruby a little bonk on the leg, "No they're not, PC is a master race, and master means the best! And the best means nothing is better than it." she was proud of herself for knowing how all those words worked.

Her aunt just giggled more, "You are SO much like your father."

The little girl, being a young child with nothing but the best of opinions of her parents, didn't comprehend the slight snark in Ruby's voice, "Yaaay~! I'm smarticles like daddy~!" she hopped up and down, but stopped when she saw her ice cream about to fall out of its cone. She quickly licked up the melted parts, looking at the big weird wall in the middle of nowhere. She let out a little hum of curiosity, her tiny tongue still outside of her mouth, "Why is dere a wall in da middle of the park, Aunt Ruby? Is there a door? Is it a building?"

Ruby looked up, only to gasp slightly, then settle into a bittersweet type of reminiscence as she listened to her niece attempt to read the words at the top of the monument, "Thoh-guh, theer, lights have been ex...tin...goo...ish-ed... may theer-"

"Though their lights have been extinguished, may their honor never fade. To honor those who fell in the Attack on Beacon." she remembered it like it was yesterday, much to her chagrin. The smell of smoke and blood in the air. If it wasn't for being level 126 and having the skills she did, she'd probably have frozen up instead of taking action. Though she had been incredibly fast, she hadn't been fast enough to save everyone.

"They fell? Why do they get a honor if they fell? I fell last week, do I get a honor Aunt Ruby?" innocent indigo eyes looked up at her, and she cringed internally.

She couldn't just let this go, mostly because Celestia would pester her about it like the curious child she was, "It doesn't mean they fell down, Celly." she knelt down to be eye-level with her niece, "They way they fell, they couldn't get back up... ever."

Celestia tilted her head, "So they're stuck on the ground?"

Ruby shook her head, "No, sweetie, they're... buried. They... they died."

Celestia pouted, "Like the flower I gave mommy last week?"

Ruby sighed heavily, happy that she didn't have to explain all of this, "Yes, sweetie. They aren't alive anymore, and it's very sad. You see, when flowers die, their seeds just grow new ones, but when people die, then they aren't alive to be with their families and be happy, and everyone gets really sad, and it's the most un-fun time for everyone they loved."

The little girl frowned, saddened by her new knowledge about death, but... she pushed forward, "That's really sad, Aunt Ruby."

"I know it is, sweetie. Aunt Ruby has lost some people, they died. I was really sad."

Driven by the desire to help, Celestia held up her nearly forgotten ice cream cone, "Ice cream always helps me feel better. Have some ice cream Aunt Ruby." she lifted it close to Ruby's face.

Ruby smiled, feeling the reopening pit in her stomach close up immediately, and she took a bite of the ice cream, "Thank you, sweetie. I feel better already." her smile grew stronger as she wiped away the couple of tears that slipped past her defenses.

Celestia smiled brightly, "Ice cream saves the day~!" she cheered, hugging her Aunt Ruby and licking the ice cream more, "The day is all saved thanks to Captain Celestia and Ice Cream~!" she cheered joyously, holding up her ice cream cone happily.

Ruby smiled too, continuing their walk towards the rest of their day together.

Little did Celestia know, that her choices would soon come back to haunt her, and no amount of ice cream could prevent what was to come.

 _... (late that night) ..._

Celestia hummed and bobbed her head to the music of her current game. After dinner with Aunt Ruby before the surprisingly lazy Huntress went to sleep, she'd stayed true to her words and stayed inside playing video games, mostly on her Ninvendo DS.

She heard the door downstairs open up, and got up to go see who it was. Walking down the stairs quietly like she'd been taught to, she saw her daddy carrying her mommy over his shoulder. They said they'd be gone all night, but Celestia didn't particularly care about the details, "DADDY~!" she cheered and ran over, hugging her father's leg.

Jaune smiled and looked down at his adorable daughter, "Hey sweetie. Your mommy got sick at the party, so daddy brought her home so she can get some medicine and be alright. Don't worry, daddy's got it all taken care of." he smiled at her and took her mommy upstairs. Celestia made to follow, but before she could even get up the first step, her daddy was already heading back down, "So, were you a good girl for Aunt Ruby today?" he asked with a smile, picking her up into a warm, fatherly hug and carrying her over to the couch, sitting her on his knee.

Celestia giggled, always having enjoyed sitting on her daddy's knee, "Yes daddy. We had ice cream and fed the ducks and played frisbee and tag and hide & seek and it was super duper fun and I loved it!" she hugged him as best she could, but her little arms could hardly reach halfway around his muscular stomach.

Jaune smiled, hugging his daughter back, "Hehe, sounds like it was a blast, sweetie."

Celestia grinned, "She even showed me Crescent Rose! It was super cool, and made a tree blow up!"

Her daddy raised an eyebrow, "Oh really?" he chuckled, then slid her off his knee, "Just a second sweetie." he went over to the fireplace, to the sword hung above the mantle. He took it down and pulled it out of the sheathe, showing her the silver and golden blade, "This is Crocea Mors. It was my weapon for a long time." he sighed, remembering the day he retired the weapon. In the end, though it was amazing, it couldn't match up to his great magical power, especially when he had the third tier prestige of Vorpal Sword at his disposal, "It helped me kill the giant evil Grimm Queen. It's a lot more awesome that a scythe that can shoot bullets."

Celestia marveled at the blade, touching the cold metal with her tiny hand, "It's soooo coooooool~." she practically cooed, starry-eyed at such an amazing weapon. Yeah, Aunt Ruby's sniper scythe thingy could blow up a big tree, but her daddy's sword had killed a GIANT Grimm Queen thingy. She paused, then looked up into her father's brilliant cyan eyes, "Daddy, isn't killing wrong?"

Jaune shook his head, "It is, but if you're killing someone really bad, especially to protect people, then you should kill, it's the right thing to do, to stop those evil people from hurting anyone who doesn't deserve it. Or if it's a Grimm. Only in those two cases, sweetie, but you shouldn't worry about killing, okay? You're my little sunshine, and I love you." he kissed her forehead, smiling and giving her a hug, "Now then, I'm going to go make sure your mother is alright. You should get to bed soon, sweetie, you have school tomorrow." he stood up, setting Celestia on the couch, and walked up the stairs.

Celestia waited until her daddy's footsteps faded away upstairs, and her parents' bedroom door closed. She knew that once her daddy fell asleep, there was no waking him up until he woke himself up. When the coast was clear, she grabbed the sword Crocea Mors, slipping it into her Inventory. If she was going to be a superhero Huntress, then she needed a weapon to help out with that. She was able to somewhat read the description of it, but it was super weird and full of question marks. She decided to ignore it, walking over and turning off the lightswitch by the stairs, walking up to her room.

 _... (an hour or so later) ..._

Celestia was awake, surprising herself. She usually went to bed at her normal time, but had been caught up playing a Mario game. She let out a small yawn, but then jiggled, feeling the familiar sensation in her lower stomach.

After relieving herself in the bathroom, she walked out and went towards, still wearing most of her clothes from earlier. Just as she reached for the door, she heard a sound like glass breaking downstairs. Curious, she silently walked down the hall and down the stairs, not making so much as a creak with her light steps. She saw flashlights dancing around the living room, which made her curious. She was about to speak up, when a gruff voice whispered something she could make out with surprising clarity with her recently acquired 'Listening' skill.

"Alright, where's the goods, man?" the first voice said.

"Should be a room somewhere. Don't these rich fucks usually have something behind the fireplace?" the second voice said.

"If we can't find it, then we can just point the gun at them and take it by force. They're some rich fucks, they'll buy their way outta dying." the third voice said.

"Hell, why don't we just shoot them for hoarding all the money we workin' folk need to survive? A couple of dead bigwigs never hurt anybody but their fucking stockholders." the first voice spoke again.

Celestia froze. Dead? Dead... these people were going to steal from the house and kill her parents! Death was... it was super bad. These people, they were obviously bad, and her parents couldn't defend themselves. Daddy wouldn't wake up until he made himself wake up, and mommy was sick and so she couldn't fight. Aunt Ruby was asleep too, she wouldn't be any help.

A window popped up.

 **Welcome to your horrible beginning! In the middle of the night, thieves broke in and killed your parents in their sleep, leaving you an orphan. Sorry, but that's just how life works sometimes.**

She read the words, and realized that a hooray beginning was a terrible mistake. She had to fix this. She was an Arc! She NEEDED to fix this!

She... she had to kill these people before they killed her parents and Aunt Ruby!

She breathed hard, her respiration accelerating nearly to the point of hyperventilation, but she calmed herself. These people were evil, her father told her that it was the right thing to do, to kill evil people, especially to protect people! She didn't want to be really sad because her parents were dead, that... that was the worst thing possible!

She pulled out Crocea Mors, holding the heavy blade in both hands, only for it to fall and the tip to hit the floor. A window popped up, **Requirements for 2-handed Wielding: 50 effective Strength, 75 effective Dexterity.**

She put the points where her maths told her they needed to go, plus she put the spare into DEX, because she needed to act fast. The sword grew lighter in her grip as she her increased STR let her hold it easier, her DEX giving her the speed she needed.

The flashlights had begun moving more quickly around the room, "What was that noise?" the second voice asked in shock.

Suddenly, all three flashlights were on her, threatening to blind her as she breathed hard and fast, holding her father's blade in both hands, and steeling her nerves.

 **Overcoming your fears has sharpened your mind and increased your INT by 2!**

 **Your sharpened mind-**

She didn't so much as perceive the window as she flicked the light switch on. A millisecond later, a scream tore from her throat, her body surging forward and swinging the sword like the hero did, cutting at the gun-wielding man's legs, then his torso.

 **-and empowered soul-**

The burglars were too shocked by the sudden turn of events to act at first, and watched as their friend's stomach got sliced open, blood spurting from the wound as this demonic child swung a sword larger than her body around like it was a toy. She cut the man's neck open, backing away from him falling onto her, and turned towards the other two thieves, killers, EVIL SCUM!

 **-have grown stronger than the binds on your internal light-**

The first man dove past the girl, scrambling for the gun as Celestia blocked the second man's fish by slicing through skin, muscle, and cartilage, blood spraying on her face as she stabbed him several times. Was she screaming? Was her mother screaming? Her aunt? A fourth, female thief? She wasn't sure, she could hardly think, only act, "YOU WON'T HURT MY FAMILY!" she shrieked as the second man fell after receiving nearly a dozen wounds, only able to get one glancing blow off on her.

 **-and have allowed it to break free and shine through the darkness!**

 **You have unlocked the skill "Aura"!**

 **Your Max AP increased by 500!**

The last remaining burglar grabbed the gun and fired a shot right as Celestia turned took her first step towards him. The bullet pierced her chest, went through her right lung, and came out the other side, clattering onto the floor several feet behind her. She fell to one knee, coughing up a bit of blood and dropping Crocea Mors, but she suddenly felt a soothing warmth as the pain faded in seconds.

The man began to stand, feeling only slightly sorry for killing a kid. Most of his sympathy had died with his friends and gone deaf with her scream.

Right as he steadied himself, he saw the little girl glow a brilliant indigo and stand up, letting out another scream, "DIE YOU EVIL THIEF KILLER!" she charged at him, and before he could pop off another shot, she slammed into him like an indigo missile, sending him slamming onto his back.

Celestia swung Crocea Mors several times at the man's chest, neck, and face, "DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! YOU! WON'T! HURT! MY! FAMILY! DIE! DIE! DIE!" she was shaking as her body glowed, the soothing warmth becoming hot and uncomfortable as her body continued to act.

The pulsation of power that rang throughout the house had awoken the three adults, including the recovered-from-drunkenness Yang. Jaune and his wife were the first ones down the stairs, responding to their daughter's distressed screaming. When the reached the living room, however, and saw the scene before them, they went pale.

Ruby, surprisingly slow, pushed her way into the living room, catching the scent of blood, but she froze in her tracks at the sight.

They saw Celestia standing atop a darkly dressed man's chest, not so much slashing anymore as simply hammering the blade of Crocea Mors into his skull, sending spurts of blood out with every strike. She was screaming incoherently, but it was occasionally pierced by the word 'Die!' or the words 'You! Won't! Hurt! My! Family!', with every word punctuated by another swing of the sword.

Jaune, with Gamer's Mind, was the first to recover. He walked over and, between one swing and the next, grabbed Crocea Mors and pulled it out of his daughter's hands, using his vastly superior Strength to remove it, despite the end he grabbed being covered with slick blood.

Yang reacted next, rushing over and grabbing her daughter as she broke down crying. Jaune joined her, holding onto the tiny blonde like his life depended on it.

Celestia couldn't stop shaking. These men... they were dead. She killed them. She felt horrible, but she'd protected her family and that was what mattered. She would always protect her family, no matter what. She would fight, and kill, to keep the ones she loved safe. She didn't even consciously understand these feelings, but in her subconscious, she knew they were as true as can be.

Still, the way their blood stained her little hands, the hands that had grabbed a sword made for killing Grimm Queens, and turned it on some random thieves. She didn't understand most of what she was feeling, that hot feeling still surrounded her. With a sob, she melted into her parent's embrace, crying her eyes out and holding onto them as tightly as possible, as though trying to prove that this was not a dream and she didn't just sleep through her parents being killed in cold blood, just for having money.

She heard her father saying something, but couldn't understand what it was. Her mother responded, and her Aunt Ruby said something too. Soon, the hot feeling all over her body calmed down as she felt a hand caress the back of her neck, and she found the world fading away and her senses all blending together into a soft, but uneasy warmth.

Her tears slowly died down as sleep overtook her.

 _... (meanwhile, inches from Celestia's body) ..._

Jaune sighed softly, "Honey, sis, girls... there's... something that needs to be addressed." he looked down at his daughter, and for the first time in four and a half weeks, the text above her head cleared of its eyesore glitched text.

Yang and Ruby saw, with great shock, what that 'something' was. What had driven Celestia to be able to do all of this, what had allowed her to be physically capable of performing this act.

 **Celestia Arc**  
 **Title: The Second Gamer, Daughter of Liberty.**  
 **Level: 3**

What was more shocking, however, was the indigo window they all clearly saw appear in front of Celestia's head.

 **You have gambled with and won against Fate itself! By denying the terrors of a "Horrible" beginning to your heroic story, and thus changing your destiny, you have gained +30 LUK!**

 **By raising LUK above 50, you have earned the skill "Star Child"!**

They all stared for several minutes, but it was Yang that finally broke the silence.

"Well... this is a thing."

* * *

 **BAM! Probably my longest Omake so far. Dunno, the one in the previous chapter might be a rival for length. Dunno.**

 **Hope you all liked it, or even loved it, and hope you all loved the chapter too.**

 **Please leave a review, I'd love to hear from you wonderful readers about what you liked about the chapter, and what you disliked about it too. I might be able to improve, or I might just come back through and edit some things. I don't recall exactly how much information came out, but I'm sure you all will tell me if something is wrong. Hopefully you'll care enough to.**

 **Anyways, let's get the stat dump done, then sign this chapter off.**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Wizard of the Elements  
** **Level: 70  
** **Class: Wizard v3  
** **Nickname: Mr. Player Man**

 **HP: 35,000/35,000  
** **AP: 140,000/140,000  
** **SP: 50,000/50,000**

 **Strength: 70 (+265%) (+105%) = 329  
** **Dexterity: 65 (+265%) (+105%) = 305.5  
** **Vitality: 80 (+265%) (+105%) = 376  
** **Intelligence: 132 (+5) (+265%) = 500.05  
** **Wisdom: 151 (+5) (+265%) = 529.25  
** **Luck: 111  
** **Charisma: 80**

 **Stat Points: 149**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 6'1  
** **Weight: 215  
** **Build: Med-Heavy Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blonde / Brilliant Azure / Medium Tan**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Alright, that's everything I can even think of done with now.**

 **I love you all, hopefully I'll get the next chapter done within a couple of weeks. Who knows? College is kicking my ass, so... yeah.**

 **This is Player1 signing off. Peace out, guys. ^w^**

 **See ya next time~**


	15. Shine like the Star you are

**2/7/2017 at 7:52 AM: Literally just uploaded the last chapter less than a minute ago. Going to just slap some words down here and get the ball rolling so I don't lose my buzz. Let's do this!**

 **2/8/2017 at 11:59 AM: Dammit man, the internet stopped working basically up until now. I've been unable to work since then, but at least my phone got all those lovely emails about the reviews. Thank you all so much for the support, I love it and I love you (in a strictly platonic, but at the same time extremely un-platonic way. No homo, yet all of the homo.)**

 **2/12/2017 at 3:55 PM: Well, I've been writing and doing stuff for about 5 hours now. I had to send my computer to an expert guy because it was fucking up SO badly. Even the ability to connect to WiFi wasn't working (and was very stressful and stuff). Luckily, it's all good now, and I can continue doing what I love and what I've been wanting to do for the past five days. Thank you all for your reviews, now let's get to responding to some of them.**

 **2/15/2017 at 5:44 PM: Spent most of today trying to be awake and watching YT vids, but I've checked my progress from the past couple of days and I now have a bit over 13.1k words, so yaaay~ ^WWW^ I can probably finish this thing tomorrow if I work well enough.**

 **2/19/2017 at 4:07 AM: Well, the past few days I've had my dad at home, haven't gotten much progress done, but I made a push and got to 15.6k words. I'll probably end the chapter itself at around 20k, maybe. Will make a final decision when I wake up in the morning.**

 **2/21/2017 at 6:31 PM: I dunno what happened, but yesterday was really busy, and today was... well, I didn't sleep very well, or much at all, really, I guess. I'm going to push and try to get done today. If I can get a chapter out in two weeks or less, then I'll be doing very well for myself.**

 **2/23/2017 at 8:20 AM: Literally been awake only long enough to save so far. Oops, I accidentally 21.3k words**

 **2/23/2017 at 1:47 PM: Okay, I'm properly awake now. I had passed out earlier and woke up in my chair, with only enough mental resources to type a quick message and get this stuff saved. I hadn't saved since getting to 15.6k, so that was an important save! Thank god I got it. I've gotten a good idea on the omake for this chapter too, so that's good. It's a small, but significant hurdle, getting an omake thought up, plotted out, typed up, and finished. I'm hoping I can do it well, it's an interesting one, and I hope y'all like it ^w^**

 **2/25/2017 at 2:45 PM: Well, I'm on the fast track towards the end of this chapter. Still have to do some more stuff after what I know I need to put, I THINK, but not entirely sure, TBCH. Need to organize my thoughts as I type more stuff. Currently at 24k just about exactly.**

 **2/26/2017 at 5:02 AM: Well, I'm about to head off to bed. Currently at a bit over 28.3k and at the start of the last scene of the chapter proper. Following that will be an omake that I thought of at some point during the writing process and has thankfully not left my head yet. Let's just say, it's a little... additive, hehehehe.**

 **2/26/2017 at 7:07 PM: Well, I'm done with all but the omake. I have to soon leave for the store, but I'll hopefully be able to finish this chapter tonight or in the wee hours of the morning. Here's to hoping!**

 **2/27/2017 at 2:35 AM: Well, I'm done with everything I can think of. Final wordcount is a bit over 34.1k words, and this time in only 2.9 weeks instead of like 4 months! Massive improvements, yay~! ^W^**

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses:**

 **noah141232, Sky XXVII, River king, and Catacus:** thank you all for the love and support ^WWW^

 **Noble the Unknown Primordial:** Thank you for reminding me that there are people who do like the route that leads to a harem, and for liking the omake. I worked really hard on it, and some days it was the only thing motivating me to write more of this story.

 **Flametusk:** holy words, Batman! (I saw the Lego Batman Movie, because I can :P) Let's see. Ruby's birthday is 11/11 because when I was doing a RWBY game on Roll20, I rolled for people's birthdays, and Ruby got 11/11. Yang also got 12/11, but I changed it to 12/12 because I was the _Game Master_. Salem is already confirmed to be a thing (look back at what I felt was controversial, but canon ending to Chapter 8). Also, for reference, that was a dream Jaune had. Back to your review: Nuckelavee might exist. Beringel might exist. Tyrian might exist. I have not played FFXV. The new Grimm have a whole host of inspirations. Third person? That was the others' POVs, not Jaune's, if you were referring to the POV changes. That grimm is a Kitsuninja, it has Ninja in the name!

 **zen-aku the spirit of the wolf (on chapter 13):** Did you not read in the top A/N that this is now an AU? In this AU, Qrow's semblance is Displacement, and Raven's is portals. Both are similar in a regard that Jaune will explore in this chapter. Also, for your questions on the charge system: Elementals do not level like people and Grimm do, they are separate entities that function differently. A level 1 Elemental is far different from a level 1 human. A level 1 human is a child, a level 1 Fire Elemental can burn that child and its family to death with ease.

 **Remzal Von Enilli:** no, it was a reference to Jaune's LUK50 skill "Lucky Spark", but modified to fit Celestia.

 **Nexus Bladeguard:** Actually, your assumptions are incorrect, friend. Miragangers are like highway gangs, and they are the source of mirages, creating illusions. The Miraganger Star has a power that, to me, represents a highly ranked-up version of an illusion that a magical grimm would have. THIS PARTICULAR Miraganger Star happens to be themed after the Dancer of the Boreal Valley, however.

 **Xerzo LOTCN:** Whoa there! -holds my hands up- Slow down and use some comma and periods, friendo. Let me read this more slowly. Harem will happen in the future. Renjiis sword? What? He modified Adam's sword to be more like the inspiration for it, which is Sam's Muramasa from _Metal Gear Rising Revengeance_ and he's upgraded Crocea Mors a bit (he'll upgrade it more in this chapter). Ren and Nora, yes. They appear differently than they act at Beacon, but that's because they're at home and with their father figure (as said before, this is an AU now. Moving on... yes he could get the skills from the four beasts, that is all doable, but he's not going to for a while. He needs to boost his physical STATS, not TRACKS. Please, I'm not trying to be mean here, but slow down, calm down, and type as clean&neat as you can in your reviews in the future. His health and stamina are both low for a reason that I can't reveal because spoilers. Wizard Knight, Warrior Mage, or Magic Swordsman... he technically has one of those (Magic Swordsman, AKA Spellsword, but it deals with Melee Magic Attacks rather than boosting VIT&INT and, as a result, his HP and SP along with his AP). He'll up his VIT at least, because he does want to tank for his party (since most of them are fairly squishy compared to even a normal Warrior, much less a Knight. Ruby is a fragile speedster, Weiss is a caster/summoner, Blake is a ninja, Yang is a brawler and would have second-highest HP, or be a DPS more than a Tank. Nora is a barbarian and might have third-highest HP depending on how I develop her (because I have another thought for her), but also might be more effective as DPS rather than Tank, Pyrrha is a warrior too, but definitely more DEX-based than STR&VIT-based, and Ren is a monk/martial artist, so he might be fourth-highest HP depending on how he's developed later in this story, however he too falls prey to DPS vs Tank). He lost Aura control mostly because of the effect of breaking Ki Breathing (Great external shock will break Ki Breathing and induce Aura Confusion). The last chapter could have gone on longer, but I wanted to stop it at a more awesome and suspenseful moment than just "the ending of the concert", and also that would have taken a lot longer to get out, and the chapter had waited long enough. Again, harem will happen in the future, and all parties will be consenting (because Jaune wouldn't let someone in or take them in if they didn't want to be a part of the love of the group). New generation of Gamers? Nah.

 **zen-aku the spirit of the wolf (on chapter 14):** Volume 4? Yes. I started typing the chapter before Volume 4 premiered and finished it after Volume 4 ended. Sue me (don't actually sue me, bruh). Please write more than just a couple of words in your review, especially if it lacks any context like this did. As for your other review: All the evidence Jaune has been presented with has pointed to her being dead. If he found her soul just... floating around out somewhere in the wilderness, that would basically confirm it.

 **DragOnRyo, perseus99, AmaziaTheAmazing, and Umbrardor:** Thank all of you also for your love and support, and to Drag: I also happened to run some parts of a Gamer-based game on Roll20, one set in RWBY (but with an OC), and my friend who was playing as this guy was very connected to the group he'd made with the others, and shared some skills he'd gotten (the Strike attacks, meditation, and Summon Elemental). I also got a bit of inspiration from _The Name of the Game_ by **literalsin**. A bit anvilicious with some of the opinions expressed (though personally, I do agree with some of what he says), but it's really good IMHO. Be warned, it has some sexual content.

 **Whovian8203:** Coolsauce! I -totally- intended for that to be the case! Hahaha~! *gets beaten over the head for the terrible, unfunny joke* Ow.

 **MysticSpider:** YES! *throws mug on the floor* ANOTHER! *puts on a Thor wig*

 **Dark Durian:** Yep! It won't cover the traumatized toddler until the third part (coming... eventually). Marbel and Weiss yes, and Blake yes. That is all I have to say, is "yes". Ren and Nora will mostly have the same abilities and things, plus whatever Jaune decides to hook them up with.

 **Cco16:** Sorry, but Jaune is going to be stronger than he is fast. Also, it's up to my mental pathing as to when Jaune spends his points, but just because I feel like being nice, he might spend some either this chapter or next.

 **LaStAnOnYmOuSpRiNcE3XD:** Multiple people he could be. It would be like having multiple profile slots in a game, except they're all the same person inside (you, the player). Conversely, it's more costumes and masks he could put on and pretend to be something he normally isn't. Jaune in this story, however, isn't really all that into having multiple personas as I've seen in a couple of Gamer stories (actually, I think most of them don't have that, and I've only seen a minority, but my point still stands), so no multiple personas (besides masquerading as Adam)

 **Plasma Dragon 312:** No, it's just one of many possible futures. One that I decided to focus on because of the adorable daughter.

 **A Guest curious about voices:** actually, I imagined it more like a very smooth brass instrument that fluctuates like a voice. Brass, of course, and not woodwind, because he's a _metal_ elemental. Still, that is a nice one!

 **SeradaHawke:** Yeah, well... *shrugs* I dunno, man. He's kinda had bad experience with Luck, and pretty much assumes that things in this deathworld they call Remnant will only get worse unless someone with the power and the will does something about it. Honestly, I had forgotten entirely about this line. Either way, I hope you're still reading the story!

 **willyerfull:** H? H what? Hentai? I like hentai (shut up, most of you people probably do). H-unfinished review? Might want to see if you can edit that, buddy, I'd like to know what you actually have to say besides a single letter.

 **NugiSpringield and shugokage:** I'm glad that you both enjoyed the story.

 **dazindogeek:** Yes, yes she is. She's basically a R63 Big Boss, but I think I made her robotic arm blue instead of red.

 **sorry-dot-no-names:** Yes, his dismembered (and promptly regenerated) limbs all disappear in a manner comparable to the Grimm. They dissolve into a white mist that dissipates into nothingness. This story is now AU, but it is not very AU, just enough of an AU that the kingdoms have different structures (Vacuo, rather than Mistral, represents Asia, and Mistral represents Europe) and the characters have a bit different backstories (namely Nora and Ren, who were raised in a temple in the Vacuan Mountains, and of course Jaune's set backstory involves his parents separating).

As for the elemental affinities... HERE'S A LITTLE LESSON (but not in trickery, though): Each soul has a bit of each of the six elements that Jaune's semblance recognizes as base elements, which are Metal, Fire, Earth, Water, Air, and Lightning. Metal represents endurance, Fire represents willpower, Earth represents strength, Water represents recovery and fluidity, Air represents mobility, Lightning represents energy and change. Everyone has at least 1 point in each of these affinities, except the starting Jaune, since his semblance basically presented his soul as a completely blank canvas.

Most of the time, people have small amounts of all elements with the exception of one or two that have much larger amounts (the maximum is 100). These higher amounts are based on their Semblances mostly, or perhaps their semblances are based on these higher amounts. Marbel's Semblance (as it currently stands) allows her to perform a powerful charge similar to a Rook piece in chess. Her three affinities are Earth (for the strength created in the attack), Air (for the mobility it allows her), and some Fire (increasing the damage she deals with mostly just Aura). Weiss has, naturally, a significant amount of Air and Water (since they make Ice when combined), in fact they are the same number (well they WERE, now Water is a bit higher due to her now having a Water Elemental), and a bit of Lightning, not much, but higher than normal.

Moving back to replying to your review... well, for Garnet, it would logically do that.

I actually hadn't thought about that, with the second fic for info. I might just do that.

Yep, fuck your shit Emerald. Hell, he could overlay an illusion on top of her illusion that shows everything as it should be. Gaster Blaster was always a 'fuck your shit' murderlaser attack, pretty much.

Weiss giving lessons on fun? I don't recall that happening. She said she was the queen of pranks, but that was the words of her siblings (another AU thing is that instead of Wheatley the bastard, I mean Whitley, there is Rengir the black sheep, who was actually a pretty cool guy until he sadly died. He and Weiss used to prank one another, but Weiss' pranks were always more clever). I also don't recall anything with Beacon's initiation test either.

Yes, Blake is slowly growing feelings for Jaune. With how she is, and how he is, it's little wonder. He's meeting her standards and slowly worming his way into her heart. This chapter expands on that and on Marbel and Weiss' feelings too.

Trust me, sentient Grimm are a more common threat than Jaune thinks, but the levels of sentience vary.

 **Thunderstruck92:** thank you for the support, good sir/madam, you win the 'nice person of the day' award. *hands you a magical cube that contains a chibi RWBY character of your choice*

* * *

 **Okay, to clear something up, let me refer you all to the picture I used when designing the Miragangers. Go to Google Images and search "Tusken Raider Unmasked v2". The one you'll be looking for should be the first one, made by DarthMater on deviantart. That is mostly what a Miraganger looks like, but of course more Grimm-like and with a longer mouth (though the base image is pretty good as is). The Miraganger Star looks like that, but with an even longer mouth and a crimson five-point star on its forehead.**

 **Also, announcement: HAREM CONFIRMED. That is all.**

 **Another announcement: I have a rough plot set for most of the story, bound to change but definitely following certain events. I'm looking to have at least upwards of 70 chapters in this story, so that all you lovely, amazing people are going to have plenty of candy for your eyes to nom up. This current story arc is set to last perhaps another three to five chapters, then we're moving onto a story arc containing the summer before Beacon starts. That means THREE STORY ARCS BEFORE CANON EVENTS EVEN BEGIN! Wowza! That's a lot of events! I also plan on going through at least a rough/vague working of most of the canon episodes' events up to the end of Volume 3 possibly, which adds a maximum of 40 chapters to the story, and then at least a dozen chapters after that, maybe involving Volume 4, maybe not, I don't know just yet. As I said, the plot line I've set out is very rough, since I tend to write the story almost 100% organically. Right now, folks, we're looking at nearly 80 chapters of amazing Gamer content for your reading pleasure. I hope you're all ready, because you're gonna get swole in the eye muscles!**

 **Alright, now that that's all out of the way, let's get started!**

 **Story Arc 2: Playing Prometheus**

 **Chapter 15: Shine like the Star you are.**

* * *

 **By raising WIS above 150, you have earned the skill "Mana Sketch"**

 **By raising WIS above 150, you have earned the skill "The Fundamental Factor W"**

 **By raising WIS above 150, you have earned the skill "Aura Suffusion"**

 **By raising WIS above 150, you have earned the skill "Animakinetic Flow"**

 **By raising WIS above 150, you have earned the skill "Druidic Proficiency"**

 **Raising your WIS to incredible levels has unlocked the class "Monk v4"**

 **Having WIS be the first stat to be raised above 150 has granted you a bonus! You gained +9 WIS!**

I hummed in curiosity over the skills, trying to glean anything I could from the names alone, but I only had a couple of seconds before the boss crashed into m-

*CRASH*

Okay, to be fair, I was a little distracted. I thrust my arms downwards, catching myself and rapidly transitioning into a quick series of backflips while keeping track of the metal and flames of the Star's massive blade, dodging by a hair's width each time. Skidding along the loose sand as I landed on my feet, I dove out of the way of an almost graceful followup as the beast led a cartwheel with a massive vertical slash. I took a few seconds to observe it, and found a few details that were... concerning.

Its STR was in the high five-hundreds, DEX in the low eight-hundreds, and VIT in the mid six-hundreds. It had several fairly high level skills, and a status effect that I could only read the name of, **Blessing of Shadows** , the rest of the text was either question marks or glitched randomness. It had quite high mental stats, a testament to its age no doubt. With a sigh, I threw a Tornado at it while backing away, hoping to gain some distance between us.

Instead of being swept up in the rapid winds, it stood strong, buffeted by tiny sand particles as the spell passed by its legs. It jumped up and delivered an axe kick to the spot I was at a few seconds ago. With Ki Body flared brightly and every Ki skill active, I narrowly dodged a series of slashes and aimed a Wrecking Ball at it, sending it flying backwards a few dozen feet. With room to actually breathe, I did just that.

Air condensed and froze in my mouth as I unleashed the AD Chilly Breath, seeing frost form and cling to the beast's skin and ragged clothing, as well as the status **AD Chilled** getting applied. With a grunt, I formed Sunbeam Zweihander, the pale azure blade shining brightly with Aurora as I pushed the offensive.

The trick to fighting a foe that was faster, but weaker, than you was simple: Don't let them control the flow of the battle, or they'll tear you to pieces. I didn't let up, slashing at the freakishly humanoid Grimm with every ounce of speed I could muster, unleashing Double Strike and Power Strike, lightning sparking off my body as the powers of Elemental Aura boosted me. I became a storm of muscle and light as I tore into the Miraganger's flesh.

It lunged backwards, and I threw myself towards it, swinging my zweihander in a wide arc while launching dozens of Energy Arrows at it. Instead of taking it, this time it simply kicked me away before I could deliver a devastating blow, smoothly transitioning into a guard with its other arm. It was only by my spell's unlisted ability to penetrate armor that I was able to damage it.

With the few seconds of reprieve it gained off me while I charged a few spells, I saw its wounds close rapidly, its ichor reabsorbing into its skin as it healed rapidly.

It had enough HP as it was, rapid healing was just a slap to the face. I changed tactics and fired hundreds of Energy Arrows, Energy Bolts, Energy Shots, and Energy Orbs at it in rapid succession, finding that Aura Suffusion allowed me to spread the range of my raw Aura throughout the air, essentially granting me a much larger area to spam spells from.

I let up for a second, focusing on switching tactics when I noticed that the little damage that was piercing its massive VIT-based defense was simply preventing it from healing. That was all fine and dandy, but I needed to kill it, not just prickle it with solidified light.

I hummed, focusing hard as I drew my power together. Mana Sketch was the easiest skill to figure out, if only because I had been using the previous iteration Magic Doodle so much already.

Once again, Roimontagne grew up from the ground, sending a small wave of stone shards at the Star before Mystral flew into him, sweeping the stone as it disintegrated into sand particles and formed the sandstone dragon, its eyes hardening in a glare at the beast.

Then came the fun part, as the air caught fire in front of the dragon, forming into the shape of a short human male.

Roimonstral looked down at the freshly summoned Xiburichu, then it took in a deep breath, sucking up the man of flames as his body funneled into the dragon's maw. Its chest bulged out and glowed with red light, then it unleashed a massive, ear-piercing roar that had the Star covering its earholes. Flames hissed out between its scales as its body began to glow red hot. The flames were then pulled back in and its body cooled, revealing glass scales that had slight blue or orange tints to them, blue for the main body, and orange for its underbelly and wing membranes. Its gut was full of fire, like a gas lamp waiting to flare up, and its eyes were a piercing azure color.

At this point, I couldn't just keep combining their names, so I opted for a random name that came to mind, Lampio. It wasn't the best, but I didn't claim to be good with names, The Game gave most names for me.

Lampio stomped the ground, causing flames to spread through the loose sand like a liquid, before sending razor-sharp glass spikes jutting upwards to impale the Star. Unfortunately, before it could do too much damage, the humanoid grimm broke the glass and charged at the dragon, which was a bit larger than the sand one. It swung its sword rapidly, each swing breaking away a few of the brittle, but incredibly hard glass scales at a time. At the rate it was going, it would take a minute to break down my Elemental's body.

Red-hot liquid glass covered the beast's face, causing it to recoil in pain. It severed a glass wing and dropped its sword to claw the rapidly cooling material off of its face. With naught but a few scrapes, it cleared its eyes and rolled under Lampio's body, grabbing its sword and simply thrusting its body through the thick glass with incredible force. I groaned at the drain on my AP. Summoning one Elemental took only a slight bit of difficulty, summoning two and combining them was a great bit tougher, but now three all together? It was beating my APR by nearly twice over.

Liquid glass flooded the area around the Star as its annoyingly high VIT defense kept its HP levels at nearly 60%.

I blinked, however, as it was slowed and I had time to look at it a bit more properly, giving it another scan with Gamer's Sight.

A black bar was nestled between the red HP bar and the dark green SP bar. It was simply labeled MP, and was slowly draining as the seconds ticked by, already at perhaps 70%

What. The hell. Is THAT?

The immediate thought was Mana Points, but that didn't make the most sense. Grimm didn't have souls, right? No soul, no Aura, no AP, no magic. Then how did...

Unless... this was some sort of manifestation of the power Skyler had described to me.

Mana, the energy of the elements and of the world. The Miragangers were able to store this energy in them to power their illusions and... whatever THIS thing was. I had to be in some sort of dungeon or illusion, if I was separated from my allies and the other enemies so easily.

Mirages, visions, illusions, I didn't have the time to think over all of this!

Metal and Earth fused together into a clunky golem with metal spikes coming out at strategic locations on its body. It was still imbalanced and poorly formed, but Crocea Montagne was more physically capable than he was when he started out, just like all my elementals have made slight changes for the better.

Once again, Xiburichu formed, but this time, instead of being swallowed up like with the dragon, he expanded and wrapped around the golem, melting it down with heat and forming it with willpower as Forgero formed. Its body had metal bones and large claws, teeth, and spikes, but instead of meat for muscles, it had molten rock that expanded and contracted as it was heated or cooled rapidly. It was just as, if not more expensive AP-wise as Lampio. The results, however, were far greater.

Metal and lava reformed on its arms into a sword and shield, both glowing cherry red with heat. He charged at the nearly escaping Grimm with slow, but heavy and momentum-filled steps, smashing through the remaining glass and hacking the beast's arm off with a single slash. It screeched loud enough to throw me off for a second, preventing a followup, but it didn't seem very affected by the flames as it caught the sword with its remaining hand, the other arm reforming as red liquid flowed down and solidified, flesh slowly growing as it didn't bother with its safety, instead smashing at the glass to get its lost sword back.

Forgero's shield bashed its face once, twice, three times, and cracked its skull with a fourth strike, right through the crimson star-like symbol on its forehead. The cracks were thick and filled with black energy, even as a red fluid bled through. I saw it ooze out and turn white as the bone plate repaired itself.

The air rippled as another bash struck its healing face, and my elemental's form wavered in an instant, despite my control over it. My confusion over the random occurence then caused me to lose concentration on maintaining him, and he collapsed again. I grasping my head as pain flared through my skull, flooding through my bones, my insides feeling like they were being both wrenched inwards and exploded outwards at the same time, space itself distorting.

The sensations passed as the Miraganger, not healing like it once was, continued to break free of the tons of glass and now the cooling lava on top of that. I caught myself and ran through the information in my head. It seemed that the star on its head was a focal point for this power it was using. If I broke its face and, presumably, the focus of its power, this illusion would drop and I'd be back with my friends. I growled with pain, healing myself with Soulforge, reinforced by Dust Crystals to boost my AP back up, as chunks of stone and glass struck me from the incredible strength of beast's movements.

Hardly ten more seconds had passed, but it managed to break its body and sword free, and charged at me again.

I rapidly called to Crocea Mors to form in front of me, taking the blow with his body. Sadly, the sword was so massive it pushed him back and hacked my arm off with the remaining force behind the blow. I lunged back as my arm rapidly regrew, only a second passing between my two states of amputation and normalcy. Crocea Mors left his physical form as I gathered my power together again, this time ready for one more push to take this thing down before it ended up killing me.

My muscles burned as I made a few motions with extreme strength and speed, gathering energy together.

If I was going to combine any three elementals together, it might as well have been the ones I could literally kick ass with.

Mystral swept Pluviteus into her body, expanding to several times her previous size with the newly added mass. Then, I summoned the only other elemental that hadn't acted yet.

Juristimunja struck herself upwards from the ground, arcing in the air along a steep parabola and coming down onto Pluvistral. Lightning surged as the pressure in the air changed, heat and cold mingling as the dragon shattered.

The shards reformed in the air, creating the draconic shape once more, but this time far rougher, and with lightning bolts in place of joints. There was only one name I could think to call this new elemental.

Qing, after the azure dragon it resembled.

Ice and lightning surged through not only my elemental's physical form, but my own as well, as my skills activated one after the other. Slowly, a sword formed in my hands. Made entirely of ice, it was a simple straight longsword with its pieces held in place by more lightning. My body grew cold and conductive as ice expanded from my form.

I let out a roar that ripped through the air like thunder, eyes glowing as Qing stood behind me like a shadow.

Fire flared up around the Star as it opposed my ice, letting out its own screech with a wave of what felt like electromagnetic force, nearly causing Qing to collapse.

I, however, was more sturdy than that, mostly because I wasn't being held together almost entirely by electrical forces.

I stood taller and prouder than before. Literally, in the former case, as the property that caused ice to expand instead of contract when it froze had also caused me to gain a few extra inches in height.

 **The power of your unleashed soul has bypassed the normally standing limits required for the power you wield!**

 **By unleashing the power of ice and lightning, and harnessing the wisdom of dragons as a great master once did long ago, you have unlocked the skill "Azure Dragon of the East"!**

Both of our screams tore through the air as we charged at one another. I was easily the slower of us both, even with my many buffs, but I was the stronger after all my buffs were applied. With a grunt, I forced the Star back, and at my command, Qing moved to my side and flanked the beast. It was frozen to the ground within a second, air practically depositing into a solid at the speed it was losing its temperature. I roared at its face as my lightning-infused ice sword clashed with its fire-coated steel sword, my Chilly Breath costing nothing as I covered its face with a thick layer of frost, followed by using Scathing Eyes to carve a dozen different scars in its flesh. The frost was doing a great job of keeping it from moving or healing for the time being.

Unfortunately, its time of immobility ran out, as it pushed me to the ground. I rolled out of the way of a needlessly flashy spin-swing that would have only provided a slight bit more damage towards my enhanced defenses than the less complex cartwheel slash it had previously used. I leaped to my feet, flapping my wings and rising into the sky in the hopes of gaining an aerial advantage.

Simply put, that didn't work. It coiled its legs and jumped with a booming force, slamming into me with its whole body, running its sword through my stomach, leaving me skewered like a piece of meat on a kebab. I grunted and coughed, a bit of bright, diluted red blood dripping from my lips before I recovered my senses, grabbing it by its face and stabbing it through with the razor-sharp ice I held.

I could feel the battle start to come to an end, electrical energy pulsating through its body at a deadly voltage. I released my sword from my grasp and gripped the beast's head tightly, "JUST. FUCKING. DIE!" I screamed at its face, sensing Qing as he grabbed it up to the waist in his mouth, icy fangs and electrical currents piercing and bleeding out its HP.

Could I have fought this battle more efficiently? Yes, definitely. Did I? No. I actually sort of liked the challenge.

After pulling its sword out of my stomach, Qing and I combined our strengths and proceeded to brutally rip the Star in half. Its head disconnected from its neck, pulling a length of a crimson spinal column with it, while its body from the waist-down was torn off by Qing's sharp teeth. He chewed it up and spit it out, lingering electricity arcing over its surface. The torso fell to the ground, bleeding and twitching.

I landed on my feet, holding its somehow still animate skull, which glared at me with hatred, and I paused for a second as I took that in.

This creature seemed to almost... recognize me. It groaned weakly and made an attempt to hiss at me. Its intelligent yellow eyes gleamed not with the general hatred all Grimm had for humanity, but a focused, directed hatred towards me and me specifically. I glared back, "What? What are you thinking?"

It hissed again, its star glowing weakly. Its HP was nearly gone entirely, its MP running out fast.

I didn't bother with any further conversation, and simply focused all of my strength into my arms and crushed its skull in my hands. Smoke billowed up from its body as its life finally ended, after who knows how long. Such a powerful ability, and the incredible numbers it held, both in bars and stats, it was insane to think about. Had this thing lived for centuries, and mistaken me for a past enemy? That had to be it, someone who it hadn't been able to kill before.

 **Your level has increased by two!**

I smirked, dropping the dissolving skull after its broken yellow eyes grew dim, the pieces fully fading into smoke and leaving only loot behind. I patted Qing on the snout before he split into my three different elementals again. Having them out like this was fine, if they were just in their normal forms. Combining them, however, seemed to multiply their AP cost, which added up quickly. It was especially evident when I had so many other skills running at the same time. Already, I'd chewed through most of my Dust Crystal supplies just to maintain this power for the remainder of the fight. Dropping the spell and watching steam rise as my icy armor sublimated, I let out a chuckle. The world around me, I could vaguely sense, was starting to break down. I grabbed the loot and checked my notifications.

 **You gained 1,250,000 Lien!**

 **You gained the armor "Helch Ledra"**

 **You gained the weapon "Nothtar"**

 **You gained the item "Hihirokane Ingot (x2)"**

 **You gained the item "Gold Ingot (x1)"**

 **You gained the item "Ashite Ingot (x1)"**

 **You gained the item "Skillbook: Illusion Dimension"**

 **You gained the Grimm Mask "Lingtuzei"**

 **Utilizing A#(* &#!%#)!#!%)!&$(*#&%^&#!)($%(&*!+!#^&?#%#?!*#!$)!$*%&# earned +1 Luck!**

 **Please sleep to # & #)! #& )*!#$& %^#$ (glitched text).**

I smiled, a pleased hum filling my throat as I read the name of the one material. Exactly what I'd desired for my upgrades to Crocea Mors, a rare material such as that. Hihirokane was a bit more vague than, say, Mithril or Adamantium, but it was no less effective. I took one of the bars and began influencing it with Crocea Mors the elemental, holding out Crocea Mors the sword as it received its upgrade.

Veins of the new metal began to push through the inside of the sword's structure, coming together and intertwining at the core of the handle. The runic formulae that previously covered the blade were soon swallowed up in pools of the material, filling them all with scarlet, before I applied a thin layer of gold over the runes, purely to hide the color. This was Crocea Mors, not Lutea Mors. Yellow, not orange, and so I'd gone with gold.

With a grin and an update to the sword's description, I prepared to find a way out of this... place.

 _... (Seconds later) ..._

I'd only turned my back for a few seconds when I suddenly heard a massive sound and felt a massive release of energy behind me. I spun around and watched as the sky shattered, a massive pillar of black energy rising from the remains of the Miraganger, which had been dissolving extremely slowly. I was pushed back a few inches, my feet sliding along the broken sandstone as my hair was whipped back and I was forced to protect my face with an arm. I focused and shone with Aurora to protect myself, watching the energy fly into the normal midday sky, which rippled as it seemed like the atmosphere itself was pushed away from the energy, sand getting thrown away from its epicenter.

I heard gasps and a cry of pain and within seconds, Roimystral was protecting the others from the veritable tidal wave of sand.

It soon ended, thank the heavens for that, and left only a charred crater in its place, "Shit... not my fault." I denied quickly, looking at the others, "Where were you all? I was fighting that thing alone!"

My father looked at me like I was crazy, "Where were WE? Son, where the hell were YOU for the past half an hour? We've been looking through all of the rubble that's left of this place trying to find you. I was worried you'd been buried in the sand and left to suffocate." his words wavered slightly as paternal fear entered his voice at the thought of such a horrific death befalling me, but I held my hand up for him to stop.

"It couldn't have been that long, maybe only five minutes at the most, I think. I was in some kind of... dungeon, or something, that the 'leader' of this Shadowtown took me into. It was a Miraganger Star. I told you about the normal kind, right?"

Marbel nodded, "Yeah, sneaky illusion-creating bastards who lure people in and kill them. Sounds like this Star, though, had something a lot more powerful than making fake images."

I shook my head, thinking about the situation, "That's for damn sure, thing was like a dungeon, like I said, but it was just a copy of the town, like... I dunno, like copy and paste."

Blake's eyebrows rose, "I... believe I may have some kind of answer." she admitted, clearing her throat as I telekinetically levitated some spare cloth and began providing repairs to everyone's clothing with my Alchemical Aura, more easily spread thanks to Aura Suffusion, "It was just a story, but I believe that thing may have used a power to create something called a pocket dimension."

I hummed, "Like a bag of holding?"

Blake shrugged, "If that helps, perhaps. We couldn't get into the pocket dimension, and you couldn't get out of the pocket dimension without killing the Miraganger. It separated you from all of us while we were fighting, I assume. Not only did it split you from your allies, but it split us from our most capable team member." she sighed, "Clever, very clever." she looked irritated, as did the others.

I smirked, "Well, you all look no worse for wear besides being halfway to showing some skin you wouldn't want to have showing. Marbel, ladybriefs are all fine and dandy, but get a better color will you? Aqua doesn't suit you, too close to chartreuse." I laughed at our little inside joke, seeing Weiss' face redden, and I'm sure that the time dilation hadn't been enough for her to get sunburnt just yet, "It's an inside joke, you wouldn't get it, Weiss."

Weiss didn't reply, simply huffed and turned her head. Marbel rolled her eyes and accepted the repairs to her entire left pants leg, "Yeah, well it's better than wearing both blue AND orange."

I chuckled, "I wear them alternatingly, Marbs, not simultaneously. I'm not a cotton monster." I looked at the Skill Book I'd received, holding it in one hand and scanning the cover.

It was white, adorned with a red symbol that looked almost like someone had curved a very roundly formed trident around the inner crescent of the Arc family's Double Crescent symbol. The symbol was perfectly vertical, the short 'shaft' of the trident-like symbol reaching down to a gently curved plain. Diagonal sheets of nearly iridescent gemstones adorned most of the rest of the cover, like crystallized sunshine. The back showed a crown over another gently curved plain, this time placed on top of a star that adorned the top of a tree.

Some kind of... king of the winter solstice? Santa Claus? This book's appearance didn't make any sense. I opened it to a random page and found the symbols for its writing were all in some mysterious language that I couldn't translate. Well, there goes actually reading the book instead of just Reading it, "I got a skillbook for making an Illusion Dimension, which I guess counts for the whole 'pocket dimension' power. Surprised I'd get it after just one kill, seems like something that'd be a bit on the rare side."

Weiss shrugged, reloading Myrtenaster, "Perhaps your Luck once again is at play, or it is not as rare as you think." her suggestions came almost nonchalantly. It was clear she had already developed a tolerance for the bullshit coolness that was my powers.

I chuckled, "Maybe, maybe not, who knows? I'm not keen on going and finding more of those bastards and possibly having one of y'all get pulled into their little pocket illusion dimension." I was soon bristling with despisal of the creatures. As far as Grimm went, these seemed like some of the worst.

With a thought of confirmation, I consumed the book.

 **You have gained the skill "I.D. Create"!**

Hm? Shit, I forgot to switch to my Scholar title. Regardless, I suppose that was the result of being distracted by other thoughts. I'd just have to get the levels for it the normal way.

With a sigh, I closed my eyes, "Well, regardless of what happened this time, you're all okay, and I'm very glad for that." I gave them all a smile, "Now then, you say it was half an hour? If that's right, then we should probably stop for the moment and reapply sunscreen." I didn't need it, since Gamer's Body prevented sunburns, as I'd tested with my two weeks on the mountaintop, meditating in broad daylight, the sun's rays beating down on me endlessly.

I telekinetically assisted my father while helping Marbel get the sunscreen rubbed into and around her neck. Humming, I checked the new skill while idly noting the friendly faces Weiss and Blake had on while assisting each other.

 **-/\\-**

 **I.D. Create (Active) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00%, Cost: 5000 AP**

 **An ancient power used by beasts of darkness and deceit. It is said to have originated as natural energy present in the deserts of the world, but with this skill, it is possible to mimic those energies with one's Aura. By manipulating Aura in specific celestial patterns, the user can create an Illusion Dimension, which mimics the real world, but does not affect anything on the outside.**

 **Creates an Illusion Dimension originating from the caster.  
** **The caster can bring anyone they wish into the dimension with them, so long as they are within a certain range.**

 **Caster can spawn Grimm inside the dimension, provided they have defeated those Grimm before.  
**

 **Costs an additional 5000 AP per minute.**

 **-/\\-**

Filing the information away, I grinned. I'd found a very handy and simple solution to the problem I'd been thinking about. By using this skill, we could enter the illusion dimension, train to our hearts content, and no matter what the damage we caused to our surroundings, we'd be able to just leave and come back to pristine, unsullied nature.

I hummed a tune, finishing myself, Marbel, and my father. Blake and Weiss seemed to have relaxed a great deal from the worry over my disappearance. I smiled a little at their care for me. It was good to know my friends returned my feelings.

Using Gamer's Sight, I scanned the group, looking at their improvements, while Roimystral created a large overhang for us to take shelter under and get away from the burning heat, splitting and allowing the formation of Pluvistral to use its powers and cool the air down greatly. I heard the girls all sigh in relief from the pleasant breeze I made flow by.

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Marbel Mayston  
** **Title: The White Rook of the Flowering Kingdom  
** **Level: 50 -} 52**

 **HP: 12,000 -} 14,000  
** **AP: 17,000 -} 18,500  
** **SP: 17,500 -} 20,000**

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Blake Belladonna  
** **Title: The Nighttime Beauty  
** **Level: 53 -} 54**

 **Hit Points: 10,500 -} 14,000  
** **Aura Points: 17,600 -} 21,000  
** **Stamina Points: 16,700 -} 20,000**

 **Strength: 35 -} 40  
** **Dexterity: 80 -} 80  
** **Vitality: 42 -} 50  
** **Intelligence: 65 -} 70  
** **Wisdom: 55 -} 60  
** **Luck: 28 -} 40  
** **Charisma: 79**

 **Stat Points: 90 -} 95 -} 60**

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Weiss Schnee  
** **Title: The Frostbitten Princess of the Broken Kingdom -} The Frosty Princess looking in the Mirror  
** **Level: 38 -} 43  
**

 **Hit Points: 3000 -} 4200  
** **Aura Points: 20,000 -} 24,000  
** **Stamina Points: 5000 -} 6600**

 **-/\\-**

My father hadn't yet leveled up, but he was getting close. That was the problem with being so high of a level to start with, he'd be shit out of luck when it came to free power, because of the ridiculously long periods of time between his level-ups.

I raised an eyebrow at Blake, my questioning look saying all it needed to for her, "I increased my physical stats in the middle of the fight, to get a better fighting chance. Jaune, your father helped, but we were getting hurt badly without you. If it wasn't for our Auras, we'd all be dead."

A sigh escaped my lips before I could contain it, "Right, then it seems we should pack up for the day. I don't want any of you getting hurt, especially you girls."

"Hey!" I heard my dad say in complaint, though it was clear he wasn't offended.

I chuckled, "Oh, what could these things possibly do to YOU, mister 224 Vitality?" I shot a smirk at him, but we both knew there were no hard feelings. My father and I didn't really do much of 'hard feelings'. He was a Hunter and an understanding man regardless, I liked to make little jokes here and there, we got along exceptionally well.

He chuckled and shot me a grin, "Make me feel bad for their impotence. Anyways, if we're cutting the day short, then might I suggest sushi when we get back?"

My hand raised as high as I could move it, and Lien rained down from my open palm, "We can get SO much sushi." a laughing smile spread across my face as I picked up Crocea Mors from where it fell, brushing off the sand and admiring my handiwork, "I told you all about wanting to find special materials to upgrade Crocea Mors with, right?" my elemental peeled the gold back, showing the scarlet material underneath, "Hihirokane, excellent conductor of heat and spiritual energy."

My father beamed with pride, "Excellent work, son! You've certainly done that blade justice." he gave me a pat on the back, "Now then, let's get back and set up some more... _normal_ training materials for your friends."

I nodded, "Alright, come on, girls, we're going to get you all settled with something less dangerous." Mystral split from Pluviteus and created the invisible jet, ready to fly us back to the hotel.

One by one, they climbed aboard, and I once again tuned out the buzz of the chat going off, leaving all the girls to their conversations.

* * *

 _(Hours later, Blake's POV)_

My back burned, almost literally as the strange metal brace Jaune placed on my back remained at a painfully high temperature, making my spine feel like a radiator as the odd device clutched my stomach and dug into my back.

The past few hours have been grueling to say the very least, our 'leader' giving us little time for breaks as training broke our backs and magic glued the pieces back together. Pain and exhaustion were held at bay by the spells Jaune had cast on us, including a new one he'd said would help us greatly.

 **Status Effect: Reparative Claying  
** **Description: The once-thought mythological powers of Clay have been invoked and are now cast upon you, helping you to heal and mend.  
**

 **Effects:** **+100 HP regenerated per minute for 30 minutes, +100 SP regenerated per minute for 30 minutes, Increases Effective STR by 10% for 30 minutes, Increases Effective STR by a percentage equal to Base VIT (50) for 30 minutes.**

To my left, Weiss didn't look to be in any better shape. In fact, I'd say her state was far worse than mine, probably since she was a pampered princess instead of a REAL Huntre-

Stop that, brain. We're being polite, we're being civil, and we're being nice. Weiss isn't an enemy or some despised neutral third party, she's a friend now. She's more friendly than I'd have ever imagined, to be honest, but I guess that mostly had to do with how little was known about her to the public, besides her status as the heiress to the SDC of course. When so little information was given, people tended to draw their own conclusions.

Torture Master, I mean _Jaune_ , called out that we'd be stopping for the time being, since Weiss' concert was 'close enough' that we'd need to stop. Weiss herself looked like she could summon her water elemental out of all the sweat on the floor around her, and the hue on her face nearly made tomatoes look pale as ghosts by comparison. I managed to let out a small bit of laughter between my heavy panting. Dammit, if I just didn't need to breathe, I'd be perfectly fine right now.

I spared a look towards Marbel to my other side. She was doing fairly better than Weiss or I, probably due to her higher STR and VIT. For perhaps the hundredth time, I wiped the sweat off my brow to keep my eyes clear. The younger girl locked eyes with me, her forest green meeting my gold, and we both nodded in silent agreement that we had to get Jaune back for this cruel and unusual torture disguised as physical training.

Suddenly, rain began soaking all three of us, pouring from cyan clouds above us. Even without the visual hint, I knew it was Jaune doing it, mostly because it was raining _indoors._

The metal contraptions disconnected from all of us, turning back into metal bars and disappearing. I sighed with relief, rubbing my lower back, "Need we be so wet?"

Jaune chuckled, grinning at us, "Well, I figured it would be a good way to cool you all down. Come on, you can recover with some ice and food, and change out of those clothes too, they probably smell like death now. The death of your weakness, that is!" he smiled in that... that stupid, dumb, annoying way that always made it so hard to be mad at him.

He'd done all this stuff, but it was to make sure we wouldn't end up in a situation like the one we had earlier with the Kitsuninjas. Sadly, the problem was a bit deeper than that, it lied in our Auras as well, not just our base stats.

 **Name: Blake Belladonna  
** **Title: The Nighttime Beauty  
** **Level: 54  
** **Class: Shadow Ninja  
** **Nickname: Nekoja**

 **Hit Points: 14,000 -} 14,500/14,500  
** **Aura Points: 21,000/21,000  
** **Stamina Points: 20,000 -} 20,800/20,800**

 **Strength: 40 -} 44 (+8%) = 47.52  
** **Dexterity: 80 (+120%) = 176  
** **Vitality: 50 -} 53 (+8%) = 57.24  
** **Intelligence: 70 (+155%) = 178.5  
** **Wisdom: 60 (+110%) = 126  
** **Luck: 40  
** **Charisma: 79**

It was pretty exceptional for just several hours. At the very least I hadn't gotten a sunburn while we were out. Curse my pale skin, I wish I were more tan.

I let out a sigh as feeling began returning to my shaking arms, and they began to grow still, and their screams of agony grew quieter. We'd all probably be sore in the morning, but we'd done very well for ourselves. My chest hurt, though, and it was probably either from the muscles I used to breath getting tired, or my sports bra starting to chafe.

Honestly, either answer would be accepted at this point.

I went to my room in this odd suite we had in the basement, quickly changing into my normal clothes now that my sweating had stopped. Jaune's impromptu rain shower had helped more than I had initially thought. Credit where it's due, he was more clever than he looked. Sighing at the comfort of my normal clothes, as well as getting out of those awkward-feeling workout clothes.

I may have liked my occasional _adult romance novel_ , but I still found it fairly weird that Jaune's dad had gone out and gotten us some exercising clothes, and it was just downright disturbing how they were _the correct size_. I hadn't bothered much with the profile past my stats and bars, so I didn't know if it conveniently gave our sizes or not. Honestly, given how nice and honest both Jaune and his dad were, I'd give the old man the benefit of the doubt and assume the profile had my bra size posted somewhere on it.

Though, if it was part of the Game, and the Game was Jaune's power, did it come standard, or had Jaune, at some point, thought about breasts enough that such information was added to the Game?

... If that was the case, no wonder he got together with Yang.

Personal thoughts and feelings aside, our after-workout meal was similar to our pre-workout one, with the addition of some grilled fish, wonderfully seasoned and at the perfect temperature to be flaky, juicy, and delicious.

I couldn't help but let out little sounds of enjoyment as I ate the fish. Jaune kept giving me weird looks, though, ones filled with concern, like he was afraid about what I thought of the food.

"This is wonderful, Jaune. Thank you for making this." I said softly, smiling at him. It seemed to calm him a bit, but not much. I wonder what was eating at him?

Whatever it was, it seemed to be centered on me.

* * *

 _(A few seconds later, Weiss' POV)_

Sighing in relief, I rested my eyes for a moment, getting another spoonful of the soup Jaune had made for me. It was a little odd, how he'd managed to make all of this so quickly, but I chalked it up to his elementals. He had more than just Water, apparently all six base elements.

I mentally scoffed at that notion. Six base elements? There were only four! According to The Game, however, Metal and Lightning were elements. Of course, these were magical elements, and it might have been going off of some strange video game system. I wouldn't be surprised, since it was a video game turned into life, after all.

I couldn't help but sigh. Jaune and I had known each other for perhaps a week, and in that time he'd shaken my world views like a gigantic iron fist.

I rested my cheek in my hand, feeling a phantom sensation from the heavy sting of his slap. That, honestly, had surprised me. I'd trained a bit before, gotten my scar in an accident that would have crushed my skull had it not been for my Aura, but never had I received physical pain in such a way. It felt... almost liberating, like the metaphorical crown weighing down on my head was now gone, cast away by his hard, but just hand.

What was I even thinking? Was this the effect of having friends, that my thoughts would get muddied with emotions? To be fair, it felt a lot nicer to be able to think about people as such. It was better than before, at least. My father had instructed me that there were four types of people in this world.

Your family, who you could trust.

Lions, who would try to kill you and eat you, taking glory from your downfall.

Wasps, who would try to poison you and make you and your power perish.

And Snakes, who would do both, poison and kill you and ruin your entire life and everything it stood for.

 _'Luckily'_ I thought, _'Jaune came along and taught me so much more than that.'_

Like myself, he was weighed down by his obligations and blood-born duty to bring honor to his family's name. The difference between us lies in the fact that my father was cold and distant, firm and uncompromising, while his father seemed to radiate with warmth and love, always trying to help Jaune build himself up, always beaming with pride over Jaune just... just following his dreams.

 _'FINE! You've chosen to pave this path for yourself, go ahead. I once tried such a path, but it all led back here. Come back once your insistence has taught you my lesson the hard way.' icy eyes stared into her own, the voice that could have frozen an army in its tracks was already threatening to leech her internal light of every bit of warmth it might have had._

I clenched my spoon at the memory, feeling it bend slightly. My father didn't want me to be a Huntress, but I suppose I got my mother's fighting spirit, because I couldn't bear to stand by in a castle while people fought against, quite literally, a world that had it out to kill us all.

Compounded by my father's other venomous actions, my sister's strictness and near disdain for how I'd taken her title away without even trying, and a few other things, and I had begun to think that the biggest lions, wasps, and snakes in this world were those in my own family.

I didn't want to think about _him_ with those ideas running through my head, either. Rengir had been a saving grace, someone to look up to, even if we were the same age. Perhaps he was a black sheep in the family, or maybe, compared to my father's darkness and Winter's later corruption, my mother and brother were the only bits of white I had in my early life besides the walls of our home.

Sadly, both had suffered the same fate, a terminal illness called Kronelassen by the family doctor. It was new, their deaths being the first cases, and it was dangerous. It started with mental fatigue, and slowly their minds had withered away until all of their functions, even the most basic, were lost. They died because either their bodies forgot to breathe or their heartbeats had stopped.

Personally, I was glad I hadn't been allowed in the room, it was a horrific thing to think about.

Shaking the thoughts of loss away, my brother at age 7 and my mother at age 11, I focused back on the present.

Opening my eyes from their rest, I saw Jaune staring at me with concern and the unspoken offer of comfort, seeing the same from his father as well.

Wiping away a tear that had nearly fallen, I smiled, "I'm fine, just a flash of pain from earlier." technically not a lie, but if my wording led them to believe that I was referring to our workout, I would not take the liberty to correct their assumptions.

Johnathan offered me a smile, "It happens, Weiss. I'm proud that you stuck with it all the way through, though."

Jaune smiled as well, patting me on the shoulder, "It'll be gone before the concert starts, I promise." I felt two surges of warmth, one in my body from our leader's magical healing, and another in my heart from his sentiments.

 _'Maybe... the family I can trust... is the group friendship I've built with all of you.'_ I thought with a smile.

For once, I refrained from crushing it down with Schnee emotionless.

* * *

 _(A minute later, Marbel's POV)_

I cracked my neck again, probably for the fifth time. It wasn't as sore as it should have been, but then again Jaune had been pumping us full of healing magic the entire time. I sighed as I ate the sushi he'd made for us, which included a small plate of wontons that I was enjoying greatly.

Pumping iron was great and all, and certainly safer than fending off massive fox ninja Grimm that were deceptively strong for how thin they were, but both activities tended to leave you tired, sweaty, and in a lot of pain.

I hummed as I looked over my stats. Two points in STR and two in VIT, and a thousand more Max HP and Max SP. All of it was pretty good, I had to admit.

For a few hours of work in real life? It was amazing. Sure, in an actual video game that let you train your stats, you could do twice of what all of us did, in maybe half the time, but that video game training would compress days, weeks, months, even years of training into a time frame that you'd be willing to actually play the game for.

In that, I felt a bit bad for Jaune. He was my friend, and I cared about him, and that meant both his physical and mental well-being. Eventually, with enough time living with this power, he'd get bored. Days would drag on where his mind would run at extreme speeds, but time would still tick by at the same speed it always did.

Was I thinking about this too much? My brain was running so much faster, it's like the tiny house in my brain had expanded to the size of a mansion. The tiny, child-like footsteps I'd taken around in it had also hastened to the pace of a sprinting madman. I hadn't been dumb, I'd at least made it to highschool, for all that was worth. However, I wasn't some star student; I had a mid-range report card and did my best where I'd had the energy to. Truth be told, that life seemed so bland compared to my new path.

I'd always known Jaune would go on to do great things. I believed in him almost as much as his dad did, but before all of this Gamer stuff happened, our relationship's fate always seemed to lead to a soul-withering end when I thought about the future. He'd go on to become a great and powerful Huntsman, and I'd be working in Vale City, might find a husband and get married, but always separate from my best friend.

Then, The Game came along, and changed his life forever. He was like a freight train; he could be stopped, but it would take far more power than anyone involved had in order to do so. He was so... so kind, he wore his heart on his sleeve. Hardly a word he said was wasted, his emotions all honest. Few people knew him like I did, in fact I was probably the only one. Yang might have some idea, and that might have been why she let him into her heart.

I admired Jaune for his charisma, and not just the stat. The stat might have made some sort of magical pretty-boy power emanate from his face, but he'd probably increased the stat so much just by being himself, by being who he is despite being The Gamer. A power like this could corrupt someone, make them think they were above laws and morals, that life around them was just a world to be played with.

Not Jaune, though. Never Jaune.

He was more than a knight, perhaps he could be considered a real-life paladin? That was a good way to put it. He was always wishing to help, always wanting to do the best for his friends and family. I wouldn't be surprised if he had a quest to get his parents back together, it seemed like the kind of thing he'd want, despite himself.

I understood so much more now than before, even after knowing him for years. How he'd cut our training short today was proof of his care and concern. If there were Grimm out there that could pull people into pocket dimensions, I certainly didn't want to end up in a one-on-one with them. It would certainly spell almost any of our deaths.

Death... that was something I was still struggling to accept.

The psychology between a person raised to be a Hunter, and a person raised to be a civilian, was massive. Hunters had so much more... gah, I didn't even know a word. Sympathy? Empathy? Understanding? Connection? All of them? They made bonds and they kept those bonds stable. A family forged in the fires of battle, that was what my aunt described Hunter teams as.

A vast majority of the time, so much so that any exceptions were only exceptions, those four Hunters stayed together. After spending four years learning, growing, developing, and bonding with three people whom I'd have trusted to have my back and protect my life on numerous, _numerous_ occasions. There was, as with even the best of friendships, the possibility of arguing and fighting among themselves, but that would usually be followed by making up and probably becoming even closer because of it.

If it were me in that position, I probably wouldn't be too keen on us going our separate ways either, not when it would be so much easier to just stay together.

The point was that Hunters did things that civilians would think was crazy. Case in point, hunting Grimm, the faceless abominations that threatened all of humanity. Who would be so crazy as to willingly go out and pick a fight with those vile beasts?

Jaune, Mr. Arc, Blake, Weiss, Yang, Ruby, everyone at Signal, everyone at Beacon, Shade, Haven, and everyone at whatever Atlas' system was supposed to be.

Star Academy, I think Weiss had said it was called, accepted the bright and skilled youths that wished to train to become Hunters. After four years of preliminary study and training there, they moved onto the official Atlas Academy for Hunters. The council, military, and Hunter force were all combined up there, since they were practically all built together. It sounded a bit cluttered, if I was being honest.

Whatever, not my circus, not my monkeys.

My point still stood that Hunters would be willing to do incredible, and incredibly _dangerous_ things just to save one single day. A civilian would just run away. Needless to say, with how ingrained it was in me, I still had the urge to run away when we fought Grimm, but I guess that just made me more courageous. It was a hard battle, the one between my desires and my instincts, but it was one that I had a winning streak in so far.

Even if I might have felt out of my league, I was a Huntress-in-training now, so I kinda had to act like it.

All in all, I had to thank Jaune, just for him being his usual kind, generous self, and sharing this power with me.

Now, at least, when I thought about the future, I saw the two of us sticking together for a long, long time.

And I couldn't help but smile each and every time.

* * *

 _(Some time later, Jaune's POV)_

I gave a soft sigh as I sank into the luxurious seat of the limousine. All through lunch, I was worried about the girls' safeties. Not physically, of course, since I'd done everything I could, even managing to create a new skill by combining my Water and Earth buffs into one. It was under-leveled, sure, and its scale seemed to pitch that it wouldn't even grow to heal as much as Regeneration did, but the aspect I desired most was present in the Clay buff and nowhere else, it seemed.

It enhanced Aura's capabilities in repairing the body. Not just cuts or bruises, but perhaps broad, nasty wounds that would threaten to spill guts or make limbs unusable. The kind that severed muscle tissues and nicked internal organs.

Things that might take Aurora to fix.

Weiss was especially close to gaining the skill, her Max AP at 24k now. Blake was at 21k and Marbel at 18.5k.

I was finally able to relax after the girls pretty much insisted that they were fine, all eight times I'd asked. I was fine cutting the training short, but my biggest concern on the matter was if they had been scared or not.

Maybe it was the civilian boy in me fearing for his friends, or maybe it was my soft heart asking me to make sure they'd be fine going out and training again. We wouldn't be leaving tonight, of course, as Weiss had some things to do after her concert, but we'd probably have fun with this stuff. If anything happened, I could probably pull us into an I.D. and escape like that.

Throughout lunch, the girls had been mostly focused on either me, their food, or the chat they were having with Yang and Ruby, who were getting into bed by now due to the timezone difference. I made sure to tell Yang goodnight and give her a little through-the-cameras kiss. It wasn't much, really, but I could tell it meant something to her, at least, and that was reason enough to do it, for her to smile that little extra bit more.

 _"*bzt* Head of Security, do you copy, over?"_ came the voice of one of the handlers over the earpiece I now wore.

I hummed softly, then pressed my finger to the bud on the side of my ear, which was wired to the receiver on the collar of my shirt, "This is Head of Security, I copy. Roadways are clear and dragons in place. Miss Schnee is clear for transport, over." I had twenty of my disguised Gaster Blasters surrounding the convoy. My father and I were in the back car, Weiss was in the middle car with Blake and Marbel protecting her, and the front was the navigator.

"Heh, y'know, I'm proud of you for managing all of this and keeping your word, son. It's very impressive." my dad said across from me, sipping a Vacuan wine, which I could see was made with citrus fruits grown in the Oasis Farm. Fitting, since that was the brand.

"You're always proud of me, dad." I brushed it off with a slight smile, showing I still appreciated him saying it, even if the words were as good as empty.

He gave me a brief look, "Doesn't make it any less true, son." he assured cryptically, and I wished I knew what he was feeling, since that statement was kind of vague.

I didn't broach the subject, mostly because I felt that my father didn't want to talk about it.

I began to meditate, closing the window dividing the driver and the back. With a hum, I brought out a few tiny pieces of gravel, dropping it as my extremely limited mobility didn't allow me to do what I wished physically, instead relying on my elementals to do the work.

My eyes remained open, "Don't panic, but we're about to have a third party." I watched as my hands poured more gravel, until about a gallon of it was floating in a ball shape in the air.

A bar of iron began floating alongside it, and Crocea's influence turned the metal into a fluid, both me and my father watching as it poured sideways, filling in the cracks between the gravels, "Now, here's where the REAL magic takes place." I grinned, and ignored the raised eyebrow I got.

The gravel became fluid as well, flowing to make the ball a solid sphere. It looked like a tiny planet floating in the air between us.

Next came Juristimunja, manifesting as a ring of electricity around the ball. It tightened and tightened until it sunk through the surface. If my understanding was correct, then...

Suddenly, the tiny planet began to glow, forming a fat torus outlined by countless curving streams of light connecting the two poles. The air around it began to ripple as it moved to the side, and the torus began pulsating. A rainbow suddenly shone out from the torus, moving upwards as the air became visibly distorted. Thin streaks of lightning formed a stick figure as the rainbow curved and split, forming a ring of seven eyes, cyan at the center and the ROYGBV around it. Finally, the lightning suddenly became black, and a small breeze formed inside the car.

"Schwarza." I greeted softly, the name coming to mind easily.

"Jaune." it greeted back, its voice like a buzzing rumble in the air.

"Jaune." my dad said, looking at the combined elemental warily, "What is this thing? Did you get a new skill?"

"Mana Sketch. Yes, it functions pretty much as you might expect, given its previous iteration. Schwarz is the combination of Earth, Metal, and Lightning. It took some thought, but I've had a lot of time to think over the past few hours. I have six elementals, and now the ability to combine three of them together at a time. Repetitions don't count, and neither does order it seems. You know how a compass works?"

He nodded, "Magnetic poles at the peak and base of the planet. Nobody knows particularly why it focuses on north and south, but it does." he shrugged, "So this thing is a compass elemental?"

"No, that would be stupid." I chuckled, "When meditating on this before, I was able to tell north and south because of Juristimunja alone. The thing is, adding my elementals together makes a new elemental, but for the Intermediate Elements, it seems like sometimes, the third entity only enhances the previous function. This is a middle ground. The mass of earth and metal combined, with lightning added, has created a Gravity elemental. The method of its creation, however, also gives it some control over electromagnetism, though not as great as a pure Electromagnetism Elemental."

Schwarz simply gave a pulsating hum, "It seems changing an electric field creates a magnetic field, and changing a magnetic field induces an electric field. The two are intrinsically linked."

I paused at that, looking at him curiously, "Well, perhaps we might be able to do more, then. I'll have to level Mana Sketch first, though."

Mana Sketch, the first of the skills I'd gained for getting WIS above 150. As I'd previously done, it allowed me to combine three elementals together to form an 'Intermediate' elemental. Presumably, if this trend continued, then I would get a skill to combine four elementals at 200 WIS, a skill to combine five of them at 250, and finally at 300, I'd be able to combine all six elements of nature into... something.

At least, that was what I hoped. Realistically, from what I'd seen of the elements, combining five might be more difficult to control than combining all six, due to... well, there wasn't really a good way to describe it. I guess 'cohesion' was a close enough word to use.

The second skill, well... it was easier to just read it.

 **-/\\-**

 **The Fundamental Factor W (Passive) Level: 1, Exp: 14.63% (achieved for raising Wisdom above 150)  
** **An ability held by those who have achieved a great clarity of mind. This skill unlocks the true power of your incredible understanding of knowledge. You know this to be true.**

 **Increases skill EXP gained by a percentage equivalent to WIS.  
** **Skill EXP gained also increases based on your capacity to understand the skill.**

 **-/\\-**

I felt something wriggling inside my mind, trying to break free. I could only assume that its label as 'W' meant that there was also a Fundamental Factor for getting INT to 150. I suppose it made sense, really.

I was smart enough now that I could realistically learn something far faster, perhaps a whole order of magnitude faster, than most people would be able to. I could learn any language just by reading all of the translations and sentence rules, or learn a fighting style by reading all about it. My mental plasticity was great enough that I could rewire my reflexes easily enough.

With a sigh, my thoughts moved to the third skill, Aura Suffusion. It was a bit hard to figure out at first, but I managed to get it after some thought. Already I could suffuse some forms of my Aura into the air and other mediums around me, but that was elementally aligned aura.

Air Aura into the air, as well as fire and lightning if necessary, even water possibly. Metal Aura into metal, and through the ground to ore deposits. Earth Aura into the ground, I hardly needed to explain _that_.

What Aura Suffusion did, however, was allow me to suffuse raw, unaligned Aura into my surroundings. It was almost like extending myself into the air, or the ground, or the walls, or whatever. I had tried combining it with Ki Breathing, and found that when working together, the latter would allow the former to work much more rapidly by drawing air into my body and suffusing it with my Aura when I inhaled, then spreading it to the space around me when I exhaled. Sure, the speed increase was only marginal most of the time, but every bit helped.

Animakinetic Flow was probably the first real hint I had that something was more than 'very special' about The Game. It was a property of some souls to regenerate AP faster when their reserves were low.

Of course, there was a bit of an anomaly with that. The wording implied that souls are born with that ability, not that it's gained by some means. In addition, such a skill would act more like a perk, really, a static thing that didn't get more powerful with more use, it just worked and that was that. The fact that I had such a thing as a skill, one that could level up and had already shown signs of improvement, meant that my soul was even more powerful than I thought.

It wasn't much of a secret to me anymore that my Gamer's Sight was able to draw information from the annals of history and present it to me in a translated and ready-to-read format. It was the only explanation for some of the information it provided. Sadly, it could also be deceitful through its rigid structure, since the spirit of wording and the spirit of actions weren't properly translated.

For all I knew, Raven Branwen had spiritually died and the person who previously held that name had decided to take on a new one, and a new life away from Raven Branwen's friends and family. It was unpleasant to think of, so I often didn't, just took things with the trust that they were as honest as I tried to be.

Where was I with this? I felt a hand on my shoulder and opened my eyes, seeing my dad sitting across from me with his arm stretched towards me. It took a second to realize he was saying something, and I focused my hearing back on my surroundings as I fully exited my meditative state.

 _"Head of Security, do you copy, over?"_ came the voice of the handler.

"I copy, over. What's the situation?" I silently cursed myself for getting so distracted. This situation was an organic one, it could develop at any time. I'd already messaged the White Fang to stay away from the concert, since there were still Hunters there. They listened, as they should have to their leader.

 _"Let me repeat myself, then."_ he said tersely, and I deadpanned. I wasn't an idiot, I just lost focus for a second, _"There's a blockage in the road, busted fire hydrant spraying water everywhere. Shall we proceed to backup route 2?"_

I checked the map, and found that in order to make that change, we'd have to go backwards for an inconvenient distance, "No, I'll fix it." I stood up, opening the sunroof and standing up into the warm afternoon air. People kept a respectable distance due to the dragons surrounding the convoy, and I spotted the busted hydrant easily. A white spray of water was indeed going everywhere, mostly where it would hit the cars and had a chance of mess with the internals. At that speed and pressure, it was hard to say.

I held out my hands for show, pretending to telekinetically control what was happening as Crocea Mors' and Pluviteus' spiritual energies raced towards the hydrant, pulling the water back into it and keeping it at bay while the metal flowed and fixed itself, "Blockage dealt with."

 _"Right, I forgot you're a telekinetic. Alright, we're continuing then."_

I ducked back down into the car, seeing the tiny forms of Roimontagne and Juristimunja on the seat, the latter floating in the air while the former attempted to touch her 'feet'. I found it odd, but amusing. Leaving them be for now, I focused on the map, and thought about the fifth skill I'd gotten.

Druidic Proficiency, as well as Animakinetic Flow, had proven that the higher benchmarks of stats would give me more skills. One for 50, three for 100, and five for 150. At this rate, 200 would give seven, 250 would give nine, and 300 would give eleven. It was a nice scale, I supposed.

The skill also give me a 100% increase to my Ease of Casting for all elemental spells. With it, I found myself even able to stack more layers onto Stone Skin and Metal Skin, two skills I'd nearly forgotten due to how they always ran in the background.

Not only that, but it eased the process of bringing my elementals together, as well as using them to perform their elemental powers. It didn't make the process cost any less, but it made the flow of AP more stable and controlled, making it take up less focus. As a result, I was left with more mental power to do other things with.

We approached our destination, passing checkpoint three and not getting any further calls or details. Honestly, I felt like Luck had thrown that obstacle at me just to make sure I was paying attention to my current situation.

So, naturally, I did just that. Extending my senses outwards, I felt for any disturbances, any unnatural shifts in the air or people standing where they shouldn't be, and any overlapping of the two would be dealt with immediately.

Humming lightly, I watched and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And wai-

In a flurry I focused on the figure of a woman, only to find it to be Greyna Vakanz, the teleporter of the Vacuan White Fang. I grimaced, and gestured for my father to act natural after I teleported away.

Appearing in midair with little to no sound, and all of it constrained by Mystral, I changed into Adam's clothing and landed on my feet. I grunted as I hit the ground, alerting Greyna to my presence.

She turned to face me, and I noted the small horns on her forehead and nose. Her burning glare withered and died in a second when she realized who she was seeing, "Great Leader." she bowed to me, and I gestured for her to stand up.

"What are you doing? I specifically ordered you not to attack the Schnee. Not yet." my voice, modified to sound like Adam's with some influence of the combined Crocea, Mystral, and Juristimunja, which had made, to my surprise, what amounted to a 'Music Elemental'. In actuality, that was a highly simplified label, but it was accurate. Shimfan, as I named him, could control the air with the fine detail needed to manipulate complex sound patterns, such as voices or music. Calling him a Music Elemental was just a compartmentalization of his ability set, so that he was more readily recognizable.

She bowed, and saluted, "I apologize, sir, but General Naranja ordered us to keep watch over the Schnee bitch and plan for a precise, coordinated strike against her."

I raised an eyebrow, "I don't recall authorizing that. I am running my own investigation, one over her security team. Don't worry over the details, private." I said with minor condescension, "I will handle it myself."

She nodded, "Of course, Great Leader, sir." she looked at the binoculars in her off hand, "Am I to cease my observation?"

I sighed, "No. Observe, but keep your distance, I don't want my investigation interrupted. Am I understood?"

She bowed again, replying in a disciplined tone, "Yes sir."

I grunted and gave a very slight smile, "Good." I turned around and walked away. When I reached the edge of the roof, I simply stepped off, falling towards the alleyway below.

Shedding my disguise as I sensed Greyna remaining where she was, disciplined and trained to know that she shouldn't worry about my landing, I focused the wind to catch me, spreading wings from my back like a Vulcyrie and practically stopping myself midair. With a grunt, I formed a ball of wind around myself to keep stable, used Aurora to dismiss my wings, and teleported back into the limo.

Appearing in the seat like nothing had happened, I smiled at my dad, "We're clear." I placed my headset back on and listened to the broken bits of conversation that came up on occasion, just minor details about the trip.

 _... (about five minutes of travel later) ..._

Black sunglasses covered my eyes, but the lenses were not what they seemed to be. Instead of darkening my surroundings, they brightened them to the point where I was almost convinced it was noon, if not for the time in the corner.

 **SYSTEM UPDATE: HUD devices now supported.**

Temperature, time, camera, recognition of other devices, these things were pretty good. I had to remember to forget to return them when this was all over, hehe.

Blake and Marbel were in more security-esque outfits, which was essentially just black pantsuits, and did their best to look tough. The powerful Auras they had, while not nearly as great as mine or my father's, helped with that, especially with the usage of the skill **Aura of Intimidation**. The cheering crowds that greeted Weiss as she arrived were held back by ropes, security, and survival instinct. Though not deadly, they knew that if they tried to get too close to Weiss.

Sadly, this proved insufficient for one random male fan, who ducked under the ropes to try to get Weiss to autograph something.

Honestly, this was just a concert, were people so mindless as to treat this like some sort of big event? She'd be doing another show tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that, and so on for a full month!

I sighed, watching as Blake calmly grabbed the man by the shoulder and pushed him backwards, sending him stumbling back into the crowd, "Please stay behind the ropes."

I could see and sense Weiss sighing in hidden annoyance, signing a few autographs. Honestly, I could see her frustration. We could all be doing much better things with our time than going out here, getting screamed at by rabid fans, and Weiss singing to a bunch of people who'll act so fakely. It was just... kind of disappointing, really.

I didn't falter a single step as I sent icy looks at people while following shortly behind the group, setting up an invisible telekinetic fence to keep people from repeating that man's mistake.

Proceeding quickly and firmly, we made it inside and proceeded to move towards the appropriate rooms backstage. I let out a sigh of relief as the masses were quelled for now. They were taking this WAY too seriously.

I found myself standing beside Weiss, and the two of us shared a look. She gave me a slight nudge with her shoulder, "Thank you." she said with a smile, and I briefly wondered what it was for, before dismissing it as a simple pleasantry.

"You're welcome." I smiled back at her, "Now go on, you have makeup and dress to go do. I'm not gonna be watching that." I chuckled and gestured towards the experts who were patiently waiting for her.

She blushed and gave me a light smack on the shoulder, "I wasn't expecting you to, get your assumptions of my mindset out of the gutter." she huffed a bit, but I saw that she couldn't help but let out a slight laugh as she walked over to the patient makeup artist.

Marbel giggled as she came up to my side, smiling, "Heh, she's already getting used to all this. I guess it's the connections, really." she smiled up at me, "Blake and I got it from here, you go make sure there's no hidden danger."

I smiled, "You think I couldn't stop a bullet?"

Her eyes widened slightly, "No need to be so blunt about it." she admonished, and I felt a slight pang of regret.

"Sorry, I get a bit carried away sometimes." I pat her on the back, "Now go, make sure she gets nice and dolled up for all those raving fans." I chuckled and gave her a tiny push.

She walked backwards away from me, "Alright, alright, see ya in a bit."

With a sigh, I stood alone now. I relayed some instructions over the radio, informing the security team of the positions they would take around the concert hall. I turned my head when I felt a tap on my shoulder, and saw a man dressed in a slightly different uniform, "Can I help you?"

The man gave a slight nod, "You're the head of security, right?"

I quirked my mouth a bit, "Yes, is there a problem?"

"No, come with me to the monitoring room, sir, you should have a much better view of things there." he explained, smoothing back his black hair.

I hummed, then nodded, "Alright, take me there." he quickly turned and led me a bit deeper into the building, stopping at a room simply labeled 'monitoring room'. I smiled, thankful that they had the technology here despite this being a bit of a smaller city. We stepped inside to see a sizable grid array of large screens, displaying live feeds from about three dozen cameras spread throughout the building.

I looked between each of them easily, picking out tiny details in each and judging some people who came through. There were various normal civilians, the highest of which were probably in the low teens in terms of levels. There were some elderly people, some with significantly higher levels than average civilians since they had seen combat earlier in their lives. There were even a few retired hunters in the mix, with levels still in the forties, fifties, and even sixties.

I suddenly gave a hard stop when I saw a smiling face on one of the cameras. It wasn't so much the man's face, as it was the information floating above his head.

 **Naranja Tamas**  
 **Title: The Sun-bleached Grin that Hunts through the Night.  
Level: 92**

General Naranja himself was here, in disguise of course, but what a clever disguise it was.

He looked absolutely normal, like any other citizen, not even a trace of malice in his eyes, only excitement.

I groaned, "Excuse me, I need to take care of something." I turned and walked away from the display, "It's personal." I added, and walked out of the door.

Making my way to the bathroom, I entered and cast the spell I'd gathered together.

In an instant, the lights in the room dimmed slightly. The general noise outside faded into silence. I was alone.

I was in an Illusion Dimension.

I had tested it a bit beforehand, subtle things that confirmed that the description was truthful, that nothing that happened inside the barrier would affect things outside the barrier.

With that in mind, I leaped through the roof and tore past the internal structure of the building, getting out into the main hall where rows and rows of seats were lined up. Technically speaking, Weiss WAS a classical music singer, so the setting made sense. I cast an illusion over myself and snapped my fingers, invisible in the air and watching over everyone that was entering as I changed into Adam once more, disguising myself as a normal civilian, even putting on a hat to hide my horns. My hair dyed itself red and brown, my eyes turned red, and I put on a very generic outfit. Vacuo was pretty casual with clothing most of the time, which explained why people were coming to this concert in barely semi-formal clothing.

Thinking about it, it also explained the raving fans outside.

I picked out the dangerous man in the crowd, his buzz-cut brown hair, fair skin, orange eyes, and bright smile all giving off the image and feeling of a normal guy wanting to see the big concert that came to town.

Waiting for him to sit down, I lowered to the ground nearby and muffled my noise. His semblance gave him superhuman senses, and I didn't want to take any chanced. Appearing from thin air and blending in with the crowd, I moved over and sat next to him.

We didn't exchange any words as we waiting a full twenty seconds. I was wearing a pair of thick glasses and a thick beanie, a brown jacket, blue shirt underneath, blue jeans, and sneakers. All in all, if someone didn't know that I was supposed to be Adam Taurus, they would have suspected me just another normal concert-goer.

Finally, he spoke, "So what brings ya here, bossman?" he asked, eating a bit of popcorn.

Showing no regard for his feelings over his snack, I grabbed a handful of popcorn for myself, "My investigation, I assume Greyna told you?"

"Yep. So what'cha investigating?" he asked nonchalantly.

I smirked, "I'm pretty sure it's nothing, but I'm looking at the Schnee's new security team."

He raised an eyebrow, "A rich bitch hires some high-dollar Hunting team sent out by one of the academies. Not really a crazy conspiracy if I'm gonna be honest. Kinda common, actually."

I sighed, "Well, fuck me sideways then."

He chuckled, "No thanks, bossman. I don't roll that way."

I looked at him, "You're being awful casual while on the job."

He gave me a curious look, "Who said I was on the job? I'm here to listen to the music. Yeah, I hate the snow bitch and her family, but that doesn't mean her singing isn't good. Am I not allowed a night off?"

I continued looking at him, my gaze slowly softening from the steely daggers of questioning, to a much more friendly gaze, "I suppose you're allowed it. My investigation seems to have hit an end, I suppose. I'll prod it some more, but you and your group need to be careful. Like I said, they're powerful Hunters, at least 1.5 casualties for us for every 1 of them we kill. Four hunters, including a full Huntsman, you'll lose at least seventy percent of your group will die."

He hummed softly, running a hand through his short hair, scratching his head, "Yeah, I did the math. Dead Schnee makes up for it though. Don't worry, bossman, we won't be doing anything serious tonight. We're planning things out, like we should. Right now, I'm just relaxing and waiting for the show to start."

I nodded, "Right then. I think I'll join you, try to have a nice time despite my utter disappointment."

 _Adam C: I'm in disguise and the general of the Vacuan White Fang is here. He's just watching the show, but I'm going to try to bleed him of information on his plans. His soldiers have been 'observing' Weiss since we got to the city, from what I'm getting. :C_

 _Weiss C: Since we got to the city? Oh god, now I'm nervous. :C_

 _Adam C: Don't worry, Weiss. They're not going to do anything tonight, I'll make extra sure of it. You just focus on being awesome and singing for all these fans of yours, okay? :C_

 _Blake C: We'll at least slow the Fang down if they try anything, or Jaune could pull them into his Illusion Dimension. :C_

 _Marbel C: Yeah! Don't worry about a thing, Weiss. We've got it covered. :C_

 _Weiss C: Alright, alright, fine. I just need a minute to breathe and I'll be good. :C_

I watched as more people filled the various seats, and briefly worried about the inevitability when the person who bought the seat I was currently in would come to claim it. Dammit, I had to think over this a bit more. What backup would work?

I hummed, then had Shimfan make the sound of Adam's scroll going off from a message, "Ah." I pretended to check the message, "I have other places to be now, sadly. I'll be around, Troop." I said while standing up and patting him on the shoulder as I walked past him, making sure to walk all the way out of the room so as to not alert his sense of hearing that something was up.

With a relieved sigh, I slipped into an illusion dimension where nobody would notice. The silence that settled over the area was nearly deafening, and I had Shimfan play a tune while I made my way back to the bathroom, considerations running through my head.

Against an opponent with no Aura or true boosts like the Miraganger, I could pull through with my buffs, but against someone with finely trained skills and the protective force of Aura, I needed something a bit more.

With a sigh, I pulled up my profile, "Well, if I'm not going to use them, I might as well not even have them." with the slightest of frowns, I applied the points I deemed necessary.

 **-/\\-**

 **Strength: 72 -} 80 (+265%) (+110%) (+75%) = 440  
** **Dexterity: 65 (+265%) (+110%) (+75%) = 357.5  
** **Vitality: 80 (+265%) (+110%) (+75%) = 440  
** **Intelligence: 132 -} 135 (+5) (+265%) = 511  
** **Wisdom: 160 -} 165 (+5) (+265%) = 620.5  
** **Luck: 112 -} 115  
** **Charisma: 80**

 **Stat Points: 159 -} 151 -} 148 -} 143 -} 140**

 **-/\\-**

It wasn't the most, to be honest, but I could still reasonably train my physical stats. Normal Hunters did it all the time, why couldn't I? Still, the boost in strength, and the slight extra weight I felt as my body grew some more muscle was comforting. I stretched, as I usually did, and executed over a dozen consecutive backflips as my muscles stretched and bunched together, electrical signals causing them to extend and flex as the acrobatic feat was performed with ease.

With a final groan as my blood rushed through my veins and my heart pounded for a brief moment, I redressed into my normal clothing. With a simple dismissal of power, I reappeared in the real world and flushed the toilet, stepping out of the stall and washing my hands before putting my gloves back on. I had a more proper hunter-esque outfit on, though I'd replaced my casual hoodie, t-shirt, and blue jeans with a black suit that had a yellow shirt. Once my gloves were back on, I adjusted my armor on my shoulders and chest and made my way out of the bathroom.

I smiled as I saw Weiss exit her dressing room. Her face had a modest layer of subtle, almost artistic makeup, and her outfit consisted of a long dress and a stylish coat over it. No doubt she had several outfits themed after her various locations, in order to appeal that extra bit more to the fans visiting the show. I waved to her, and she looked at me and pointed at her neck.

I raised an eyebrow and looked down, only to realize that I hadn't re-equipped my necktie. I gave a 'so-so' gesture and a light frown.

She seemed to understand, then walked past me, "You should head to where you can act most readily, Mr. Arc." her tone was professional, since we were among others, and I nodded.

"I was already on my way, Ms. Schnee. Do your best out there." I smiled at her.

She was a little shocked, but her smile returned, more natural than before, "I will, I assure you." she let out a soft, faint bit of a giggle as she walked past me.

I smirked as I walked back to the monitoring room, feeling much better than before. I'd made sure that Weiss was safe, confronted the leader of the Vacuan White Fang, and had shut down the biggest conceivable threats to the concert.

With a sigh, I entered and took my place beside my supposed second-in-command. He had his Aura unlocked, at the very least, and his stat build seemed to focus mostly on Intelligence and Dexterity, allowing him to respond with great swiftness to threats that arose, fight in a nimble way, and run to his destination in a short period of time. In second place was his Charisma, and in third was his Strength. Vitality, Wisdom, and Luck all seemed fairly standard for a man of his position, so I simply filed him away for later recollection.

My thoughts drifted to Weiss' singing. It was quite beautiful, I had to admit, and I hummed along to the song she was singing, one I'd analyzed beforehand. Most people didn't really listen to the lyrics of songs like hers, just her beautiful voice and the symphonic instrumental. However, I listened closely, hearing the sad words and feeling them tug at my heartstrings. They might not have been updated to reflect her much higher mood, but they still represented her feelings at a point in time.

A small voice in my head told me to squash those feelings down, to not let them influence my decisions, but I couldn't bear to listen to them. I'd find a way to make Weiss smile all the time, and never feel such negativity again.

With a sigh, I telekinetically brought over a chair and sat down, my eyes glued to the screens and my ears glued to the song. Well...

I had time to kill.

* * *

 _(around 1AM, Patch Forest, Yang's POV)_

Sleep, sleep, come out come out wherever you are~.

*sigh*

Ever since... I guess now yesterday evening, I've been worried out of my mind, over something so small, but significant.

Jaune disappeared.

He didn't die, he didn't disband the party, he didn't... whatever, he simply...

Disappeared.

I was looking at his profile, watching points occasionally tick in while bored out of my mind. I'd already done my homework, and Ruby wasn't home, when suddenly Jaune's entire profile became covered in black mist. I tried to wave it away, but nothing happened. About half an hour later, it dissipated and left nothing behind. Jaune seemed fine, and I was too caught up in my relief to comment on it. If he was going to tell me what it was that happened, he would have told me directly.

He didn't. He didn't acknowledge what happened in the slightest. I trusted that if something was wrong with him, he'd tell us, especially me. Since he didn't, then either it was very minor and he'd probably already fixed it, or nothing had really happened at all. With that in mind, I had simply gone back to training.

He hadn't even mentioned it when I'd first tried to get to sleep and we exchanged our pleasantries and camera-kiss. So, rather than continue to fret over what was possibly just a little glitch and clearly hadn't affected him, I had let it go again.

Humming, I looked over my profile and skills, focusing mostly on my stats and the one skill that had appeared shortly after the glitch went away.

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Yang Xiao Long  
** **Title: Hotter than the Sun in the middle of July  
** **Level: 56 -} 60  
**

 **Hit Points: 25,000 -} 30,000  
** **Aura Points: 15,000 -} 18,000  
** **Stamina Points: 35,000 -} 43,000**

 **Strength: 80 -} 84 (+303%) = 338.52  
** **Dexterity: 50 -} 60 (+50%) = 90  
** **Vitality: 80 -} 82 (+115%) = 176.3  
** **Intelligence: 50 -} 52 (+50%) = 78  
** **Wisdom: 50 (+50%) = 75  
** **Luck: 30  
** **Charisma: 83 -} 84**

 **Stat Points: 40 -} 60**

 **-/\\-**

 **Caritas (Active & Passive) Level: 5, Exp: 64.23%  
** **The generosity and sacrifice that cannot be seized by the hands of Greed. Similar to the process in which a soul draws in more energy to replenish itself, this skill allows the owner the ability to sacrifice their own soul's power to bolster the light of another's—for there is no greater love, than to lay down one's life for one's friends.**

 **The caster may sacrifice their own AP to restore the AP of another.  
** **Range: 7 meters.  
** **Increases Ease of Casting for touch-range and willpower-targeted skills by 108%**

 **-/\\-**

It was... odd, to say the least. I felt a surge of power fill my core and blossom outwards like a fire. When it passed, I got the notification that I had been 'blessed' with this spell. I'm not exactly sure how, but I could guess why.

In a way, it represented me on a very personal level. I'd like to think that I was a kind, caring, and generous person, willing to sacrifice most of my childhood to making sure Ruby was taken care of, willing to sacrifice my personal desires to make sure Ruby made friends, willing to give and receive love even when I was unsure of how to handle it.

In a way, if the Game blessed me with this skill, then Jaune deserved it too, because he was incredibly generous and sacrificial. He had the same spark I could see in my dad, a man with the dedication to do absolutely everything he could to protect his loved ones. Jaune was dedicated to his friends simply because that was the right thing to do.

Maybe it was Gamer's Mind that gave him the mental resources to be so unrelentingly good, maybe it was his honorable soul, maybe it was some third thing, or both, or all three, or whatever. Whatever it was, I loved it, and I loved him for it, among other things.

Funny, the skill's appearance reminded me of my first great sacrifice. Before deciding to become a huntress, I'd wanted to be a doctor of some sort, helping the sick and wounded to heal. When Ruby told our dad that she wanted to be a Huntress, I set aside my personal goals in order to join her. I was just in time, too, and found myself improving quickly, at least enough to the point that I could keep on level, and later keep ahead of my peers. It was certainly difficult, especially those first few months, but I pushed through, for Ruby, to keep her safe.

So, I was the owner of Caritas. I was the generous soul. At least, that's what the notification had said. I didn't know what exactly it was all about, or if it had some sort of hidden meaning, but it was my power and a damn useful one at that, if a bit... lacking, I guess. I'd trained with it, helping Ruby out after she'd nearly exhausted her aura while training. I didn't get why she seemed so focused now. She'd been focused before, obviously, or she wouldn't have gotten anywhere with her training. Now, however, she was honed in on an unknown large, solid plan that probably covered all her bases, completely abandoning her previous method of 'trial, error, fix the error, trial again' that consisted mostly of Uncle Qrow telling her what sucked, her training to improve that one thing, and then Qrow reevaluating her and pointing out another sucky point.

I brushed the thought away after a few more seconds, figuring that The Game had allowed her to see everything that was wrong without needing to ask our uncle. That made the most sense, since we could see our stats and all. She was a smart cookie (and not just because she ate so many of the damn things) and was able to figure it out herself now that she could see the full picture, it seemed. With a hum and a sigh, I focused back on my mysterious 'blessing'.

Caritas seemed to increase in range at an odd rate, increasing by two meters at levels two, three, and five, but not at four. It had started with a distance of a measly one meter before, about three feet and one-third feet, which meant I had to practically be right next to a person to use it on them. I'd need to practice more with it, at least more than the four levels it had taken all night to get. I'd also need to figure out what sort of scale its range increased at, but... so far, it was pretty good, I guess.

I curled my legs up closer to my chest, resting my elbows on my knees as I looked up at the night sky. I took in a deep breath, and closed my eyes. Counting to ten, I let out the breath and some nerves, and maintained a slow, even breathing rate, calming myself even more as I felt the heat in my body cool slightly, then focus in my hands.

Pushing the heat outward, I opened my hand. Colored by my soul more than its own heat, a blue flame formed in my palm, small and smoothly burning. I pushed a little harder and it grew slightly. I waved my hand in the air, leaving behind a trail of blue flames that softly rippled in the air, flickering slowly and letting out low sounds of crackling air.

After a few more minutes of almost... playing with the blue fire, I saw the notification I was looking for and smiled.

 **"Semblance" level increased by 1!**

 **-/\\-**

 **Semblance (Active) Level: 15, Exp: 0.03%  
** **The Growing Spark: Your unique ability to take in the damage that the world and all those in it shall inflict upon you, and let it increase your strength. Fueled by the pain that comes with life, your light shall burn as bright as the sun.**

 **-Red: The red flames of anger increase your strength and damage, but decrease your control over yourself and your intensely burning flames. Mastery: 63%**

 **-Green: The green flames of kindness allow you to gift mercy and relief to your allies, healing their damage as the warmth of fire cleanses one's heart. Mastery: 18%**

 **-Blue: The blue flames of calm are easily bent and swept, controlled with grace and ease as you let thought and rationality dictate your actions, rather than instinct and emotion. Mastery: 9%**

 **-/\\-**

I had a whole folder for it, with some various abilities in subfolders for the three colors. If my math was right, and it probably wasn't, my semblance's level was determined by the total mastery of the colors I had, divided by six. I had three colors right now, and I could only guess that I had to get another three colors and master them as well.

*sigh* "This is all so confusing, to be honest." I told the sky, frowning slightly. To know not only how much I've grown, but how to grow further, was a godsend, but with that solution came more problems. What was the best way to grow? My blue flames had increased Ease of Casting, but only for themselves. Red had reduced Aura Control, as while I could push the fire outwards, it was hard to, well, _control_. Green was pretty neutral, harder to control than blue flames, but easier than red flames. If I had to compare them to something, then Red was a warrior form, Green was a healer, and Blue was a wizard.

What would Orange be? Yellow? What about Purple? I'd already confirmed it in the mirror, my eyes changed to the color of the flames I was using, red for Red, green for Green, blue for Blue. That was what made me so curious about the Purple flames.

My normal eye color was purple.

I sighed. I wished I was like Jaune, able to push my line of thinking without hitting a mental block. Clearer headed, or something. Purple flames had to somehow increase my power in my base state, if they were colored like my base eye color, right?

It only made sense.

 **Increasing your understanding of yourself and your life's path has increased your WIS and LUK by 2 each!**

Well, I guess that confirmed it. I wish I knew how The Game knew everything, but I'm pretty sure that's some kind of 'beyond mortal comprehension' stuff that would turn my brain into, like, scrambled eggs, or something.

I kinda liked my brain being... well... whatever texture a brain is supposed to be, so I was fine with not knowing everything.

I groaned as I rubbed my eyes, yawning as sleepiness finally began to seep into my body. Standing up and carefully moving to the edge of the roof, I jumped down and bent with my landing, then lept back up to my room's open window, climbing inside.

Sighing as the warmth of the room washed over me, a stark contrast to the coolness of the night air, I shut the window and slid into bed, curling up under the covers and relaxing fully once more.

After figuring out my Blue flames earlier, mostly out of my relief from Jaune being okay, I found out that it helped me relax and fall asleep faster, which was shortly followed by a rude wakeup call in the form of my face smacking into my desk. Now, however, would be the perfect time to utilize it.

Any second now, I'd fall asleep.

Any second now...

Aaaaaaany second noooowwww~...

Aaaaaaaaaaany... okay, fuck it, I need to know.

Grabbing my scroll and turning it on, I opened up a flashlight app and used one of the settings to illuminate my face in a soft white glow. I turned on my visual broadcast to Jaune and smiled at him, _Yang W: Hey babe. How's that security stuff going? :W_

A few seconds later, his broadcast fired up, showing me some of his sharply dressed upper body and smiling face, a pair of sunglasses resting on his forehead. _Jaune W: Hey babygirl. It's going pretty good, even despite a White Fang agent being at the concert. :W_

 _Yang W: Oh shit, be careful. I want you coming back in one piece. :W  
_

 _Jaune W: If I lose a piece, it'll grow back in like a second. Don't worry, okay? He's actually here to just listen to the concert, surprisingly. I guess even the White Fang has humanity left. :W_

 _Yang W: Don't let Blakey hear you say that, she's still pretty adamant about them being 'good but misguided'. It might hurt her feelings. :W_

 _Jaune W: While I'm not looking to hurt feelings, you know I got my opinions just like anyone else does, babygirl. So, I'm guessing you couldn't sleep? :W_

 _Yang W: What was the clue? :W_ I smirked at him, feeling better already.

 _Jaune W: You're laying in bed, with the blanket up, lit up by what I'm guessing is your scroll's screen. By the way, how are your eyes blue? :W_ He raised an eyebrow at me in questioning.

 _Yang W: New ability from my semblance. I told you about my Green fire, but just earlier I got the ability to use Blue fire. I was really worried, and then I was relieved, enough so that my calmness created an ability. :W_

 _Jaune W: Heh, calmness IS an ability for me. So, what got you all worked up? :W_

I couldn't help but pout at him, _Yang W: What happened earlier? About... six hours ago, I think? You... disappeared. Your profile got covered with black mist, I couldn't see or sense you in any way. :W_

He looked a little nervous, _Jaune W: Hey now, don't pout like that, Sun Angel. I was fighting a boss that had the ability to trap me in an illusory boss room. My profile getting blacked out was probably because it technically counted as me being in another dimension, one made by a Grimm. I'm guessing it hasn't done that since? :W_

 _Yang W: No, not at all. Goddamn, a Grimm that's able to make a boss room? :W_ My eyes went wide at the thought, and my minor sleepiness was starting to recede.

He nodded, _Jaune W: Yeah, kinda. That's the best way to put it. It was an advanced form of a Grimm that has the ability to create illusions, so I guess it makes sense. The skillbook I got from it was called 'Illusion Dimension'. It lets me create an Illusion Dimension, or I.D., and move around, and when I exit, I end up in the corresponding location to where I was in the illusion dimension. Anything I destroy or damage in the I.D. isn't carried over into the real world either, so I could use it for some super intense training, or sneaky, untraceable travel. Get from Point A to Point B without having to cross the intervening space like a normal person. :W_

 _Yang W: Too much thinking. Dumb it down for me. :W_

 _Jaune W: I enter an illusionary realm that isn't directly connected to normal space. I blow up a mountain in it and exit and the mountain is still there in the real world. :W_

 _Yang W: Dumb it down a bit more, please. :W_ I smirked a little. I was able to somewhat grasp the concept, I just wanted to see what he'd say.

 _Jaune W: I teleport really slowly and can do things on the way to my destination. :W_ he smirked back at me, picking up on what I was doing.

 _Yang W: Can you make it any dumber? :W_

 _Jaune W: It's magic. :W_

 _Yang W: Ah, I understand perfectly now. :W_

We shared a hearty laugh, and when it was over, I let out a sigh as I relaxed more, _Yang W: I love you, Jaune. :W_

 _Jaune W: I love you too, Yang. :W_

We both leaned in and shared a kiss through the camera. It might not have seemed like much, but I cherished those kisses. It was a small gesture, but it meant a lot to me. It meant that Jaune was willing to put forth whatever amount of affection he could. Even if it was small, even if it seemed insignificant, he still did it, because he loved me. We had an unspoken understanding of each other. It was in our eyes, I had figured out.

It was part of my artistic experience. The eyes are the most important part of drawing a person. They're the windows to the soul, they express the most emotion, they're vibrant and precious and full of life. When looking for life, you always looked at the eyes.

Life was always in the eyes.

I guess that meant I had a lot of life, then, since my eyes had so many colors and emotions to show.

I struggled to contain a yawn, but failed miserably, feeling it empty my lungs for another breath. I smiled sleepily at Jaune, feeling warm, relaxed, and comfortable, _Yang W: Goodnight, sweetheart. :W_

He looked a little surprised at my wording, but returned my smile with one full of love and energy, _Jaune W: Goodnight, sweetheart. :W_

I sighed in bliss and closed my eyes, feeling my heart spread an extra comfortable warmth through my chest as I snuggled into bed and began to drift off.

I definitely should have talked to him earlier.

* * *

 _(back in Vacuo, Jaune POV)_

I couldn't stop smiling, dropping the illusions of myself having a half-attentive text conversation with Yang as I looked fully at the screens again, "Anything happen?"

"No." my second-in-command said with a brief, terse tone. He didn't even have the courtesy of looking my way when he spoke to me.

I raised an eyebrow at him, "Is there a problem, Jeeves?" I asked a bit pointedly, using the wrong name on purpose.

"Yes, there is." he said with a huff, turning to face me, "The problem is that _you_ , Mister _Head of Security_ , need to be paying your full attention to the task at hand. Fiddling around messaging people on your scroll is a terrible waste of time. Honestly, irresponsible teens like you shouldn't be handling-" *SLAM*

I glared as I held the man's shoulder in my hand, a tiny cracks from his back slamming into the ground fixing themselves in an instant, "Shut your mouth, Jeeves. While you all were wasting time staring at monitors showing things at a distance, I got up close and personal and dealt with the possible threats we'd face. Miss Schnee can handle herself, and I can handle the rest. If you aren't going to respect my position, then I'm going to have to let you go." I effortlessly picked the man up and shoved his shoulder back into place, "The extra security units are able to handle any small things that arise. Trust me, we've set up a tighter ship than you think, and if you're trying to push yourself into a bigger position, then you clearly don't fit." I let my expression punctuate my words, my eyes glowing as I let my aura flare a bit, the right one burning with a cyan flame as a Gaster Blaster head formed in the air behind me.

The man clicked his tongue, his expression showing disdain and dissatisfaction, "Tch, fine." I didn't particularly care how much this guy liked me or not, as long as he did his job. There was a short list of people who I didn't care about impressing, and this man the most recent addition.

I released his shoulder, "Alright, now do your job, Jeeves. I'm going to make a round about the place." I gestured a circle with my finger and turned to leave, "If something comes up, I DO have a headset."

I let his response fall to my mental back burner as I opened the door and walked out into the dim hallways.

 _... (a minute or so later) ..._

I hummed a soft tune as I pushed open the door at the far side of the stage, entering the main concert hall. I smiled slightly as I listened to the new, more cheerful song.

The fire in my eyes had died down during my short walk to the main hall, and I gazed around the room, zooming in on some people and looking like I was just keeping an eye on everything.

 _"Listening to the wind's whispers as it blows past my heeeead~.  
_ _Feeling it crisp on my faaaace and haaaands~.  
Seeing colors dance in the air, blue and green and reeeed~.  
It's a beautiful night, all across the laaaands~."_

 _"Summer fast approaches, and with it comes friendship and loooove~.  
Long days and lively nights are sure to cooome~.  
Celebrate our peace, release the dooooves~  
Come together and call these lands our hooome~."_

It was a little cheesy, but I liked it. It made me smile, even if I preferred music to vent to, something that was uplifting was also welcome.

I walked along the side aisle, one half of my focus on Weiss, one half on the audience, and one half on Yang's adorable/beautiful/adorabeautiful sleeping expression, her camera still on. I smiled with just a touch of sadness in my gaze, _'_ _Mon amour, je veux vous embrasser encore.'_ I thought with a soft sigh, quashing the desire to reach out as if stroking her hair.

We were so far apart that time zones dictated that my late morning would be her early evening, and right now she was asleep while I was attending to the concert. The saving grace was that I got to see her peaceful sleeping face and witness her external reactions to the sweet dreams she was having. Honestly, I could go for a sleep tonight. I hadn't slept in weeks from what I could last recall.

Sighing again, I turned the corner of the room and watched everything from the back, occasionally giving a sneaky thumbs up to Weiss. I doubted she'd see it, but it didn't hurt, and if she saw it then it might boost her confidence a little more. Turning another corner, I began walking back towards the stage, this time on the opposite side of the room from where I started, and looked out for anyone who looked to be either causing or getting ready to cause some trouble. Everyone seemed to be behaving, so I looked at the door as I opened up, coming back out into the hallway.

I sighed again, and walked back towards the monitoring room. I hope the second-in-command didn't do anything stupid while I was gone.

I passed by a janitor sweeping the floor, and nearly stopped, nearly, but my concentration and restraint allowed me to show no signs of suspicion.

Lucen Mirros, the illusionist of the Vacuan White Fang. He was posing as the janitor, but I could see through his illusion, and could see the mechashift cleavesword DMR on his back, attached to a magnet sheathe similar to the one Blake had for Gambol Shroud. An interesting idea to say the least. A cleavesword was normally a heavier weapon, but its design on his weapon- named Torn Dream, which I felt was clever -seemed to show that it was more for durability than weight. As I passed by, I had Crocea the elemental weaken its molecular structure by about 50%, leaving it intact, but doomed to soon fail.

A good look at his stats also told me that these people's levels were about 40% just their highly advanced skills from the constant vigorous training they did. Still, it made them very dangerous, as while they might not have had as high of stats as they should at their level, they had several modifiers from their advanced skill levels.

I'd probably made a very precise estimation towards Naranja without even knowing it at the time. We would be able to inflict about 1.5 casualties for every 1 casualty we had, except my father and I could both easily take on two people, which came out to mean that Naranja would be left with his second in command and whoever that half-dead person was who managed to escape before we could finish them off. It would probably be Greyna, since she could teleport.

Grunting, I also refrained from stopping to read the quest window that just popped up and instead settled on putting up an illusion while turning my head slightly to get a full look at it, letting my sense of air distortions guide me around any people walking about.

 **QUEST RECEIVED!**

 **Quest: The Dead Skull in the Desert**

It was pretty much what I would expect; I had to dismantle and destroy the Vacuan White Fang.

First I had to learn about the other eight members and their semblances, abilities, and other info. That would be the hard part, the easy part was then thinking of a way to kill them. I could plan around their abilities, counter their skills, and deal with them precisely and systematically.

With a sigh, I made my way back to the monitoring room, looking at my stats again. With a hum, and still running on the feeling I'd had about an hour ago, I took another ten points and split them between my DEX and INT, to balance them both out. I needed to raise my INT past 150 now, but I still had the confidence that I could squeeze out a few more of those 'mental sharpening' boosts for resisting sins.

I wasn't sure how much they would help at this point, but even a little bit would be acceptable. Intelligence didn't just make my thinking sharper and more focused, it seemed to also boost a measure of mental integrity. Resisting temptation, therefore, seemed like an eternal test of that.

I increased by DEX simply because it was the lowest of my physical stats, and the one that allowed me to move and react more quickly. I needed those two things to be boosted so that I could do this security job better.

I felt my muscles get a slight bit leaner, my nerves surging with a burst of energy that passed through me, then I took in a sharp breath and my mind raced for a few seconds before calming. My AP bar increased by a bit as well, giving me a bit over a thousand more Aura to work with, and letting me breathe a bit easier as my mental resources expanded as well. With the new addition, maintaining my many active skills suddenly became a bit easier, since I had more free space in my head to work with.

Walking back inside, I found my second-in-command on a quiet scroll call over on one side of the room, and I smirked at him, "Do you even know how irresponsible and unprofessional it is to be on your scroll while you're on the job?" I remarked with a snarky tone, "Wow, just wow."

I heard him swear under his breath and felt his glare on my back, but ignored it. He was good at his job, yes, but I was in a whole different league.

At the very least, looking at the different monitors, combined with making more pointed, obvious glances out in the concert hall, had been rapidly leveling my old skill **Snapping Glance**. With the power of my massively enhanced mind, just a few minutes of work had increased it to level 46. With every level, my vision was becoming finer and finer, and I was able to discern details like never before. The world was growing clearer at a perceptible rate, becoming ever clearer to my magical eyes.

It hardly slowed down as the level surged upwards, but eventually petered out at about level 81. Sighing, I continued to watch intently for the duration of the current song and the next.

Honestly, it was pretty boring, just watching. Thankfully, careful manipulation of his physical form allowed Shimfan to hide extremely well, since his only visible physical parts were brass chimes attached strung together with steel wires for hands, a contraption that was a mix between a bronze bell and a metronome for a 'heart', and two tilted music note shapes made of lightning for eyes.

Keeping those parts out of view was ridiculously easy, so all that left was just getting there. He was currently clinging to the underside of the overhead catwalks that the lights were attached to, listening directly and feeding the music directly into my brain.

A solemn smile spread over my lips as I watched over the concert like a silent protector.

* * *

 _(hours later, Jaune POV)_

Sighing as I looked over the paperwork, I ignored most of the details, just focusing on the expenses.

I was running through the math on the fees we had, which were all pretty normal things, and subtracting them from our total profits in order to get our net gain. We had to pay for materials used, decoration, advertisement, and of course the commission fee for their letting us use the building in the first place. Despite all of that, however, we still made a fifth of a million lien in one night out of a fairly small venue.

We still had five weeks of nearly daily concerts, most of which would be at monumentally larger locations and thus generate more profit. Right now, we were looking at an absolute lowest profit margin of fifteen and a half million lien, and that was excluding the ten-mil deal that had been secured with the Mistralian Council for Weiss to perform at the Mistral Regional Tournament, which would have at least a few million people watching from around the entire kingdom. All of that economical movement would be a great boon for the government, and people with more money than sense tended to spend it on things they didn't really entirely need, which meant a profit for us.

With a hum, I contemplated having someone arrange an advertisement deal with the Mistralian council. We could secure a few extra million lien easily that way with very little effort, mostly just emphasizing that people HAD to see her at the MRT and that it would be a show they absolutely couldn't miss and blah blah blah marketing jargon.

I rested my head in one hand and let out another sigh, "Well, we made 200k tonight, just about. Right now myself personally is looking at a total profit of at least 500k for what I spent buying out this contract. I... wish I'd known more about the logistics of this before I dove headfirst into it. Still, maximum profit, assuming no days missed, average venues of around four thousand capacity, and nearly maximum chargeable prices, I'd be looking at about four million in profit, plus the extra ten million from the MRT, and whatever other bonuses we'd get. We dip into profits on advertisement and we're looking at at least a few more millions, for both myself and the SDC."

Weiss looked at me with a poleaxed expression, and I waved my hand in front of her face, "She's in shock, and frankly so am I." Blake's voice spoke up from behind me.

I looked at her, "Why, exactly, is that?"

The ninja rolled her eyes, "Jaune, did you only buy this contract to draw the profits from it? I mean, you DID dump nearly every Lien we had to get it. Why is that?"

Running my hand through my hair, I blew air as I drew my mental resources back together, "Simple, really. Weiss' old contract manager was a pervert and I wanted to protect her from him. The bastard would probably try to molest her or something." I growled quietly as I thought about the man, my altered vocal chords making the action especially easy, since I was training Beast's Blood and had gotten the blood of a dog faunus, hence my current form and the floppy golden ears on my head, along with the tail that was now curled up at the waist of my jeans. Dismissing the spell, I added, "Right now I'm just trying to find something to tire me out. I don't NEED to sleep in order to function properly, but the temptation is growing to be too much. I also need to repair my funds after spending all of that money. I was expecting just a little more profit, maybe five million, not really sure."

I saw Weiss flush at my words, "That... that wasn't necessary."

I smiled at her, "No, it wasn't, but I'd do anything to protect a friend, even at the cost of millions." I offered her a charming smile and a friendly gaze, and it seemed to work, making her smile brightly.

She nodded back to me, "I see. Well, regardless of necessity or difficulty, thank you very much, Jaune. That... that means a lot to me, knowing I have such friends that will help me in these trying times, even at the cost of what for them must be a very limited resource. It's allowed us to spend a lot of time together without questioning or controversy, and given me friends I know I can depend on."

My smile tripled in size, and I brought her into a hug, her small frame fitting neatly into my embrace, "Well, I'm glad to have helped, Weiss. Heh, with friendships like we give, the more the merrier." I patted her on the back, then reached out and pulled Blake into the hug, followed by Marbel, who had been writing things down, "Come on you two, the more the merrier!" I repeated with a laugh that rose all the way up from my stomach, a certain frequency of joy filling my chest as I held my friends close.

Physical affection wasn't something to be feared, or ostracized, it was something that showed you cared. Those were my father's words, and I stuck by them.

I noticed that all three girls had begun to softly glow with their activated auras, as they mumbled a few small words of affection at me. Looking at it gave me an idea, and I focused on my aura.

Slowly, the cyan glow reached out and covered my friends in my own warm light.

 **Channeling your Aura to wrap around others and cover them with your soul's light has created the skill "Auric Embrace"**

Noting that it filed itself under healing, I watched their auras as our lights mixed together. Marbel's pink quickly turned a flowery shade of light purple, Weiss' azure-white turned more brilliant and had a slight greenish tinge, Blake's dark purple turned a good bit brighter and shifted to an indigo hue.

I had tried this method before, though with a narrower understanding of what I wished to do, and without any success. Aura Suffusion actually made it possible, covering what had previously been left empty after the full extent of Aura Channeling's power was used. The first analogy that came to mind was that I finally had enough caramel to make a fully coated caramel apple.

Damn, thinking about food just reminded me about my hunger bar, which is in need of filling.

Letting go of the girls after one last level up to **Auric Embrace** , I smiled and dropped the technique, "Alright, how about some dinner? I'm starving."

Blake stepped past me, "I'll handle it tonight. We have some time before the flight to the next city on our venue list." she smiled a bit, patting me on the shoulder, "You don't worry, okay? You said yourself that you're planning on sleeping tonight, so you should relax." she assured, walking out of the room.

I paused, looking at the still-open door. Suddenly, a poke to the side made me flinch a bit, turning to look at the perpetrator, Marbel, "Yeah, like, seriously. Jaune, relax. You've been pretty tense ever since this morning. Shouldn't Gamer's Mind be making you calmer?"

I sighed, "It lets me calmly think about things, but I still worry about you three. The things I realized because of that Miraganger Star... it made me realize how fragile you all are. I mean, at least my dad is a full Huntsman with enough AP, skills, and modifiers to make up for the difference, but we're talking over 500 strength that that thing had. If it wasn't for all of my skills, I'd have been crushed." I felt weak, then, and almost got a spending fever, but quashed the desire. I couldn't let this fear control me, or any fear, really. If it was affecting the girls like this, then I'd have to be especially vigilant about it. I ignored the notification that popped up shortly after I finalized that decision in my head.

Weiss raised her hand and let out a dainty cough into it, "I can arrange for a masseuse to attend to you, if that would help."

I cracked my neck back and forth, "Honestly... that would probably help, but I don't know for sure. I don't wanna waste someone's time and effort on a lost cause, especially if Gamer's Body negates the effects of massages."

Weiss sighed, "At least try it. You won't know if you don't try." she insisted, giving me a firm look.

Lowering my head, I let out another sigh. I'd been sighing a lot today, I realized, but that was besides the point, "Alright, I'll give it a try, after dinner."

The heiress smiled and began trekking off to where she could make the phonecall more privately, "I'll see what they can do." she said while pulling out her scroll.

That left only Marbel by my side. I looked down at her, absentmindedly brushing her hair behind her ear, "So... you gonna insist on something too, or what?"

Her green eyes drifted shut, and she let out a long sigh and just hugged me, "Look... I know you're afraid for us, and for good reason, but despite that, and I know I'm asking a lot here." she gulped lightly, "Despite that, and despite everything inside you that's telling you to take it safely, to keep us out of the field, I'm asking you... I'm asking as a friend, as your _best_ friend, to put your worries down and let us find a way." she sighed into my shirt, "How are we going to get stronger if we don't flex our muscles some? How are we supposed to get faster if we don't run once in a while? How are we supposed to get tougher if we don't take a few hits? How are we supposed to get smarter if we don't get any chances to learn? How are we supposed to get wiser if we don't get any chances to experiment, learn, adapt, and grow? How are we supposed to get luckier if we never have to rely on it?" she looked up at me with big, adorable, misty eyes.

I groaned, unable to resist. She'd made good points, and with a large amount of begrudging, I mentally set myself to change my ways, "Alright, alright, fine, just stop looking at me like that." I surrendered, one hand rubbing her back a little bit, "I'll do my best to stay my hand. It'll be hard, but I'll do it, okay?"

 **Accepting and agreeing to a great and difficult decision that, while conflicting with your desires, is ultimately the best choice, has cleared your mind and increased your WIS by 1!**

 **Having previously made another difficult, but ultimately good decision that required you to place down your greed and despair, and now adding your pride to the mix, has sharpened your mind and increased your INT by 3!**

Feeling the changes in my head, I breathed easier, "I'll do my best, now please stop giving me that look."

Her misty eyes dried up and began to exude a smile, "Thank you, Jaune. We're all thankful for your help, we really and truly are, but sometimes we'd like to do some things on our own, y'know?"

I nodded, "I know. However, if you're about to get your arm ripped off, I WILL save you and cut things short."

Marbel gave a slight smirk, "Somehow I think you'd act BEFORE that risk arose. Come on now, you have dinner and a massage made by the other two pretty girls you're bunking with." she giggled and let me go, grinning teasingly at me.

I smirked and chuckled, ruffling her hair, "Other two? Those words imply there's one to begin with, but I don't see a pretty girl in front of me." I let only a second pass before I added the bomb, "I see an adorable moeblob." I picked her up like a doll and hugged her tightly, laughing as I heard her squeal and let out other unladylike sounds, kicking her legs out and flailing around in my unbreakable grip. After a while, I let her go and endured the brief storm of punches that fell on my chest, each one hurting for only a second before fading, "Hey now, you're a lot stronger than a normal person. You should hold back when doing that."

She pouted and crossed her arms over her chest, "Ass." she said simply, "Just... keep our words in mind, Jaune, okay?"

I nodded, "I got it. Now come on, stop pouting, you know I hate that expression." I gave her a small hug, holding it until my sense of the air felt her lips curl into a small smile, "There we goooo~. I'm gonna change into something a bit more comfortable and try to relax, alright? Can you kindly exit?" I gave her a gently nudge with my hand.

She got the message and started moving, "Alright, I'm going. I don't want a repeat of the Vulcyrie tribe cave."

"Damn, and I thought my bones, muscles, and skin stretching to be half again in length, having thousands of huge feathers stick up through my skin, and growing four whole new limbs out of my spine, would be a very therapeutic experience." I smirked, "Oh yeah, and I guess you wouldn't want to see me moist and dusty and also kinda naked." the way I said it made the notion that she would see me naked seem like it was a small afterthought in my head.

She slapped my shoulder, "I'm gonna go train with Romargust while you... I dunno, watch TV or something." she turned and walked out, closing the door behind herself.

I turned away from the door and opened my inventory, dragging new clothes onto my body to replace the old ones. Fine motions saw that ten seconds later, I was redressed in an orange t-shirt, black cotton shorts, and blue slippers. My elementals moved with my will above my outstretched hand, quickly turning raw materials into a finished product.

Iron made a saucer, stone made a large cup, water filled the cup with a casting of Rain Burst, highly focused into it as the fast-moving, energized water was calmed and stabilized, then Xibu heated it to a boil, and my telekinesis settled a tea bag and some sugar into it. Using Roimunja's control over crystals, I ensured the perfect ratio of tea to sugar, and finally had Pluvistral chill the tea to a nice, cold, acceptable drinking temperature.

Taking a long sip and sitting on the couch in front of the large television, I focused a bit, and instead of using the remote, I had Juristimunja send the appropriate electrical signals to trigger what I wanted. With no real idea on what I wanted, I merely flicked through the channels and waited for something to catch my eye.

Settling on a random drama show, I began meditating with my eyes open, letting my mind wander as I explored and felt out the world around me through the perspective of the elements. I saw where Marbel was cycling some mass of the floor in a large vertical circle, pulling out a chunk of concrete, breaking it into smaller and smaller pieces as it rose along a curved path into the air. At the apex, the tiny pieces began consolidating into a single large chunk. When it touched the floor, it began to meld into it, pushing material along an magically-allowed river under the floor, pushing the concrete up to fill the original hole. It was a cycle.

I heard Weiss' shoes, a pair of blue slippers similar to mine, slide across the floor as she approached the kitchen. I hummed, turning the volume on the TV up a bit, and let my mind wander again.

* * *

 _(meanwhile, in the kitchen, Blake's POV)_

I hummed, chopping the ingredients carefully, making sure each slice was as it should have been. I'd had to take a quick trip out to get some things we were lacking, but I slipped out and back in without anyone noticing. Or, at least, if they did notice, they didn't say anything.

It was a simple dinner I was preparing, but it was a classic. Sure, we were in Vacuo, but that didn't mean we couldn't eat things from back home.

That was the story I'd stick to when asked why I was making hot sandwiches.

In reality, though, I was doing it because it was my best dish. Kind of lame, I thought, but it was nice.

My left ear twitched, and I turned to see a surprisingly casually dressed Weiss approaching. A red t-shirt, black sweatpants, and blue shoes, "What. Are. You. Wearing?"

She huffed, "I quickly realized that I lack anything casual to wear. So, seeing as it wouldn't be appropriate to wear my nightgown, since it's still early in the evening, I've decided to borrow some clothing from Ruby and Jaune." she crossed her arms at me, "Is there a problem?"

I looked her up and down, and upon proper examination, I found that the 'shoes' were actually blue bunny slippers, "Bunny slippers?"

"They were the only things that fit me!" she pouted, "Anyways, can you please move aside? I'd like to do something too." she stepped up to the stove and began gathering together the ingredients to make...

"Soup?" I asked curiously, pausing in my cutting in the midst of my confusion.

"Yes. Are you surprised?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

I shook my head, "No, well not no, yes. Yes I am surprised. Honestly, I kind of took you for letting the butlers and royal chefs make all your meals." I couldn't help but give a slight smirk to accentuate my joking tone.

She rolled her eyes, but gave a carefree smile, to my slight surprise, "I know a few things. Butlers don't cook, the chefs do, and they're not 'royal' chefs, they're just hired to work solely for the Schnee family. Soup is... actually a favorite of mine. My mother taught me the recipe, and her mother taught her, and she learned from her mother before her, and so on. It's a recipe that's lived for at least a couple of centuries." she smiled at the pot as she pulled ingredients from the inventory, "I might have noticed your shopping list and added a few things while you weren't looking. I'd wanted to try my hand at making dinner before you'd even offered."

"Well, thank you." I smiled as we stood side by side, not getting in each others' way as we went about our preparation, "So... your mother taught you a soup recipe, huh? What's it called?"

She shrugged her shoulders, and that's when I noticed she'd also let her hair hang loose, "It's just called Pierce Family Specialty Soup, nothing especially complex about the name." she smiled as she began to add things to the water, which to my surprise had already begun to boil, "The only thing required, is that in addition to adding all the ingredients right, you have to... feel the soup's preparation." she giggled, "The first few times when she taught me, I scalded my fingers because I'd thought she meant physically feel the soup." she wiggled her fingers in the air, then poured some stock into the water.

I laughed too, but was curious, "How is your water already boiling?" I asked, slicing some meat.

"Eismeer might seem like a cold water elemental, but he's able to use the laws of physics to make things happen. Adding energy to the water by moving it caused it to become hot very quickly." she smiled in success, "So, sandwiches?"

I nodded, "Yes. If you're wondering, it's the Quinn Family Specialty Sandwich. Luckily I didn't cut myself because I was told I had to feel the sandwich's preparation-" we both paused to laugh at that, "-but I did get it wrong more times than not. The problem is mostly the moisture balance. The bread needs to be properly toasted in order to be drier, so it can absorb some moisture from the filling, but if it's too toasted dry, then it will either absorb too much, or I ended up burning it and it hardly absorbed anything... and also tasted like charcoal." I added with another laugh, "If it's undercooked, then the filling is too moist and either drips on you, or falls out. If it's done right, then the sandwich is warm, and stays warm, but is also moist and filling. If we're going to serve both of these together, however, I might have to change the recipe a bit."

She shook her head, "I'm not going to impose on your sandwich. We're making dinner, not a combo attack, we don't have to directly combine our items. The Pierce Soup is also better when eaten as it's served. Don't change a thing." she smiled at me.

I smiled back, resuming my task, "Heh, you're oddly personable and talkative right now. Are you drunk?"

She laughed, "Not tonight. I just... I love the soup, and making it... it reminds me of better times, many years ago. Those better times... well, it relaxes me... back when things were simple, better." she let out a long sigh.

I could feel my expression fall slightly in sympathy, "I know what you mean. Years ago, those times... they were simpler for me too, and better. It wasn't much, but it was better than what I'd chosen."

"The White Fang..." she summarized, chopping an onion slightly too hard.

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. I haven't even spoken to my sister in nearly three years." I sighed heavily, thinking about those simpler times, "Most of what I remember about her is that she was looking to study criminal justice, like our mother had."

"Police? Sounds like you'd have probably encountered her during some... missions."

"No. Well... technically? I'm not sure where 'detective' falls in the hierarchy of law enforcement and criminal justice, but... well, that's what she wanted to do." I shrugged, "That's all there is to it. She wanted to become a detective and I'm pretty sure she became one."

"A fairly simple story. My sister went into the military, so... yeah." she didn't say anything more on that subject, "My mother was a Huntress, and... my brother wanted to be one too."

I raised an eyebrow, and let out a curious humming sound. It had been a very sad announcement on Atlas' part, that the young Rengir Schnee, heir to the SDC, had fallen ill and, despite having the best medicines available, passed away. I had only been about seven when the announcement was made, so I don't think I even knew about it until I later researched it, "What happened?"

Her eyes hardened into chips of ice, "Kronelassen, crumbling crown disease. A disease which has claimed both Rengir and my mother. Deadly, mental fatigue and a decaying of all brain activity until all biological functions cease... it's horrid. At the very least." her knife clattered onto the counter, "At the very least their suffering was over before I had even seen it." she sniffled

I hadn't lost any family, at least that I knew of, but I knew loss. It wasn't as personal as losing a brother or a mother, but my comrades and mentors in the White Fang, even though I now despised their path, had still been my comrades and mentors. Jaune was doing what he could to set things back on the right path, but it would take time and effort. I was prepared to wait for the long process, it didn't bother me, since I'd already changed my allegiance. Unfortunately, that im-personable experience left my empathy sorely lacking. I knew I didn't, and couldn't, understand Weiss' pain.

So I didn't pretend I did, or bother trying to, I just gave her a tight hug, "Hey, come on, it's... it's alright." I patted her shoulder, "You're still here, and they're in a better place now. It's terrible they're not here, but they'd want you to keep going, in their honor. If they truly were a huntress and an aspiring huntsman-in-training, I know they would. You've done your best to honor them, haven't you?" honestly, I was pulled most of this out of books and a movie or two.

Weiss took in a gulp of breath, then let out a small gasping sob, as if her emotions were all fighting for control In the end, an alliance of a gently curved smile and a tearful, but hopeful gaze won out, "I have. That's why I wanted to become a Huntress, to honor not only my mother and brother, but my family's name itself. I have very large shoes to fill, I know, but I'm willing to bide my time and prepare for the tests that await me." she hugged me back, "Sorry for getting emotional... heh, I guess I should have been more careful while chopping these onions." she joked, scooping up a handful of onion bits and dropping them into the water, "Shall we get back to what we were doing?"

I smiled at her, understanding her desire to change the subject. Sometimes, the best cure for your current emotions was to simply move past them, into the future. I nodded, then checked the bread... "Dammit, I burned the bread!"

My white-haired friend could only laugh beside me as potatoes were added to the soup.

* * *

 _(some time after dinner, Jaune POV)_

I laid on the massage table. Honestly, I'd thought Weiss was joking about the massage, but I'm glad she wasn't.

 **You have received the status effect "Fully Physically Therapied (Extreme)"!**

 **Effects: +80% effective STR, DEX, and VIT for (TBD) minutes. Increases Ease of Casting for ki-based techniques by 160%.**

TBD, or 'to be determined', basically was just a continuously rising number of minutes this would last for. Technically the status effect was for achieving a full-body state of muscle relaxation and elasticity that would guarantee extra strength, an induced limberness, and increase pain tolerance. While not particularly useful since I would be going to sleep in about an hour, I happened to snag the masseuse's small book while she wasn't looking and absorb its knowledge, granting me a decent boost to the skill after the game realized that I knew it already, technically speaking.

I was starting to understand what The Fundamental Factor W meant by 'the ability to understand the skill'. Just focusing on how the massage was being done was not only helping it go a bit better than before, but also giving me a decent amount of EXP towards the next level.

After a few more minutes, I was told to turn over onto my back. Trusting the masseuse, I did so, feeling a slight bit awkward as my towel slide around a bit before being telekinetically held to my body. I watched her curious brown eyes trace my nearly flawless skin, her fingers rubbing along my skin with light, experimental touches. After a minute or two, she began massaging on key points, presumably where knots were. During most of the process of handling my front side, I noticed the woman's sharply featured face occasionally glance down at my towel. After a few repetitions of this, I realize she was also looking at my face for approval or disapproval.

My expression set itself into a firm, denying gaze, "I have a girlfriend, and you are definitely not her." short, short brown hair, slender and un-curvy figure, pretty much the only thing this woman and Yang had in common was their Vacuan blood.

Maintaining professionalism without flaw, she simply nodded in understanding and I internally questioned where Weiss called to in order to find this person.

Sighing, I just let her finish her job with a massage of my face and head, paid her, told her to leave, and once she had left, I used a few quick motions to equip a shirt and some boxers, followed by using Teleportation to appear in my room, over my bed.

Telekinesis held me in the air and adjusted my blanket. Lowering myself down, I couldn't help but smile at how fresh, clean, soft, and relaxed everything felt right now.

Though I hadn't been too worried in the end, this job's first outing had already started to give me some work anxiety. Knowing that the Vacuan White Fang could storm in and try something big, stupid, risky, but ultimately deadly for all of us, was a terrible fact to know.

I'd have to work quickly in dealing with them, but I needed to be careful too, lest I end up ambushed and possibly killed, assuming one of them can puncture my layered defenses, which I'm sure they can make a good effort on. With one final sigh, I settled fully into bed, and sent out the message to everyone in The Game.

 _Jaune C: Goodnight everyone. :C_

 _Weiss C: Goodnight Jaune. :C  
_

 _Blake C: 'night, Jaune. :C_

 _Marbel TC: gn Arty. :TC_

 _Skyler C: Goodnight, m-... Jaune. :C_

 _Thomas C: Goodnight, friend. :C_

 _John C: Goodnight, son. :C_

 _Garnet C: Mew~ :C_

I smiled, seeing Garnet curled up on my chest, and gently petted her sleepy head. After a little while longer, I quickly realized I was going to need something a little extra to fully let go of consciousness.

Sighing one last time for the night, I opened my scroll, put on some music, put in earbuds, and set it down, listening to the song.

Humming softly, I closed my eyes, and surprisingly, I found myself drifting off with ease, getting lost and eventually sailing off into unconsciousness.

* * *

 _This is wartime!  
_ _This is our time!  
_ _We won't be denied  
_ _Feed the fire that is raging inside  
_ _This is go time!  
_ _This is showtime!  
_ _We will fight 'til their wills are broken  
_ _This is game time!  
_ _An insane time, let the madness fly  
_ _Show them strength that just can't be defied  
_ _Find the power to devour, let the beast inside now be woken_

 _In this world only the strong will survive!  
_ _Hear the roar and you will know you're alive!  
_ _Feel the energy build in your soooouuul~!  
_ _'Cause it's time!_

 _..._

 _Oooohhhhhh~!  
_

 _In the calm before the storm,  
_

 _Another legend will be born!  
_

 _Another battle will be won!_

 _We will rise_

 _Oooohhhh~, so heed the call of confrontation!_

 _Today we feed on domination!_

 _Secure a legacy that will never diiiieeee~!_

 _The history books are what yooouuu wiiillll wriiiite~!_

 _..._

 _Raw emotion, pure devotion, they will testify!  
_ _And our memory will endure for all time!  
_ _Never hiding!  
No dividing!  
_ _Let them witness us move as one now!_

 _Show no mercy!  
Let the world see,_

 _We're invincible!  
_ _Show them nothing is beyond our control!_

 _Take it higher!  
Our desire!  
Will determine what we've become now!_

 _Are you ready for the test of your life?  
_ _See the fear bleeding right through their eyes!  
_ _Feel the energy build in your sooouuul~!  
_ _'Cause it's time!_

 _..._

 _Oooohhhhhh~!_

 _In the calm before the storm,_

 _Another legend will be born!_

 _Another battle will be won!_

 _We will rise_

 _Oooohhhh~, so heed the call of confrontation!_

 _Today we feed on domination!_

 _Secure a legacy that will never diiiieeee~!_

 _Be immortalized~!_

* * *

 _(?, ? POV)_

 _The bright sun greeted my eyes as I exited the shelter. I covered them with one large, beefy fist. I gazed out into the harsh and unforgiving sands, which refused to sprout even a single blade of grass, even when coaxed with thousands of gallons of water and years of time. **& *)# **abandoned the idea of coaxing new life out of these forsaken lands, instead dedicating myself solely to the art of death._

 _I sighed, " **(#*( #*** , what of the quakes?" I asked both out loud and internally, gazing out across the bloodsoaked sand._

 _I heard the low, grinding voice of metal in my soul, "None for miles, **#* &#%(!**, we've an hour at least."_

 _"Very well. I suppose this might be the finale of our war." I groaned, feeling the tug on my soul of time-based magic. Once again, she'd tried, and failed. I had to rely on this being the last._

 _What would I have done? Probably exactly as I would think I'd do._

 _"You know, my father told me stories about how you'd spend hours staring into the horizon, yet you'd get things done by willpower and mental integrity alone." a voice spoke from my right side._

 _I gazed at my second in command, **# * &&*!$%**, abandoned his name, not surprising, **#%* &( **century of war. Such a thing tends to drive people to boil themselves alive._

 _"Yet you've shown a lack of the latter." I smirked at him._

 _Eyes as deep and hued as the ocean blue shot me a glare, "The history books wouldn't approve of someone nearly two hundred years old. People usually wither in half a quarter again less than that."_

 _"Bah, you lack faith in the soul." I waved my clawed hand at him._

 _"My lack of faith isn't in my soul, it's in society. Suppose we win, what would we be? Heroes? Kings? Gods? The stories already tell of your endeavors as though you're an ancient figure."_

 _A mere thought brought up a simple sheet of **blue light, white text laid over it.**_

 _ **Name: # &%&*  
Title: King of War, Star Ever Shining, Beast Undying  
Level: # %**_

&*#(%^*(#!%#

 _ **# &%(*&#$*^!&#(# ^%&#! ^&%#**_

 _ ***^# &(*(&!#*&^(#%G^G!&*^#$*!& )! $^&#! %**_

 _ **Age: 550**_

 _ **%* &(^# )#!&%!#(%*&#&***_

 _"I'm already ancient, **%( &*^**, they're correct on that account. The question isn't what we'll do after, it's how we'll survive to the after." I said with a groan, pinching the bridge of my nose._

 _"Maybe it's YOU who lacks faith in the soul." a third voice spoke from my left, "Come on, Master, what happened to risks? Living on a prayer?"_

 _"Those concepts withered within my first century, decayed in the second, and fully died alongside my third set of allies and my wife. You're lucky you children were allowed to join me." I looked at my left-hand-man._

 _These two... these two alone, with the strength and endurance to live and thrive in my war, were my only surviving companions of the original group of this generation._

 _"By the cross, such pessimism will do you in, Master." the ivory faunus by my side said with a smirk, "Believe in us, and believe in yourself. Sometimes, that is all that keeps us moving forwards."_

 _"So YOU stole my book of heroes." my bleached-blonde haired friend accused, turning to my disciple._

 _How these two ever got along, I had no clue, "Children, behave."_

 _"I felt you weren't creative enough to make such a name, **#% &^* **, but to steal the name of a saint? Unforgivable."_

 ** _# % &^*_** _nearly snarled, his golden aura arising, "I've no choice but to ask to be forgiven for being inspired by such a great man. As is my nature, truly, as Caritas, that I look to the generosity of an ancient hero for hope in these trying times. Saint Nicholas Charismus was a great man, and my story will be all the more seasoned that they know that even heroes had heroes."_

 _"Seasoning be damned! This isn't cooking, this is war and DEATH. It seems what Olivia said was true, that you'd only let go of your damned pride when faced with ultimatum." his eyes shown like moon pearls with anger._

 _"Are you truly trying to curse me with such a fate right before our battle against the queen? You rat bastard, I'll kill y-"  
_

 _"CHILDREN! BEHAVE!" my voice roared for miles, amplified by Strema's will and my own designed power, " **%(* &^#(**, you'd do best to cool your head, else you'll end up shattering when metal is replaced with fire in the sake of absolute strength! And **#** &#! **, you'd do best with cinching your pride and perceived moral high-ground down and controlling yourself as well." I turned to fully face the ivory faunus at my side, his ears folding in shame and his tail between his legs. His hair was white as the moon, bleached permanently by **#%* &!#**, and his eyes were similar, "We're soon to fight our final battle, and you'd rather give up any chance of victory in favor of tearing each other's throats out?" I turned to fully face the bleach-blonde haired man at my other side. He hung his head in shame, his hand already skirting towards the sword at his side, "What? Are you going to give up then, friend? Perform seppuku to cut out your indignities? Not only prideful, but greedy too, abandoning us to the storm of the millennium in favor of the cold embrace of death? That would be your greatest dishonor."_

 _I placed my hands on his shoulders, using my ultimate weapon: The sheer, undefiable weight of our friendship, "Does that seem like it would be better in the eyes of your ancestors? To die a wretch overcome with grief and a single burst of negativity from his closest of friends? Or would they welcome you with open arms and smiling eyes after you walk to them after being consumed by the fires of a glorious battle against the greatest of evils?" I gave one final push, "And even prior to facing their judgement, you'd be dishonoring me too. I chose you, because I saw something in you that reminded me of myself, long ago, before so much loss."_

 _He stared at me, then hung his head and let out a morbid laugh as a single glistening tear escaped his eyes, "You're a bastard, manipulating my emotions like that... it worked, though." he wiped his eye._

 _I smiled, planting a kiss of trust upon his lips, "Come on now. What are we waiting for? Let's meet them head on, swinging steel and claws and tearing into their flesh like thunder through the sky."_

 _Blue eyes met my own whites, and he smiled brightly, "Well, alright then. Let's go. What ARE we waiting for?"_

 _I felt **& *# &*%** smile and pump his fist, "Let's quit questioning what we're waiting for and get moving!"_

 _In the split second of my turn to face the general direction of the army approaching us, "Come, everyone! Let us take from them, everything we can take! They may have our souls only when they pry them from our cold, dead bodies!" I shouted in gathering, hearing the footsteps of my other companions._

 _Together, we walked, then jogged, then ran, then sprinted, and finally charged beyond sonic speeds towards our final battle._

 _We intended to strike them like a storm._

 _..._

 _So what you waiting for?_

 _SO WHAT YOU WAITING FOR?_

 _..._

 _We saw the masses of vile creatures, ranging from Grimm to Demons to Legendary Beasts, I even caught a glimpse of the deadly Archdemons at the very back, on the massive moving throne of the queen._

 _I saw all of this, this wave of absolute death that would sweep through Vacuo and erase it from existence..._

 _... And I punched the foremost vanguard in his fucking face._

 _..._

 _I have never compromiiised!  
_ _I never gave in and so I,  
_ _Have welcomed every challenge in my liiife!  
_ _And I have never wandered bliiind!  
_ _I'm led by hunger, and so I,  
_ _Savor every drop each minute I'm aliiiive!_

 _Leave noooothing leeeeft BEHIIIIIND~!_

 _..._

 _My allies fought with perfect synchronization, weaving past each other harmlessly and without obstruction. Those who fought directly together knew how to compliment each others' attacks and take down our enemies. We were outnumbered and outclassed, but we knew had something stronger than anything the Grimm could hope to grasp._

 _We had souls._

 _..._

 _So what you waiting for, tell me what you're waiting for?  
_ _Don't stand by and deny it!  
_ _So what you waiting for, tell me what you're waiting for?  
_ _Break new ground and defy it!_

 _Don't let the world outside,  
_ _Leave you cornered and alone!  
_ _So what you waiting for, tell me what you waiting for?  
_ _Let them all be reminded!_

 _..._

 _We were losing._

 _Memories became patchy as I let the beast consume me, roaring in an unstoppable rage against the dying light._

 _Black spots danced and popped in and out of my vision as I charged towards the three titans who wished to absolutely crush all of humanity's opposition._

 _I wouldn't let them win. I had to take them down!_

 _I had to fight! To win!_

 _I WOULDN'T LET THEM TAKE ANYTHING MORE FROM ME!_

 _..._

 _Don't let them undermine!  
_ _Your dreams can never be stolen!  
_ _Don't leave them stagnant, rotting on the vine!_

 _Say goodbye to anyone who tries,  
_ _To bleed you dry, you will show them,  
_ _You're blessed with an unlimited supply!_

 _..._

 _Leave nooooothiiiing leeeeft behiiiiind~!_

 _..._

 ** _Salemonumender_**

*&#*(&$#$^

 _It fell as I tore it apart with combinations of techniques that turned me into a storm of claws and death. I leaped backwards, flipping through the air a few times with the help of my tail, watching the gargantuan obsidian dais that held the throne fall as the beast collapsed, dissolving into a massive storm of black smoke that began to blot out the sky._

 ** _Termanetia_**

)_(!#*&*#

 _Honestly I didn't care to fight that thing, so I simply gathered my Aura together and banished it from the area with a blast of spatial energy. Lasers were... awesome._

 ** _Goliath Vajra_**

%()% #%

 _Letting out a trumpeting sound louder than thunder, it fell to its knees, sending a shockwave of force through the ground and a blast of sand in all directions._

 _That, truly, was my mistake..._

 _*SHINK*_

 _A bright glow of orange pierced through the sand wave that consumed my body, until the air cleared to reveal the relatively young man, perhaps in his early forties, suspended in the air above me._

 _A smooth, sharpened rod of pure black had been struck through my chest, and I felt something wrench inside myself, all the way down to my very core._

 _A blink of my eyes lasted an agonizing eternity as I felt what could only be described as my soul being torn open, bleeding much like my body._

 _Walls of glitched text appeared around me as I grabbed the spear in my chest, glaring up at the man with hatred._

 ** _Gamboge Hew'kis  
Title: #( *)%*&#%(*&BR  
Level: 169_**

 _The spear snapped under the strain of my squeezing hand, and I wrenched it forward, swinging my body around and slamming the man onto the ground with such force that it blew a crater all the way down to the bedrock underneath us. I heard a crunching and hissing of sand as I wrenched the spear from his grip, gazing at it._

 **Lo(*#n# &)*  
** **Description: The spear bathed in the (*%) # and made to slay (*# &* # and end the war of 500 years.**

 **Effects: Induces Status Effect "Soul Bleed (Permanent)"**

 _I roared with rage. Such deadly measures, such unbelievable power...  
_

 _UNFORGIVABLE!_

 _I raised the spear above my head as the young man pulls himself to his feet. He suddenly surges backwards a step, his arm rearing back and becoming covered with bright flames, "You should have died! WHY DIDN'T YOU DIE?" his flames solidified into four crackling blades, "DIE YOU ABOMINATION!" he screamed in overwhelming anger._

 _He was far too slow._

 _However, as I made to drive the fractured, but sharp tip of the spear down through his chest, time seemed to slow to a crawl for me. What pierced the suddenly silent air was a desperate feminine shriek, "NOOOOO~!"_

 _Made to move against his will, I heard the sound of a pulse of energy, and a young woman, younger than the man, pushed the angry man out the way. Unfortunately, her desperation put her off balance, driven by emotion more than her own willpower._

 _*SHINK*_

 _I saw her red eyes go wide as the spear pierced her chest, her rune-laced armor glowing in protest as the red heart painted on the chest dimmed with her dying light._

 _She stared into my eyes, and I stared into hers._

 ** _Vermilia Jali'U  
Title: (* #$^&*# ()# *DT  
Level: 170_**

 _Piercing her aura like it wasn't even there, she fell to her knees. Her name, however... it..._

 _No..._

 _No no no!_

 _An unfortunate withering of the concentration, to think..._

 _NO!_

 _NO!_

 _I held her dying body in my arms, wishing to take back the last several seconds, to reverse the results of my wrath, to get rid of this damned spear._

 _To show her mercy._

 _To save her life._

 _My own flesh and blood, unrecognizable after centuries of the effects of a family tree..._

 _The man was shocked to the point of cognition-induced paralyzation._

 _I called upon a spell I thought I'd never use again, my soul reaching out to her withering one._

 _Morphed by the power she'd been given, it pulsated with energy, glowing with a hue of purest red._

 _It was with anger against the darkness that I consumed it, and an infectious, feverish wrath that I stood up again, feeling the energy conflicting with my own._

 _The orange man stood, spear in his hand once again, "YOU KILLED HER! YOU BASTARD YOU-" his voice was cut off about a nanosecond before his head was forced from his shoulders._

 _My closest friend hefted his gleaming golden scythe backwards, before it shifted like a liquid, turning back into its longsword form, "Hey! **& **&( #**, Remnant to **# %* &(# (&*%**, GET YOUR HEAD TOGETHER MAN!"_

 _I couldn't. Despite my best efforts, I knew I was broken on the inside. Centuries of war, over a decade of sleeplessness, countless nights of pacing and breaking things, and now the blood of my own family on my hands._

 _I couldn't handle it. With a roar of fury, I found the queen, picked up the spear, and threw it with all my might towards her._

 _The dark storm overhead grew darker as a shriek threatened to launch the atmosphere away from our lungs. I grabbed my friend, "Run! We've taken a pyrrhic victory, now RUN!"_

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _Passing by the slaughtered bodies of demons and allies alike, I found myself alone again, and feeling a tug on all sides from the calls of despair._

 _The battle left me wounded and broken, but I wouldn't let it claim me completely._

 _Against my will, my soul shined outwards._

 _It shone with a brilliance like a blinding star going supernova, power flaking from its surface._

 _It shone with what I could now see was a bright cyan hue, but as every beat of my heart sent pulses of agony throughout my entire physical and spiritual being, I felt it trembling, threatening to break._

 _It shone like the bright desert jewel, like the great North Star._

 _I was now on an indivertible path towards death, and it would be marked by my soul itself bleeding dry._

 _But... while I would pass into the realm of the afterlife, I knew I wouldn't truly die..._

 _..._

 _So what you waiting for?_

 _SO WHAT YOU WAITING FOR?_

 _..._

 _I have never compromiiised!  
_ _I never gave in and so I  
_ _Have welcomed every challenge in my liiife!_

 _And I have never wandered bliiind!  
_ _I'm led by hunger, and so I  
_ _Savor every drop each minute I'm aliiiive!_

 _Leave noooothing leeeeft BEHIIIIIND~!_

 _..._

 _So what you waiting for, tell me what you're waiting for?  
_ _Don't stand by and deny it!  
_ _So what you waiting for, tell me what you're waiting for?  
_ _Break new ground and defy it!_

 _Don't let the world outside,  
_ _Leave you cornered and alone!  
_ _So what you waiting for, tell me what you waiting for?  
_ _Let them all be reminded!_

 _..._

 _Don't let them undermine!  
_ _Your dreams can never be stolen!  
_ _Don't leave them stagnant, rotting on the viiine~!_

 _Say goodbye to anyone who tries  
_ _To bleed you dry, you will show them  
_ _You're blessed with an unlimited supplyyy~!_

 _..._

 _Leave nooooothiiiing leeeeft behiiiiind~!_

 _..._

* * *

 **Welp, that was a thing!**

 **I realized far too late that I wouldn't be able to include the ACTUAL meaning of the title in this chapter, what with everything I realized I'd need to include after the concert, but don't worry, that'll be in the next chapter! Hahaha~!**

 **It's a pretty cool thing.**

 **Lot going on in the next chapter, I plan on it taking us through the rest of the Vacuan leg of this concert, show Ren and Nora, and show some action of the Vacuan White Fang. After all, they've been doing their scouting, soon they'll be taking action!**

 **If anyone is curious, the two songs I used near the end of the chapter were " _Immortalized"_ by _Disturbed,_ and _"What you waiting for"_ also by _Disturbed_.**

 **And because I can sense some of you are probably going to ask if Jaune is going to get some kind of skill to look like the Disturbed mascot, I will answer with a very polite "It is likely, but is yet to be seen or even approached"**

 **So... yeah! I think I did pretty well with this chapter. I'm going to have to take some time off from writing in order to go and do well in college so I can maintain a steady supply of slack to work on my story with, so don't be alarmed if the new chapter takes a month, even if I know most of you won't care.**

 **Thank you all in advance for understanding need for my prioritization, and enjoy this omake.**

* * *

 _Omake: New Game Plus._

* * *

 _(The Arc Household, morning, Jaune POV)_

I blinked as I sat up in bed, feeling something shift deep inside of myself, like I was being selectively mutilated.

What the fuck?

Last I remembered, I had increased LUK and spent pretty much all of my AP on one of my skills that had all but forced me to do so.

Calling up the skill, I examined it again.

 **-/\\-**

 **Prestiged Adventure (Active) Level: 4, Exp: 35.46%, Cost: 1,000,000 AP (LUK)  
An extremely powerful ability involving the bending of the fabric of time and space by hands that lay in higher dimensions. Shifting these cosmic forces allows one to recreate the realm of the game in the past, back to a certain, pre-determined point. Think of it like rolling back your computer's hard drive, but replace "your computer" with "the universe"**

 **Resets the world and all time back to the beginning of the first day when The Game activated.  
Resets your level to 1.  
Resets your HP, AP, and SP to appropriate numbers for your stats and skills.  
Resets all relation statuses to what they were right before The Game started.  
Resets LUK value to default  
Clears quest log, titles, and nicknames.  
You keep: All stat values besides LUK, most skills, most skill levels, some classes, your memories, and some items.**

 **-/\\-**

I REALLY should have read this shit first.

Sighing, I opened my profile to see what the effects of those changes were.

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Jaune Arc  
Title: The Gamer  
Level: 1  
Class: Wizard v4  
Nickname: N/A**

 **HP: 2400/2400  
AP: 6150/6150  
SP: 4000/4000**

 **Strength: 140 (+400%) = 700  
** **Dexterity: 110 (+400%) = 550  
** **Vitality: 160 (+400%) = 800  
** **Intelligence: 205 (+5) (+400%) = 1100  
** **Wisdom: 220 (+5) (+400%) = 1100  
** **Luck: 10  
** **Charisma: 130**

 **-/\\-**

I hummed, then grinned broadly as I got up from bed. I didn't have pretty much any of my previous equipment except for the modified Crocea Mors, but that was okay to me.

"Well... let's see how fast I can race when I've basically been upgraded from bare feet to a fucking sports car." I flexed my fingers and prepared to start grinding levels.

"Son? You talking to some girlfriend or something?" I heard my father ask as the doorknob rattled a bit.

I smirked, "Nah, I'm just plotting. Hey dad, do you know what an illusion dimension is?"

The doorknob rattled as the old metal refused to open, "No. Sounds like something from one of your video games."

I walked over to the door, "Well, apparently it's this thing where you go through a spatial barrier, and everything that happens inside the barrier doesn't affect what happens outside."

The door finally decided to open, "Heh, sounds like a good place to train for a Hunter. Hey, but if you don't hurry up, you'll be late for sch-"

*SCHWING*

*CRASH*

The world lost a good bit of saturation as the sky turned cyan outside, and my father and I both crashed through the walls of our house, flying through the air, connected via my fist to his gut.

"Sparring match?" I asked as the wind screamed past us.

He grinned, then raised his fists high and delivered a swift hammer blow that sent me straight down, burying me several feet into the pavement.

"Alright then!" he shouted as he focused on a burst of Aura that shunted most of his momentum away.

I moved through the earth and out of the way, noting that while my Aura hadn't taken long to recover, there was the problem that I now only had six thousand of it. That hit had robbed nearly killed me.

Thankfully, Gaster Blaster's high level let me use it with ease, despite my reset bars.

My father watched in morbid curiosity and growing horror as twenty floating goat skulls phase into existence with a flash of cyan light and a burst of white dust, all looking at him with haunting gazes.

"Son, what has overcome you?" he asked as he began to glow bright with what I recognized as Aurora's prestige. That... was odd. I didn't recall him being quite so powerful, several levels shy of this display, actually.

Pain flickered across my skin before the overwhelming burning power of his unleashed light stopped. Knowing it was driven by his soul's intent, I knew, then, that he was hesitant to hurt me, doubt clearly plastered across his face.

I sighed, "I'll explain later, dad. Let me sum it up really quickly as 'I overcame myself and the world' and leave it at that for now."

He nodded, clearly not satisfied with the answer, but willing to continue, "I'm assuming you're testing yourself, so I won't hold much back. Just enough that we've a relatively fair fight."

I smiled at him, now glowing like a bright and shining star with Aurora, "Precisely. I'm going to need to try out some things before I go about messing with other things. Now then..." I raised my hand and the Gaster Blasters aimed at him, "Fall."

The lasers launched at my father one by one. I was amazed at how he dodged the first couple with ease, only to be hit by over fifteen others, all chewing away at a big chunk of his Aura. With a grin, I drew Crocea Mors, glad that I kept my skills, which included my mastery in the art of swordplay, and I charged at my father like a streak of lightning.

 **You have awoken the metal spirit dormant in your soul! You have gained the power of "Crocea Mors", the Metal Elemental!**

I hummed in curiosity as I saw streaks of light emanate from the point of impact, wriggling like lightning in the air. Pushing harder, a spiderweb of cracks marked the pavement for thirty feet around.

Unfortunately for me, I was airborne and thus, had a total lack of anchorage.

My father realized this, and pushed me back, grabbing my arm and spinning around several times, throwing me with extreme force.

Featherfall allowed me to bleed momentum as I focused my Aura towards manipulating the air.

 **You have awoken the air spirit dormant in your soul! You have gained the power of "Jetruisseau", the Air Elemental!**

That... was surprising. I had to do a bit more research into this, but for now I just had to dish out some more damage.

So, naturally, I decided to grab my father in Telekinesis and slam him into the ground repeatedly, before willing the ground to open up and crush him a bit.

 **You have awoken the earth spirit dormant in your soul! You have gained the power of "Lagrotte", the Earth Elemental!**

Okay, I seriously had to figure out what was going on with my elementals!

Suddenly, the pavement exploded upwards, sending a shower of debris from dust, to gravel, to chunks of stone at least the size of my fists, up into the air.

My father jumped into the sky and, with my mind still lingering on the surprise of the changes in my Elementals, I was grabbed by the ankle and sent spinning and hurtling down towards the ground at beyond terminal velocity.

Thankfully, Featherfall negated most of the damage, but a radiant fist rocketed down towards my face.

I closed my eyes, and extended my arm.

*BOOM!*

*VWOOSH!*

The ground cracked from the sheer force of strength bearing down on it, and I opened my eyes to see wide, shocked blue eyes. The blade of Crocea Mors was stuck through my dad's stomach, crimson on the other side. His fist was mere inches from turning my head into chunky salsa.

"I think I win." I said with a small laugh, knowing the wound wasn't fatal.

He coughed, a bit of blood dripping onto my cheek, "Yeah... alright... you win." he said in a slightly strained voice.

 **You have won the spar "You vs John Arc"!**

 **Your level has increased by twenty!**

I stood up, Crocea Mors disappearing into my inventory as I healed my dad's wound with both my own power, and coaxing his Aura to do its job.

Taking him in my arms, I leaped upwards and glided back to our house.

He watched and heard the silence of the city, "What's going on, son?"

I sighed, letting go of him and dropping the I.D., a sudden storm of sound and life entering the air again, "Illusion Dimension, and a lot more. Give me a few minutes. Make us some coffee, please?"

He shook his head and chuckled, shoulders shaking with a plethora of emotions, "First you scare the hell outta me, then you trick me into impaling myself on Crocea Mors, now you want me to make coffee?"

I smirked, "Loser of the spar makes coffee."

Blue eyes lit up with mirth, "Haha, very funny. Go on, do your few minutes thing, Mister Superman, I have coffee to make apparently."

A pat on the back was my response, "Don't worry, I'll do my best to explain it after I go kill some Grimm."

Before he could respond, I disappeared into another I.D. and shot off like a rocket.

 _... (about twenty minutes later) ..._

After slaughtering the fiftieth Cavaliscera in a row, I checked my profile again, confident in my raised abilities.

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Jaune Arc  
Title: The Gamer  
Level: 41  
Class: Wizard v4  
Nickname: N/A**

 **HP: 62,000/62,000  
AP: 212,000/212,000  
SP: 87,000/87,000**

 **Strength: 140 (+400%) = 700  
** **Dexterity: 110 (+400%) = 550  
** **Vitality: 160 (+400%) = 800  
** **Intelligence: 205 (+5) (+400%) = 1100  
** **Wisdom: 220 (+5) (+400%) = 1100  
** **Luck: 10  
** **Charisma: 130**

 **Stat Points: 200**

 **-/\\-**

Humming, I decided to do the smart thing and increase WIS to 251, though I ignored the flurry of skills I received from the act, instead boosting it to an even 270 after the fifteen point bonus I received. Increasing INT in a similar way, though keeping it at only 255. I distributed the rest of my points into STR, DEX, and VIT accordingly to my own personally set build, and confirmed it all.

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Jaune Arc  
Title: The Gamer  
Level: 41  
Class: Wizard v4  
Nickname: N/A**

 **HP: 85,000/85,000  
AP: 300,000/300,000  
SP: 140,000/140,000**

 **Strength: 165 (+400%) = 825  
** **Dexterity: 155 (+400%) = 775  
** **Vitality: 205 (+400%) = 1025  
** **Intelligence: 255 (+5) (+400%) = 1300  
** **Wisdom: 270 (+5) (+400%) = 1375  
** **Luck: 10  
** **Charisma: 130**

 **Stat Points: 0**

 **-/\\-**

I was satisfied with the results, and sped back home at supersonic speeds.

 _... (about a minute later) ..._

"Well, how do I begin to explain this? I guess technically, since you know what an RPG game is, I'll skip to the part where I make The Game explain it for me."

 **Party invite sent!**

As he accepted it, and was promptly given the 'the game is burning a hole into your soul and filling that hole with itself' feeling, I focused on 'reawakening' my elementals.

 **You have awoken the fire spirit dormant in your soul! You have gained the power of "Prometheus", the Fire Elemental!**

His groans of pain went ignored for a while, as I hummed and wondered about my eastern-themed Elemental's disappearance

 **You have awoken the water spirit dormant in your soul! You have gained the power of "Mediteras", the Water Elemental!**

Ah, well that explain it. My dad seemed to be calming down too, so that was good. I was almost ready to start a new life now.

 **You have awoken the lightning spirit dormant in your soul! You have gained the power of "Vietempete", the Lightning Elemental!**

So... Yellow Death, Jetstream, The Cave, The Fire Bringer, The Mediterranean Sea, and Life Storm.

Interesting names... though they hardly had the story behind them like my original elementals.

My original elementals... damn. Now I felt bad. Their identities had been stripped away, but their power remained, waiting to be given a name, a mind, and a purpose.

With a sigh, I also lamented my loss of friendships with everyone. I wanted to go back to the way things were, even if I'd gotten 200 practically free stat points from it. I wanted my friends back, dammit!

A thought then occurred to me: Sure, I'd lost my friendships, but they were all still there! Marbel, Yang, Ruby, Blake, Weiss, Nora, Ren, even Thomas, Jenkins, and Skyler!

They still existed, and I could get their friendships again, I just had to be patient, and remember that they didn't know me like they did before. They only knew what I'd have told them after this prestige, reset, what was this? An answer came as I remembered Dark Souls.

I was in New Game Plus, or New Game+, technically both were right, I supposed.

Turning to my father, I discovered that more than just a few reset values, and a couple of extra features from the others would be present.

 **Johnathan Arc  
Title: The Ninth Moon to Push Back the Night  
Level: 138**

Already, just from his significantly higher level, and changed title, as well as the evidence I'd been given earlier, I could tell things were going to be... different.

"So this is kinda like Final Fantasy, right? Heh, I love that series." he loved it? That implied he played the games often and paid attention to the history of it.

Yep, veeerrrrryyyy different.

"MROW~!" aaaaaaaand Sebastian stole my shirt. Damn bastard cat.

"Heh... well... looks like some things will never change." I mused while changing into another shirt, one that had dropped from a Grimm.

Different, the same, honestly I was already adjusting. All that mattered to me now was getting to my previous point of progress.

With all this new shit to deal with, though?

This... was going to be interesting.

* * *

 **Yeesh, I feel like that ending sucked balls, mostly because I couldn't find a really good stopping point. I wanted to stop at John's stat block there, but if I did that, I felt like it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense why Jaune thought things were going to be very different this time around.**

 **Not that I think you readers are dumb, no no no, not in the slightest, I just didn't think it would be adequately explained.**

 **IDK, it's easy to tell when other peoples' works are good or bad, but when it comes to my own, I'm as blind as a bat!**

 **Anyways, that's all for now, folks! Tune in next time for when we see Nora and Ren, the Vacuan White Fang, another concert or two, and more!**

 **But first, before I cut the chapter to a close, the stat dump.**

 **-/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Wizard of the Elements  
** **Level: 72  
** **Class: Wizard v3  
** **Nickname: Mr. Player Man**

 **HP: 38,000/38,000  
** **AP: 152,000/152,000  
** **SP: 55,000/55,000**

 **Strength: 80 (+265%) (+110%) (+75%) = 440  
** **Dexterity: 70 (+265%) (+110%) (+75%) = 385  
** **Vitality: 80 (+265%) (+110%) (+75%) = 440  
** **Intelligence: 143 (+5) (+265%) = 540.2  
** **Wisdom: 166 (+5) (+265%) = 624.15  
** **Luck: 115  
** **Charisma: 80**

 **Stat Points: 130**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 6'1  
** **Weight: 220  
** **Build: Med-Heavy Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blonde / Brilliant Azure / Medium Tan**

 **-/\\-**

 **Welp, that's everything I can think of! Gonna post the chapter after doing a final wordcount update and taking a quick look for errors.**

 **Thank you so much, all my beautiful and handsome and sexually attractive readers, for reading, and I'll see you all next time.**

 **This is Player 1 logging off, see ya later~ ^w^**


	16. Like the Rainbow, spread across the sky

**2/27/2017 at 10:50 AM: Alright, I'm awake and ready to start up ASAP. I'll have to cut this short in a bit, though, because I have stuff to do, but I'll at least slap down a few words.**

 **2/28/2017 at 8:18 AM: Well, most of yesterday was dedicated to disappointment in myself, and classtime. Sadly, not a very untypical monday. Oh well, at least I got some stuff put down, and some background things updated.**

 **3/4/2017 at 9:43 PM: Well... I've mostly either been working, dicking around, or doing college stuff for the past few days, so honestly I've not got much excuse. Still, I have 13.8k words written, so that's good! I'm looking to post within the next two weeks, if I'm being completely honest, so hopefully I'll be done by then!**

 **3/6/2017 at 1:59 AM: What happened? Where did the last two days go? IDEFK dude, I did nothing. Well... I saw John Wick Chapter 2 a few days ago, and I cannot stop listening to the OST. Halp, pls, I want to get out.**

 **3/7/2017 at 1:30 PM: I've decided to not go through the entirety of the Vacuo leg of the tour journey, but rather a good halfway more, due to how many events are going to be taking place. The pacing just calls for it, I don't want to chapter to be gargantuan and take a long-ass time.**

 **3/8/2017 at 1:18 PM: My life, where watching less than 2 hours of content takes more than 3 hours because my internet likes to bug out sometimes. My computer is kidna crapping out, tbch, but that might be because it's windows 10.**

 **3/9/2017 at 4:27 AM: Randomly decided to save. Current wordcount is 20.1k words.**

 **3/9/2017 at 4:12 PM: Small quick update, since I'm about to go to my last class for the week. Finished a thing I thought I would struggle with, but I think it came out pretty damn cool ^w^. Word count as of this update: about 22.8k**

 **3/10/2017 at 2:23 PM: dammit I just spent way too long writing when I have important things to do! Wordcount as of right now is about 24.6k, I'm going to go run errands before it's too late to do them.**

 **3/11/2017 at 2:55 AM: well, I did a lot of stuff today, but most importantly I'm now up to 26k words. I'll be done soon, and I'm on Spring Break now, so if things are super lucky, I might actually finish the chapter after this one within the next 10 days, or at least get a massive amount of it done.**

 **3/12/2017 at 12:57 AM: I passed out last night, but haven't properly slept since about midnight. I should probably sleep, but I feel like I should also finish the chapter and get to work on that supplementary book. Current word count: about 30.1k, and at least a thousand more words away from finishing this chapter, but also really tired too. I'm going to go to sleep, then wake up later, get my bearings, and just finish this chapter out finally.**

 **3/15/2017 at 3:43 AM: Well... I don't know where the last three days went, but it was not a useful place. I've finally finished at least. Final wordcount is about 38.2k words, so that's a TON. I hope I did well on this chapter.**

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses:**

 **Noble the Unknown Primordial:** well, Jaune's ability to punch above his weight class in that regard is because he kept most-all his levels from his skills prior to the future point where he'd have gained the New Game Plus skill. With all of those passives and boosts, including a level 99 Aurora passive (yes, Aura's boost is 100%, Aurora's boost will eventually stack up to 300%) he's five times as powerful as he ' _should_ ' be with those stats, but of course he has those reset bars and that can be a massive hindrance even when he's accidentally made sure he has so much wiggle and breathing room. Now, though, in that omake, he of course now has 212k AP and doesn't need to worry pretty much at all about that for a while, at least until he sees some of the OTHER changes.

 **Jack905:** I made the announcement at the beginning of the last chapter, that there was 3-5 more chapters in this story arc, then a story arc that runs through the summer, and THEN they start Beacon. Pay attention Mr. Jackaroni and Cheese!

 **uriil:** You can read about it in the new supplementary materials I'll have posted sometime before this chapter comes out, if you haven't already.

 **XerzoLOTCN:** Ah, okay. If you're referring to Sclatesh, then no, it is not like Renji's sword from Bleach (I had to look that up btw, that should tell you it wasn't inspired by it). At best, THAT sword would be made from a Grimm's spinal column. The Sclatesh is made out of, like, arm or leg bones, carved down into a _shortsword_ shape. Also, thank you for explaining tracks. It wouldn't really help negate an effect like THAT, because the **Aura Confusion** status that breaking the skill causes, scales up to Jaune's power level. Increasing his VIT would help, though, or creating a shielding barrier that mitigates/stops a physical attack before it can hit his body. 'Breaking' the skill basically equates to 'getting your breath knocked out', which when performed and the person is connecting their SOUL to their breathing? Yeah... major damage.

Yes, yes, the new skills are very shiny and pretty and awesome. It's all lovely, and I HAD to include I.D. at SOME point, it wouldn't be a proper Gamer story without it! This being a multi-day event should have been obvious, seeing as how it's a music tour. Music tours tend to last a while. The White Fang is very sneaky and very bad. You could compare the Vacuan White Fang to something like a small but highly efficient SWAT-type team, while the Valean White Fang are a large group of people and are more a standard quantity/quality ratio, while the Mistralian White Fang are like the Templars from Assassin's Creed, I guess. There's a ton of them, and none of them are even somewhat exceptional, just fresh recruits given a mask, a uniform, and a gun. Hmmmmm... that gives me an idea for the omake for this chapter, actually!

Yes, Yang's semblance is awesome in this, and the new past of course has its effects on people, and bonding is good, ^w^. The disease's symptoms could be compared to a mix of a stroke and ALS, AKA Lou Gehrig's Disease, which if you aren't aware (there was like a whole internet trend on it) the latter essentially is your body losing all musculoskeletal nerve function, leaving you more and more paralyzed until either (this is just me extrapolating on those effects) you can't breathe anymore, you can't eat and starve to death, or your heart stops. It's very sad and Kronelassen is very bad and should feel bad for being so evil. Winter used to be good, but kinda isn't anymore. The good old days were called so because they WERE good, up until the whole 'losing my brother and mother' thing they both went through.

Yeah, the masseuse's offer was a joke that I felt I couldn't NOT have, but Jaune is taken, and by a much better woman who would give him a happy ending on a whole 'nother league, hehehe ^w^ ... but yeah, no other girls until the official harem.

Yes, it was a dream. He went to sleep and right after, a mysterious scene started playing out. The skill is called "Night Omen" and is NOT future sight! He gets nightmares that are targeted towards specific thoughts and things in his brain, or dreams based on similar, but positive versions of those things.

Yeah, I decided that that would be a bit better focus for an omake like that, the effects it has on the things that we as players don't take into account, because we just think 'oh we can just do it over again' or something like that. Anyways, you write big, long, juicy reviews, and responding to them takes a lot longer than I'd like to, but it's worth it. I hope you keep reading, friendo, ^WWW^

 **Plasma Dragon 312:** No, the omake is not canon to the story. I mostly make them to provide some extra entertainment and show an idea that occurs to me, but for obvious reasons cannot be in the story (well, except the one thing about John and Taiyang going on a binge and doing some drunk shenanigans)

 **Catacus:** Yes this is an AU.

 **zen-aku the spirit of the wolf:** okay like... are you reading the same fic I'm writing? Seriously, I'm starting to doubt you even read half of what the chapter says. I'll repeat what I just said in the line above: THIS IS AN AU NOW. Velvet is not the strongest on her team, but she is the most versatile. Her canon semblance and weapon are not present as they are in canon. IN THIS WORLD, MYYYYYYY WOOOOORRRRRRLD, Weiss' brother is named Rengir (his name is actually a mix of Regen and Rein, which are Remnant-ian pseudo-german words for Pure Rain). Her father's name is Raureif, which means hoarfrost (the frost that forms on plants). Her mother's name is Juliette and she is dead.

"no they are not, mercury and emerald don't work for adam or even listen to him it was on cinders order, if tukson dies it's not because adam ordered is a weapon literally called snake sword."

What are you even trying to say here? I never said anything about Mercury or Emerald listening to Adam, that wasn't even a thing that crossed my mind. I didn't mention Tukson either. A weapon literally called snake sword?

Look, Zen-aku, sir/madam, I seriously think you should try to have as clear a mind as possible when writing reviews, because honestly you just look stupid when you write these things and half of it is explained by the fact that this is an AU, and the other half is something that didn't even happen anywhere in the story. On the off chance that you're confused on how an illusionist is in the Vacuan White Fang... it was built up by the General that Adam appointed. Naranja might appear aloof, but he is very serious, smart, and efficient. His troops are well-chosen and highly trained for their missions in spreading the word that the faunus will not be stepped on like trash.

Either that, or stop getting drunk before reading fanfics.

 **A Guest that made me laugh,** to be completely honest: Yeah, that sucks for Mabel. MaRbel will be sure to send, like, some flowers or something, even though she doesn't know that person. :P

 **Team NovaStorm:** I'm gonna be honestly, when I first read your name, it was like 4:40 or something in the morning and I'd woken up sweaty and disoriented because it was too hot in my house (it's damn spring and these bitches put the heat on overnight) and I thought your name was **Texas NewStar** , which made me laugh. As for your assumptions... it's not completely incorrect, but you've a lack of stand for your claims to sit on. I tend to make things into nice even sets, since I'm OCD like that. I would either use subtractive, subtractive-pigment, or additive. In the subtractive system, the three primary colors are Magenta, Yellow, and Cyan. Magenta and Yellow make Red, Magenta and Cyan make Blue, Yellow and Cyan make Green, and all mix together to make Black (this system is used in some printers, technically speaking). In the subtractive pigment system, the three primary colors are Red, Yellow, and Blue. Red and Yellow make Orange, Red and Blue make Purple, Yellow and Blue make Green, and all mix together to make Black (this system can be seen when using paint). In the additive system, the three primary colors are Red, Green, and Blue. Red and Green make Yellow, Red and Blue make Magenta, Green and Blue make Cyan, and all mix together to make White (this is what happens with light).

So, to be clear, the colors are a bit confusing if you don't know which system is being used. For Yang, I'll say that (SPOILER REDACTED)

 **Dark Durian:** Well, the 'dream' will be talked about in this chapter, friend, don't you worry about that. Also, I'd have 3 sequels if I made a story for each of the prospective omakes I've written

 **Flametusk:** Oh, it's coming, hehehehehehe (it's not coming, not yet).

 **sorry-.-no-names:** harem confirmed, yes. How could I NOT go right into the action? This isn't Dragon Ball, this is D'Arc Game of Life! It is exactly what Skyler described. Yep, IDs. The actual symbol was something from a game, or at least part of it was, the trident was a big part of it, but you should be aware that it isn't an Arc Family relic he just got a copy of and then destroyed for knowledge. He indeed is protective of his people.

Weiss indeed has more backstory revealed, at least some of it. More will be revealed later on. It affects her only if she thinks about it too hard, and she isn't keen on doing that much anytime soon.

Marbel is indeed worried about exactly what she should be worrying about. She's a civilian, she wasn't bred to be a fighter like Ruby or Yang, wasn't destined for greatness like Pyrrha or Jaune, wasn't groomed for excellence like Weiss, wasn't brought up to be strong like Blake, wasn't forced to be strong by circumstance like Nora and Ren, or anything like that. She was a civilian through and through, with an easy life and a weak constitution. Friendship and duty has helped her grow stronger, but she has to find it within herself to be strong in a way that was once simply impossible.

Fundamental Factor W is, as the chapter said, his extremely heightened mental ability being allowed to exude the rule of mind over matter. Understanding how things operate, and the ability to simply know how to do it, allows him to overcome the normal setbacks and obstacles like adjusting to making hand motions, or rewiring his reflexes to be able to perform the actions. It makes him more able to learn things quickly. You'll see in this chapter.

Lightning and Air make Thunder, Thunder is just sound caused by lightning. Metal includes any metal, though I chose brass because of brass instruments. It is definitely more of a sound elemental, but the degree of control is much greater than just making sounds, thus why he called it a Music elemental.

I did not think about that line, "you giant burning mood ring!". Yang's other three colors are not what one might expect. (SPOOOIIILLLLEEERRR) They're yellow, orange, and purple... though I think I said that in the last chapter, maybe. You and another person have theorized on the purple flames, and you two are close, but no cigars will be handed out, because you're not quite there.

Yeah. I once (read: in the past but not currently) had a friend whose respect for me was low at best, all because I was younger than him by like... 6 years. It wasn't fun, and he and another older guy fucked off from my group. I'm glad they're gone. The second-in-command needs to get his head out of his ass, or it will be forcefully pulled out to make room for Jaune's size 13 boot. Either that, or he'll just get fired.

Yeah, lots of money, but the problem is that the value of the lien is less than that of the dollar. Still, a million lien is a million lien.

Yes, the bunny slippers, and Weiss is the one wearing them. They're actually Jaune's, but are a couple sizes smaller than his feet, but they can stretch a bit, so he's fine with them, but Weiss wanted comfy footwear, and she didn't feel like wearing Ruby's sandals, so she wore the bunny slippers... also she likes blue.

Pierce Specialty soup mostly is about potatoes, beans, and meat, with various other veggies mixed in. Quinn Specialty sandwiches were as described. They're both just a family recipe, but Blake calls it the 'specialty', mostly because it's the best thing she can make, and the second best thing is a fuckton less good. Mostly, however, they're recipes that were passed from mother to daughter.

Yes, just by focusing on what the person was doing (and also denying the 'happy ending'), he learned what he should do if he gives a massage.

Garnet spoke through the voice chat, not the text boxes. she can't read, and also is a she.

The dream sequence was a dream sequence. Funny thing, if I didn't dick around for days at a time, I could have gotten the chapter out probably at least a week earlier. Right now, I'm going to slog through youtube until I'm done, then start typing as much as possible. I will update the development log when possible.

* * *

 **ANNOUNCEMENT: Check out "The D'Arc Game of Life Supplementary Handbook" for insight into Jaune, his friends, and more.**

 **Alright then, let's get started.**

 **Story Arc 2: Playing Prometheus**

 **Chapter 16: Like the Rainbow, spread across the sky**

* * *

 **You suffered from an "Ominous Nightmare"! What could it mean?**

 **You did not recover any HP, AP, or SP.**

 **#*# %* & (glitched eye-fucking text) increased Luck by 1!**

So far, not the BEST wakeup call I've had in my time

Rubbing my eyes clear, I swung my legs out of bed and planted my feet on the floor, dismissing the notifications, when a new notification popped up.

 **SYSTEM UPDATE: The Fundamental Factor of Wisdom has caused many updates.**

Suddenly, I was flooded with new notifications.

 **SYSTEM UPDATE: Some previously unresolved numbers have been adjusted.**

 **Many skills have received many levels!**

 **By raising "Unarmed Skill" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Unarmed Proficiency"!**

 **By raising "Sword Skill" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Sword Proficiency"!**

 **By raising "Power Strike" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Power Burst"!**

 **By raising "Double Strike" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Triple Strike"!**

 **By raising "Whirlwind Strike" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Cyclone Strike"!**

 **You have gained the skill "Rushing Strike"!**

 **"Rushing Strike"s level increased by 50!**

 **"Aura of Intimidation"s level increased by 20!**

 **"Aura of Killer Intent"s level increased by 20!**

 **By raising all Boxing skills to level 25, you have achieved the title "Punching Rookie"!**

 **By raising all Boxing skills to level 50, you have achieved the title "Seasoned Slugger"!**

 **By raising all Boxing skills to level 75, you have achieved the title "Rising Star Boxer"!**

 **By raising all Boxing skills to level 99, you have achieved the title "Star Boxer"!**

 **You have earned the skill "Boxing Champion"**

 **You have gained skills related to Smithing!**

 **By raising "Humming" to level 99, you have gained the skill "The Hummer"**

 **By raising "Singing" to level 99, you have gained the skill "The Singer"**

 **The synergy of Humming, Unarmed Skill, your elemental affinities, Wisdom, and Meditation, has created the title "The Mountain Monk"!**

 **The synergy of Vorpal Sword, your mastery of the various forms of Strikes, magical defenses, physical prowess, WIS, and VIT, has created the class "Magic Knight"!**

Ah, now it made sense. The urge to sleep had been so that The Game and my mind had time to sort out some things that should have been present already, driven by my Fundamental Factor of Wisdom. Flexing my hands, I also came to the conclusion that my hypothesis was correct; The combination of my massive mental capabilities, Gamer's Mind, and Gamer's Body, made it exceptionally easy to rewire my reflexes, despite my relative lack in DEX. In essence, with a lot of these skills that relied on learning and adapting to the forms needed, my abilities allowed me to impose the rule of 'mind over matter' and learn them at insane speeds.

My understanding was the key that unlocked these doors to power.

Humming at the addition of the new strike-type skill, I looked at it and found my answer. I'd thought about such a skill, a converse ability to Far Strike, which projected your attack to a distant target, and this allowed me to project myself towards a distant target to attack them. Reaching the distance as opposed to going the distance, though obviously not quite as direct a comparison as the Quantity vs Quality of my **Double Strike** vs **Power Strike.**

As it seemed, though, the prestige Power Burst seemed to grant the best of both worlds. Although the damage boost was lowered, I could tell that it would outstrip its predecessor simply by being able to provide boosted damage throughout several attacks. Triple Strike, however, seemed lackluster in comparison, and just a few usages of it with my fists towards the wall had already netted me as many levels. What was the progression there?

I'd noticed that as well, seeing more examples of prestiged skills, I'd found that there was more than just _growth_ to those skills.

If the prestiged skills were purely a growth from one level to the next, then why have them at all? Why stop when I could simply just keep raising the previous skills to even higher levels? The skills stopped at level 99, but why? It wasn't just growth, there clearly was room to improve, honing my power further and further, until, for example, with Power Strike, a mere 30 AP or 50 SP could net me more than just 300% attack damage. Four hundred percent, five hundred percent, six hundred, seven hundred, a thousand, two thousand, ten thousand!

But no, it stopped at 300%, and prestiged into Power Burst. Why?

Well, the MVP of today was shaping up to be The Fundamental Factor of Wisdom, and it made another play in helping me understand.

The Prestige wasn't just moving from one level to another. I'd understood it on a basic level before, but now it was clear as crystal.

Prestiging a skill _evolved_ it, _metamorphosed_ it, changed it into something that was beyond simply punching harder or glowing brighter. It wasn't just the next step, it was the next checkpoint, the next benchmark in growth, when sheer mastery led to something _more_.

Power Burst allowed me to maintain the effects of Power Strike over the course of several attacks, clinging to that energy for a period of time and utilizing it for more than a mere moment.

Aurora may have had much the same effects as Aura, but it added the two features of letting me spend more AP to boost a spell's power, which attributed to the growing mass that had contributed half of its necessary levels, and its sheer power of expression was able to dispel some negative status effects, owing to its growing strength and my control over it that had contributed the other half of its necessary levels.

The Boxing Champion skills added a boost to attack speed for the punches, and reflex for the blocks, owing to the mastery of the technique of boxing allowing me to do the maneuvers faster. I don't know what the third tier would be, but it seemed like it would probably have a third factor added. Made enough sense.

Sprint was almost, ALMOST like Triple Strike, but I could certainly feel the difference between Run and Sprint, a difference that was not present between Double and Triple Strike. Honestly, I was probably looking into this too hard, it might have simply been another step towards a greater skill that had yet to be revealed. I'd train later, right now I needed to make some food for the girls before the call is made that we're heading to the next town.

Plus, I had to mull over that dream.

 _... (a bit later) ..._

Amidst the sizzle of bacon, I thought back to the dream.

It was full of imagery, but quite fuzzy at times. The Gamer seemed to be present within that man's soul, and 500 years of war? Damn, I couldn't even think of having to survive and live with something like a fucking WAR going on for a year, much less five hundred!

But... perhaps, then, that was the hint.

That man was a faunus, I could feel it in his tail and ears and claws, with a cyan Aura. He could roar and slash and move like lightning and strike like thunder and... and it was incredible.

There were small hints hidden in the thoughts and feelings that I could sense from him, things that were hard to pick up on in the moment, but were obvious in hindsight.

They names were hidden behind bursts of glitched sound that hurt my ears to listen to, but what I COULD hear, and see, gave it all away.

King of War, Star Ever Shining, Beast Undying. These would be titles gained by someone who was a master of combat, someone who had massive amounts of Aura, and someone who seemed immortal. Surviving five hundred years living in a war certainly gave credit to that belief.

It was me.

Or at least, a version of me that the future could hold. My power didn't let me see into the future, since the future changed all the fucking time, but it let me look at some possibilities, I'd figured. It just made sense.

Were Yang and I going to get married and have a honeymoon at a ski resort? Probably. Maybe not. It's uncertain, but possible.

Was Yang going to die to a horde of Grimm? More than likely not, I wouldn't allow it within any measure of reason, at least, but it was possible.

Was my father going to get murdered and Vale burned to ash? It was unlikely, since I'd be there as much as possible to protect him and everyone, but it was still possible.

Was I going to end up alone after my friends and family all died of old age, whilst I was cursed to live forever and fight a war in my grief? Was I going to end up finding someone who reminded me of my young and unknowing self because he looked very much the same? Was I going to teach a very strong faunus man a fighting style I developed?

Would my blonde friend live for two centuries?

Would I find love again, only to have it ripped away when my wife and child are killed?

Would I end up killing the descendant of my child and only know after the blow was struck, but before the life faded from their eyes?

Would I lose my sense of self so much that I abandoned my identity as Jaune Arc and took up some name I currently can't even think of?

Would I be doomed to die because some sort of god-killing spear or something tore an irreparable hole in my soul and I would wither away and die?

Would I be immortalized with that story as my legacy?

Most likely not, probably might, it was a monumental stretch of logic and planning forward.

 _But it was still fucking possible._

The 'Ominous Nightmare' was little more than that, I could conclude. Something ominous that, much like the effects of Aura Confusion, grew in scale and complexity with my increased power in the case of Aura Confusion, or INT and WIS in the case of the dream. I hadn't seen an ominous nightmare before, but all the evidence pointed towards it being just another, larger scale nightmare based on a possibility that my overactive mind thought of. I could also probably figure that they'd end with me either dying or about to die, too, since what was more ominous that seeing your own death?

I sighed, then combined my elementals to create Mystimunja, a mistress of Thunder. With a rumble, shortly followed by adding Crocea Mors to the mix to create four personalized chimes of alarms, I woke the others up, noting that Weiss had stayed the night in our suite. It made things a tad easier, I supposed.

Already having ample coffee and tea ready, I checked their statuses as they made their way towards the dining table like a horde of zombies.

My father had slept like a rock, and seemed relaxed and waking up fairly quickly. The others would catch up soon enough.

Blake seemed to be nodding back off even as she walked, her ears drooping in tiredness. I figured she probably had a little trouble sleeping.

Weiss, however, clearly had a lot more trouble sleeping, seeing as there were faint tear stains connecting her red-tinted eyes to her jawline. A quick scan told me she'd had a nightmare.

Marbel seemed to be currently trying to get her higher thinking activated, rolling her joints and patting the side of her head with the heel of her hand.

I chuckled softly, sighing and serving the drinks to the appropriate parties, tea to Blake and my dad, coffee to Marbel and Weiss, with some extra cream and sugar in Weiss' to give it a nicer taste and hopefully cheer her up.

"So, we're waiting for the first ca-" I stopped when my scroll went off. The scheduling manager had made the first call, "Alright, luckily we don't have to worry too much about time restraints, since breakfast is served-" I telekinetically dished out the plates, "-and we have an hour to get to the airport for our scheduled flight. That means an hour for breakfast, bathing, and dressing, then Weiss has a signing at noon after a tad more sleep, I'd prescribe, and the concert is starts at 6, so that's plenty of time for more training."

With a mumbled cacophony of agreements, I smiled and sat down with them, making idle chit-chat while we ate. We would be heading straight to the airport for an hour of flight, and I was contemplating the prospect of personally taking them all the hotel under the cover of Illusion Dimension. Honestly, it was a lot safer than a convoy.

However, what would that look like from an outside perspective? We'd disappear, and then reappear in front of the hotel. I'd been lucky slipping out of view as a single person in a crowd, but we'd stick out like a sore thumb if I scaled that up to a full convoy.

With a sigh, I ultimately decided that a modicum of safety wasn't worth the social cost.

With that notion dealt with, I recalled last night. At some point, which was when it was morning in Vale, Yang had woken up. With her still half-asleep brain vulnerable, I had affectionately teased her about how adorable she looked when she slept. Her blush was worth the protests and losing my view of her for the time being. If I was correct in my assumption, then we'd end up getting onto the dustjet about the time Signal let out for the day.

 _Jaune W: Hey, good morning/afternoon, sunshine. :W_

 _Yang W: Hey! Geez, what took you so long? :W_

 _Jaune W: The distortion of perceived time due to massive geological distances :W_

 _Yang W: ... wut? :W_

 _Jaune W: Time zones. Remember? :W_

 _Yang W: Oh shit! I almost forgot. Damn, and I was feeling upset because I thought you were ignoring me :W_

 _Jaune W: How could I willingly ignore someone as lovely as you? :W_

 _Yang W: Yeah yeah, anyways, I'm soooooo boooooorrrrred. :W_

 _Jaune W: odd, I thought history was fairly interesting :W_

 _Yang W: Learning about ruined cities and old dead dudes isn't my idea of a fun time. Hanging out with a young, alive dude is more my style. :W_

 _Jaune W: Sadly I'm pretty much on the other side of the continent. :W_

 _Yang W: I know, and that's what sucks. :W_

 _Jaune W: Don't worry, I'll be back in a week, and who knows? I was thinking about dropping Marbel and Blake off and taking you and Ruby on the Mistral leg of our journey. How does that sound? :W_

 _Yang W: It sounds awesome, but finals are coming up, and I don't think my dad would approve of me taking them early and going on a essentially a working vacation. :W_

 _Jaune W: I could either challenge him, or call in a favor from Headmaster Ozpin. I might be able to get such a relatively small favor :W_

 _Yang W: You know the headmaster? Oh my god YES. Please, I want to see Mistral, I heard it's so pretty! :W_

 _Jaune W: I'll see what I can do, babygirl. For now, though, we gotta get ready to fly. :W_

 _Yang W: Alright. Rubes and I were gonna check out the mountains, train on some Grimm there. :W_

I hummed curiously, then excused myself to go to my room, checking Ruby's profile, _Jaune W: Be careful. Speaking of Ruby, though, how's she been? :W_

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Ruby Rose  
** **Title: Little Red Fighting Hood  
** **Level: 62 -} 64  
** **Class: Reaper  
** **Nickname: Rosie**

 **HP: 8000 -} 9100  
** **AP: 20,000 -} 21,000  
** **SP: 11,000 -} 13,000**

 **Strength: 40 -} 42 (+12%) = 47.04  
** **Dexterity: 91 -} 92 (+217%) = 291.64  
** **Vitality: 50 -} 51 (+12%) = 57.12  
** **Intelligence: 100 (+88%) = 188  
** **Wisdom: 40 (+65%) = 66  
** **Luck: 25  
** **Charisma: 82**

 **Stat Points: 20 -} 30**

 **Age: 15  
** **Birthday: November 11th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'1 -} 5'2  
** **Weight: 110 -} 113  
** **Build: Svelte Adorable -} Svelte Graceful  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Black with Crimson Highlights / Silver / Pale  
** **Cup Size: BB**

 **Aura's level: 55 -} 72**

 **-/\\-**

 _Yang W: She's been using The Game to train her little ass off. I got this skill, and it's been helping me heal her up after she practically draws blood just doing weight training. :W_

 _Jaune W: Yeesh, she's working hard as hell then. What skill did you get? :W_

 _Yang W: I'm... not entirely sure why I got it, but... this is it. :W_

She sent me a private text message containing pretty much everything on the skill. Staring at it, I hummed in curiosity, then smiled, _Jaune W: Well, it seems like some kind of in-born indication that you're a good person. :W_

 _Yang W: I wasn't born with it. The Game said I was blessed with it. :W_

I blinked, pausing in my magically enhanced shower, during which I'd leveled Dishwashing of all things, and found that at level 50, it allowed me to substitute soap for my Aura. At that same time, I'd found Crocea Mors, Pluviteus, and Juristimunja combining into what could be described only as a 'chemical cleansing' elemental. The newly named Saniset adjusted to the frequency of Dishwashing, and soon I found the water bubbling on my skin, carrying dried sweat and filth away with it.

 _Jaune W: I'd make an angel line if I wasn't confused by this. :W_

 _Yang W: I think the Game gave it to me. :W_

 _Jaune W: Then... that would mean that The Game gives skills to my allies, not just me. Maybe, as a part of you, it's related to LUK? :W_

 _Yang W: Luck is the 'story of my life' stat, you said, so... what, then? It's a part of the story of my life to be generous? :W_

 _Jaune W: Heh, you were already generous enough to give a guy like me your love :W_

 _Yang W: This isn't the time for sweet-talking, Jaune. :W_

 _Jaune W: Well, I don't see the issue. You got a free skill that's helped you help your sister and will, some day soon, help you help all your friends too. :W_

 _Yang W: It's... it can't be that simple. It's... it can't JUST be because it's part of who I am, can it? :W_

 _Jaune W: Even if it isn't, that has to be the biggest reason. Relax, Sun Angel, it's a good thing, isn't it? :W_

 _Yang W: I... I guess it is. :W_

I heard her sigh, then after a few more seconds, I suddenly saw her Luck shoot up by ten points.

 _Yang W: Well, I guess that was the answer then, because I just got a notification that accepting part of my 'enhanced destiny' increased my Luck by 10. :W_

 _Jaune W: Huh. Well, I guess being part of The Game has allowed you to walk a newer, better path in life. :W_

 _Yang W: Heh, yeah, I guess so. :W_ I could sense her smile across our whispers, _W: If I'm going to be honest, no matter how crazy it is, it's too great to give up. I wouldn't want to go back to the way things were before for anything in the world. :W_

I felt my heart swell, and the urge to run all the way to Vale just to give Yang a hug and a kiss whispered at the edges of my mind. Sadly, no matter how sweet and heartfelt her words were, I had a job to do, _Jaune W: Heh, goddamn do I love you, babygirl. The second we land in Vale for refueling, I'm going to hug you SO hard :W_

 _Yang W: I'll be looking forward to it, my sweet knightlight. :W_

I hummed, then smiled at that little nickname, _Jaune W: Heh, is that a new nickname? :W_

 _Yang W: Hm~... yeah. I figured you could use a new one. :W_

 **You have gained the nickname "Knightlight"!**

 _Jaune W: Heh, thank you. I'll cherish it. :W_

I checked the info on it, and was surprised to find that it was apparently the 'ultimate final level' in Yang's nicknames for me. I equipped it a moment later, not wanting to waste this precious gift.

If what I'd seen from my dream self was true, then the emotional weapon and armor that was the bond between two hearts, was an extremely powerful and invaluable one.

Looking over my other new things, I found that Magic Knight gave me a boost to HPR and APR, as well as +50% to my effective VIT, INT, and WIS. My melee and ranged Magic Attack Damage also got increased, though by smaller measures than the classes that were dedicated to those types of spells. Ultimately, while Wizard was useful for the boosted APR, I quickly realized that it was also inhibiting me due to the -70% penalty to Physical Attack Damage.

With a sigh, I swapped them out, feeling the shift of power as strength entered my muscles. It didn't feel like getting stronger, though, as the class didn't give a boost to my effective Strength. Rather, it was more like my muscles had been starved of energy, and now they'd finally been fed.

Grinning in delight, I looked over my titles, and swapped out Wizard of the Elements, which while cool, I hadn't really been using its unique skill of imbuing raw aura attacks with an element, and Druidic Proficiency was essentially a skill that gave me the Ease of Casting boost, and as for the boost to my Elemental Buffs effects, I need only switch over when the buffs were starting to run out.

The title that took its place was Star Boxer, for the boost in effective STR. When meditating, which I'd found would now be far more effective with the right preparation, I would switch to The Mountain Monk title and Monk v4 class, which would give a total 60% increase in the efficiency of my meditation.

Thinking on it once more, I knew that meditation granted 1 additional Max AP for every 5 minutes of meditation. The monk boosts, however, reduced the time needed by 60%, bringing it down to just 2 minutes. That granted a total 720 AP if I meditated from midnight to midnight the next day. It was just another rock on the heap, but if I meditated for the next three months until Beacon began, then I'd get nearly 65k Max AP.

The biggest problem with Meditation, and it wasn't one that could be fixed easily, was that it took massive amounts of uninterrupted time to produce results that I would find acceptable. Just one thousand Max AP would take over thirty-three hours, a bit over a day and three-eighths. During that time, however, I needed to eat and drink, and I don't think my friends would be willing to wait a whole day without training, and you bet your ass I'd be there if it was possible.

However, a clarity had come over me, and I'd realized soon after I began thinking about it, that the results I wanted were easily done in the grand scheme of things. I could get two weeks of meditation in easily, over the course of all the time we had. The other major hurdle besides time, however, was convenience. I needed to stay almost absolutely still for meditation to work, and with how much moving around I'd have to do for all of this contract stuff, I needed to plot out a way to utilize my free time.

The biggest source of free time was at night, since I didn't need to sleep, and nothing would be going on for that period of time. Given the loose amount of say, eight hours a night, from eleven to seven, over the course of 34 more days, I'd have enough time to get about eight thousand more Max AP purely through meditation.

It was a good haul, if I was going to be honest.

I grinned as I finalized the plans in my head, and a tiny bit more entered at the orderliness of my effective STR coming out to a nice even 500 with my passive boosts. Technically, the 110% increase was from an active Ki Body, but I kept it active all the time, so it pretty much was passive.

Stepping out of the shower and steaming the water away with Xibuviteus, I sighed, dressed, and exited the bathroom.

Time to get started on the day.

* * *

 _(An hour or so later, Jaune POV)_

I cracked my neck and rolled my shoulders, "Alright, again."

Marbel and Blake glanced at each other, then nodded and surged towards me with their weapons drawn.

I reflexively threw up a High Guard with my left arm, my bracer and skill's power blocking Marbel's shortsword as she blasted towards me with her semblance. Pushing her back, I swung my right foot in a high kick whilst spinning around, catching her up the gut and sending her rolling along the ground, "That was predictable. You can't just come from exact opposite directions like that. You're being unobstructive, but you aren't complimenting each other's atta-AH!" I was struck by Marbel's sword cutting into my lower back. With a slight bit of remorse, I spun to grab her arm, but she lunged away from me with her retreating move, "Better. The two halves need not be consecutive, and strike an enemy when they aren't paying attention." as I spoke, I spun around and caught Gambol Shroud's katana blade between my fists, "But make sure you don't give them enough time to recover and expect something. Most enemies won't be able to think as fast as me, but you can never be too sure. Reflexes may also drive them to move without thought, so be careful. It's a careful balance you have to maintain." I punctuated my sentence by headbutting Blake, then punching her in the stomach, "Don't let yourself be anticipated." a roundhouse kick connected to Marbel's face, throwing her off balance and sending her flying away, "And that includes not being predictable."

A trio of bullets pinged off my Mana Shield, and I spun around only to receive a pair of slashes, one at my stomach and one at my legs. I was satisfied with Blake's recovery after the stomach slash had been thrown off about halfway through by a Right Low Guard

I heard Marbel approach from behind, and spun around to block her high slash, only to be surprised when she flipped over my head and her image was replaced with Blake's.

A pair of blades pierced my stomach from both the front and back side, both girls grinning as their combo attack worked. Retracting their blades, I motioned for them to stop, my wounds healing pretty much instantly, "Very good, very good! A combo attack, and a damn deadly one at that. I wasn't expecting you to flip over my head like that, Marbs. Clever, veeerrrryyy clever." my smile beamed brightly.

 **"Complimenting Offense"s level increased by 2!**

I had gained the skill after starting to direct Marbel and Blake to work together in attacking me. It was relatively simple, despite the concept. It allowed me to be a better tactician, and direct them in fighting together more efficiently. They listened to my orders better, their stats got a boost, and it increased my effective WIS when active.

Marbel beamed back, "Thanks. After a certain point in the training, I realized I was able to do more than just an overhead vertical slash. I'm glad it worked on the first try, at least."

"Those damn guards you keep doing are very, VERY annoying." Blake complained, pouting while rubbing her stomach lightly.

Healing them both of the damage I caused, I smirked at her, "You need to remember that even beef isn't brainless. The Champion Boxer skills denote the growth of technique as well as strength and speed. I added metal bracers and was instantly able to deflect blade attacks with instant adjustments to my normal blocking maneuvers. In essence, a piece of equipment let me improvise better."

She let out a low groan, "Take them off. In fact, if you're going to be honing your boxing skills, then you should probably be dressed for the part, in just trunks, shoes, and a pair of gloves. Your bare fists hurt... a LOT."

I chuckled, "I'm pretty sure that putting four inches of padding on them won't change much."

"I'm also sure that kicks aren't allowed in boxing." Marbel said as she rubbed her jaw, "That shit hurts too. All your attacks hurt."

I patted her cheek with several bursts of ten-times-powered Soulforges, "Yeah, but that's to be expected when Strength scales by some unseen margin. Technically, with my various boosts, a kick with 5% strength should have about 43.4 STR behind it, which if every point in Strength meant 10 damage like I remember it doing back when I first started, then that would mean it would deal 434 damage. With my damage boosts, which should... huh, only Incredible Strength was increasing my damage... and it equates back to 868, the original maximum STR calculation. However, despite that being what the math says, it did over twice that." I sighed, "The math behind it is hard to figure out. I can hit with literal tons of force with only 80 STR. I shudder to think what kind of effective physical damage people who focus on it can dish out." and that brought my thoughts to Taiyang Xiao Long, the main obstacle in my path as far as Yang and Ruby were concerned.

He was being compliant right now, but how long would that really last? It would probably only take one bruise too many to send him back into relentlessly hating me for inspiring his daughters to go out and get themselves hurt. I had a feeling that saying it was for training wouldn't fly with him. Despite being very smart, he was driven by his emotions far more than his logic.

That was something I was familiar with, but I was actively trying to fix that problem with myself.

Marbel pouted at me, "Well, what if I just put all of my points into Strength? I bet I'd beat you then."

I rubbed my face briefly, doing the math in only a few seconds, "That would make your effective Strength about 260 or so, given your boosts from your Aura and Semblance. Still less than half of my effective Strength. Then again, I have more modifiers and the auric resources to run them all."

She sighed, "Yeah yeah, wave your skills around, just don't get a dick skill and start waving THAT around. Are we done with combat fluidity?"

I checked the time, "Yeah, I'd say we're done. You two should start meditating. Here in a little while, I need to get Weiss ready and we need to go to that signing thing, and by the time we get back, it'll have been enough time for you two to have gotten... about 50 Max AP. Blake, today is going to be when you get an Elemental. Inverse to what I assumed for a normal person's soul, having an Elemental makes your soul stronger, not weaker. With my increasing understanding, I think you semblance relates more to the three elements Lightning, Earth, and Metal. It might sound odd, especially given your Elemental Affinity layout, but that DOES explain why your semblance is so weak." seriously, it was level 5!

She quirked her lips at me, "Shouldn't I start the process before you and Weiss get back? The signing is at noon, and the concert starts at 6. I don't want to have to wake up from summoning and Elemental and immediately have to get dressed and start my security duties."

Thinking on it, I hummed, "True. I'll set up the circle, then when you get the fiftieth additional Max AP, immediately perform the ritual. That should leave you with about half an hour to get yourself settled before we head to the concert.

She nodded, her shoulders slumping, "Tonight is going to be busy, isn't it?"

I nodded, "Yeah. Sorry about that. Look on the bright side, though. The sooner you get one, the sooner you can start with more specialized training, and even before then, just what you'll pick up by experimenting would make you a much better fighter." I smiled invitingly at her.

Blake let out a small humming sound, then her eyes drifted shut as she sighed, "I suppose you have a point. It's just one night, and like you said, the Vacuan White Fang aren't acting yet. Given what I know about their process, it will be at least two more days before they do something."

Humming, I began marking out the circle on the floor, "I see... the schedule says that at that time, we should be either entering or exiting Bai'Jian. Knowing their intelligence, they'll either strike late at night, or in the wee hours of the morning. Whether it's before or after the concert is a mystery." I gestured for the two of them to sit, and I let them start reaching out, connecting to the planet like I usually did.

Marbel spoke up, "They might pass it on to the Mistral Fang, rather than risk their guys here."

I stood, facing them, and started focusing on Schwarza's power, "I doubt they'd trust such a quantity-over-quality group like them. They're far too professional." I let my Elemental bring out the steel cylinder, and after a few attempts, I found myself moving towards it, only to get tripped up and send tumbling to the floor, cracking my neck on the edge of the barrel.

Marbel made to stand, but I stood up faster, "I'm alright, just a little hard to move the individual elements when my elementals are combined like this." I gestured for her to continue meditating, then checked the two notifications I'd gotten.

 **Manipulating the element of Gravity has created the skill "Superweight Field"**

 **Manipulating the element of Electromagnetism has created the skill "Magnetic Pounce"**

The former was an instant boon, allowing me to increase the force of gravity on an area. It only cost me 300 AP/m for every cubic meter, and I quickly found that covering the area barely an inch around my body in all directions was just barely a tenth of that.

The latter had to be increased in power to be of much use right now. My Stone and Metal Skin skills increased my weight by a lot, but of course it wasn't as much as the steel barrel, not even close. I weighed maybe 330 lbs with both of those skills as they were, which was equal to about 150 kg. The steel cylinder's dimensions gave it a mass of about 2150 kg.

I got an idea, and after quickly getting Weiss up, I slipped into an I.D. and exited by breaking through the roof.

 _... (A bit later) ..._

I stood in the middle of the sunlit desert, at least ten mile of sand in every direction, and I focused.

One by one, my skills began flowing in, my Aurora burning with unhidden glory as I piled on the pounds. My steel training suit previously weighed about three tons, but with all of that weight distributed over my entire body, it was easy to move around and do everything I usually did.

With a suddenness, I took a sweeping stride like Qing Long once had.

Steel buckled and broke as it moved with my body, only to flow to fill in the space again, this time better articulate.

A jab, a hook, an uppercut, five from each arm, each time the steel broke as I hardened it and made it brittle, then shattered it with my movements.

It was almost like getting comfortable in bed, but instead of cotton, I was manipulating hard steel to form around my body better. Such awkward and forced movements like the ones I'd previously made my range of motion were replaced with sleek, well-articulated plates, joints, and axis.

I dropped I.D. and dug into the ground, plowing through sand, soon stone, and tumbling through the air as I happened upon a cave. Landing with an axe kick, I angered a Deathstalker. Not giving it time to argue, Vorpal Sword began carving into its back plates while a combination of Energy Bolt, Energy Arrow, and various shot-type spells annihilated its stinger.

"Not this time, you chittering bitch." I stomped with Power Stomp, harder and harder and harder, until eventually my foot broke through and a loud CRUNCH signaled that its back plates were weakened enough that they'd broken, its own armor made to impale it. I held out my hand and a massive flow of Ash Sparks filled the wound while Telekinesis began ripping off its armor.

I think it might have been sadistic, cooking it alive with the spell, but I needed those skill levels.

After burning it within a quarter of its HP, I washed the sparks away and began pelting it with high-speed gravel, using Razor Wind in conjunction to shear off its legs and pincers. Feeling my body burning with delight, I charged my hands with Zapping Arcs and slammed them both down with a combination of that and Shocking Steps.

Electricity lit up the cave, and for a split second I swore I could sense something from the Deathstalker.

It happened three more times as the electricity overrode its functions and eventually started frying its innards, I felt... something.

The lightning surged more intensely around my hands and, experimentally, I called upon Skotomorphosis.

Before it died, I felt its energy flowing into me. Finishing it off with a haymaker Right Hook to where I assumed its brain might have been, I leaped off of it and created a full-body mirror in front of myself with several swift motions.

I watched and flexed as the color black overtook my skin. Removing all of my clothes, I watched human skin become glossed over and replaced by a black carapace, off-white plates covering it in several places. A tail sprung up from my backside, long and flexible despite its armoring, capped with a long, almost lance-like stinger. It stretched and retracted, and I smiled with a few small clacks of my new mandibles. I didn't have fingers, more like bladed mitts. My cyan aura darkened a few shades, but Aurora soon broke through, banishing the spindly limbs, bulky torso, and vile carapace. I allowed the stinger tail to stay, however, as I thought it looked pretty cool.

Opening the skill's details, I called upon a few more transformations at the same time. Ursa Gigantus fur blossomed along my arms, chest, and legs. Longhorn Inquisprint horns sprouted from my head. Vulcyrie Mantleus wings unfolded from my back, flames now wreathing my wrists and ankles. King Taijutsu scales covered my skin in most places, armoring my open spots.

I looked like an abomination, to be completely honest.

 **Calling upon the murderous and violent biology of 5 Grimm simultaneously has unlocked the class "Abomination"!**

"Oh fuck off. Don't start doing that shit again." I memorized the formation, humming softly, then let Aurora burn away the corruption, "I don't want to go back to that." sighing, I put my outfit back on and started destroying everything in the cave, pulling ores from the stone.

I watched with an odd curiosity as Crocea Mors clawed his way up into exist as a metal syrup solidified into his body, except instead of all at once like normally, it was from his outstretched arms downwards. His head surfaced and he quickly forced his torso up, then his feet broke free and he leaped into the air.

Xiburichu intersected his path and set his skin alight, melting it and forming a sludge-like man of hot steel. His melted face tore open and fire roared from inside, willpower and endurance making my Forge elemental.

Mystral roared back, tackling into the sludge beast's chest. Metal cooled and forming gleaming silvery steel scales on a humanoid frame. Red hot metal wing bones spread from its back, the membranes made of sheets of flame. Steam and smoke escaped every crack and crease in its body as the red and orange light of incandescent metal glowed between the lines

Roimontagne sat atop a throne of blackened stone, and I told him exactly what to do.

With a clap of his hands, his kingdom of the cave shattered into hundreds of millions of pieces.

A swirling mass of ores surged towards Lumiron, the Refinery elemental. Steam, smoke, and other gases billowed into the air as the ores were melted down, purified, and solidified into blocks.

When I decided it was time to stop, he had gathered a total of twelve tons of iron and soon-purified iron pyrite, seven tons of aluminum, three tons of copper, one ton of titanium, five hundred pounds of silver, and fifty pounds of gold rested in large fifty-pound blocks, each different metal stacked neatly into pyramid formations.

The aluminum, copper, titanium, silver, and gold all went into my inventory. I stared at the iron, then relieved my APR by unsummoning Xiburichu, leaving Crocea Myst as an elemental of dry rust. The rust then flaked away and Mystral disappeared. Roimontagne nodded and his sludge-beast form collapsed as life exited the now un-glowing eyes.

Crocea Mors nodded to me, and I noted a slight texture of facial hair starting to grow on his face. Touching my own face, I realized it was simply a mirror of my own growth.

His hand was thrust forward, and my iron heavy plates were soon loaded up with more condensed iron. Three tons became four, four became six, six became ten and at that point I made him stop, feeling a great strain on my body. Finding myself able to bear it, I had him place the other five tons slowly onto it. I waited, and stopped him at twelve tons, "That's enough... for now, at least."

Removing the armor, I dismissed Crocea Mors and recollected the barrel. Roimontagne's influence sealed the cave back up after I leaped back up to the surface, slipping into an ID after the coast was clear.

Standing under the cyan-tinted sky, I looked out the slightly muted colors of my Illusion Dimension, appreciating the beauty of the desert and the occasional cactus or rock formation.

After I got my fill, I began destroying all of that natural beauty with my spells.

 _... (On the run) ..._

Swinging a two-ton sword was far different from lifting two tons of weight. I'd used about fifty pounds of condensed titanium to empower Crocea Mors, using the light, strong metal to replace the simple steel, never removing the runes, hihirokane, gold, or anything else. I could feel it singing in my other hand, crying out almost.

My soothing aura covered it, quelling its cries. I had an idea of what it was about.

There was a philosophical problem that went as follows: Captain Theseus has a ship. He loves this ship, and makes sure that every part of it is in top condition. If a board starts to rot, it is replaced, if a sail tears, it's replaced, if a hook rusts, it's replaced. Eventually, however, the entire ship's parts are replaced. Is the ship still the same ship that Captain Theseus loved? Or is it a different ship?

A spin on the question had come nearly a year later. Say instead of piece by piece, Captain Theseus replaced all the boards, then replaced all the hooks, the replaced all the sails, and the ropes, and so on. Is the boat still the same boat, even when so much of it has changed? Now suppose someone took those used ship parts and built a new ship. Is the ship in Captain Theseus' possession the original ship, or is the new ship built from all the old parts the original ship?

I'd had a theory in mind relating to Crocea Mors. It had been used for centuries, long before even my great great grandfather used it in war, before my grandfather used it in the color war, in fact I believe it might have even dated back to one of the old Kings of Mistral.

The man in question was none other than King Arthur. He ruled alongside his two royal advisors, Merlin the Wise, and John the Strong.

If I focused very, VERY hard, I could recall my experience in the summoning process of Crocea the elemental. I remembered him being coated with something. It was known that King Arthur had a sword said to be blessed by the gods, coated with gold.

I'd asked my father and he'd admitted that he hadn't brushed up on his history of our family in quite a long while. However, it was accepted among the Arcs that King Arthur may have had some relation to us.

That thought brought up some odd feelings. There was a whole gaggle of Arcs living in Chateau d'Or Lune, or the Castle of the Golden Moon. The Arc family purchased it from the Mistrali council. It was said to be the original castle of King Arthur of Mistral.

*scratch scratch*

Ugh. For some reason, thinking on the topic this much had made my brain start to itch. It felt like the irritating buzz of knowing something, having it on the tip of your tongue, but unable to recall it. Unfortunately, this feeling reached deeper, as though the information reached throughout my entire mouth, making me want to cough and scratch my tongue and chew on the insides of my cheeks.

I forcibly dismissed the thoughts, instead going back to just the past, to King Arthur. Five years into his rule, Merlin the Wise died to a mysterious illness, and shortly after, John the Strong had a falling out with the king. Left with just himself and his son, he eventually grew restless and yet exhausted. He wished to be active, but nothing interested him. The stories say that he eventually went on a rampage, killing Grimm by the hundreds and raving about 'a war in heaven'. He died dishonored by all but his family.

It made me wonder what the modern family thought of him.

Personally, I saw his tale as tragic. A man stripped of all friends, left alone in a position where loneliness affects the lives of everyone. Nobody attempted to help him, everyone assumed he was so strong that he never needed help.

I shook away the morbid thoughts, moving to a lighter topic.

Well, thirteen tons wasn't light at all, to be completely honest, but running around with that on my body was easier than running around with those thoughts on my mind.

A Vulcyrie Mantleus, summoning into the ID, was running across from me, dodging my spells on occasion.

I put an end to its dodging ways with fifty Gaster Blasters.

A very tiny amount of EXP, as to be expected, but it gave me the normal amount of EXP for my skills.

Speaking of which... the new Deathstalker was already completely dismembered.

And I was punching it to death.

 **By raising all Champion Boxer skills to level 25, you have achieved the title "Big Star Boxer"!**

 **By raising Triple Strike to level 99, you have earned the skill "Combo-Count Attacks"**

I hummed and paused in my assault, looking at the skill. Suddenly, the progression made sense.

 **-/\\-**

 **Combo-Count Attacks (Active) Level: 1, Exp: 24.53%, Cost: 600 SP  
** **The ability to push oneself to extreme attacking speeds. Having mastered utilizing bursts of two and three attacks, the user is able to lash out very quickly and efficiently in order to land many blows in very rapid succession. With time and mastery, the user may deliver death with dozens of strikes in mere moments.**

 **Base Damage: 100%  
** **Attack Speed: 250%  
** **Each consecutive blow landed deals 10% less damage than the last.**

 **-/\\-**

The first two skills were to train my reflexes to be better able to make quick bursts of multiple attacks, and this skill would help link many bursts together. It granted me a boost in Attack Speed to compensate for the increased number of attacks.

I activated it and delivered ten punches in rapid succession, seeing the combo counter appear. Taking a second to recharge, I activated it again.

Again, again, and again.

Until it was done.

 **Extreme exercise of your muscles has increased your STR by 2!**

 **Pushing yourself to move despite incredible encumbrance has increased your DEX by 3!**

 **Withstanding tremendous physical strain has increased your VIT by 2!**

I didn't stop either, adding another ton of weight, putting myself under crushing gravity, I willing put myself under such strain for a single purpose.

If I was fast, if I was tough, if I was strong, then I could put myself between my enemies and my friends, and I could protect them.

I continued, not stopping for more than a moment.

I would fight.

I would endure.

I would protect.

I wouldn't let myself become what my nightmares predicted... I'd be better than him.

I would win.

* * *

 _(A few hours later, Jaune POV)_

I gently pushed someone back with telekinesis as they got a little too close for Weiss' comfort. Did these idiots not understand that there were snipers on the lookout?

Of course they didn't. We didn't want to cause a panic, of course, we just wanted Weiss to sign some covers, the occasional t-shirt, it wasn't too bad.

Well... except for the drunk guy I had to knock out, but it was either knock him out or he whipped out his dick in the middle of the store we were located at.

Weiss, understandably, didn't judge me for it.

I announced that this we'd not be taking any more people, and within fifteen minutes, we were ready to go.

I silently instructed the snipers to leave, and hid my glare at an observing White Fang member under an illusion.

Zooming my vision in, I caught their name, level, and information.

 **Nayro Skyus**  
 **Title: A Shooting Star leaping through the Sky.  
Level: 66**

She was more simple, had a semblance that involved changing her personal gravity, which she used to enhance her jumps and lunges. Her faunus type was 'serval', which I found was a large cat that had long legs and a small face. I chuckled softly, imagining Yang's reaction to one of them, since she liked cats, and these ones seemed especially adorable.

Nayro's weapon was named Falling Meteor, and was a relatively simple rocket launching spear. It had a small automatic rifle in the haft, enough to pepper the ground in case she might not be able to simply blow her enemy's face off.

Her title seemed to come from the fact that her Aura had grown large enough to prestige into Aurora. The other members seemed to be of a higher caliber, but most were just a couple of steps below that point.

Constant diligence was great and all, unless it was being used by the enemy, in which case it was annoying.

Sending a few messages to Naranja, I found that he was, as Blake predicted, planning on attacking in two day's time, before 'those dirty humans' were leaving Bai'Jian. I approved and told him to go as soon as possible, then messaged Marbel via chat that we were heading back to the hotel. She confirmed that Blake was out cold, her current state being 'meditating', and I used Xiburichu and Juristimunja to help the limo move faster and be more fuel efficient, just because I could.

"So... question." I looked at Weiss while swirling a glass of the chilled wine my father had procured, "Why do you need to do signings?"

"People love it, the tiny amount of charge covers the meager cost of setup, but they don't know that. They know that they'll get my signature on something, and that makes them happy. I've... noticed your expression, when looking at some of these people. It's the same one I once had. My sister explained it quite well." she cleared her throat, taking a sip of the wine, and shooting me a cheeky smirk, "The people are stupid because ignorance is bliss. They don't know that some of what they do is wrong, and while it's stressful for us, it keeps the Grimm away."

I hummed softly, "He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow." I recalled.

"Yeah, that sums it up quite nicely. You're full of wise sayings, aren't you?" she smiled at me, getting her own glass of wine.

"Uh, *ahem* yes. Yes I am, sometimes." I mentally sighed. Thank you, Assassin's Creed.

Hmm... that was a thought.

With a nod between us, I opened the dividing window between us and the driver, calling to him, "Jeeves? I'll call you Jeeves. Jeeves, I'm going to teleport Weiss and myself back to the hotel. I trust you to keep driving like we're still here, okay?"

He nodded, "Alright, sir. I trust you."

I nodded back, "Of course, Jeeves." I turned to Weiss, smiling, "Are you ready, Miss Schnee?"

She nodded, though had an eyebrow raised, "Of course, Mister Arc."

I gathered some light together, and... brought us into an I.D.

I felt the air, and counted the seconds down until the lack of drivers caused the various on the road to slow down, and we rear-ended the limo in front of us. A swift usage of Lampio made sure our glasses were sealed so we didn't spill our wine, "Alright. Shall, we?" I unsealed the glasses and practically threw the liquid down my throat.

Weiss did the same, then changed to her combat outfit as I did the same. Light shined from our bodies as I casually peeled the roof off the bulletproof limo and jumped out.

A surge of destructive urges filled me as I called upon Roimontagne's power.

Cracks spread through the wall of the building next to me, and I cast both Haste and Regeneration on Weiss, "Alright... Weiss? You know the path to the hotel?"

She nodded, sensing I wanted to race as she crouched a bit lower, switching her shoes out for something a little better for running in, "So, we're racing then?"

I chuckled, grinning in mischievous delight, "We're racing against the city."

Her next words were drowned out by the snap of both my fingers and most the supporting structure of the building next to us. She watched it list slightly, then begin to tip over in our direction. I laughed at her squeak of panic, then followed her as she made all due haste towards the hotel.

We ran as building after building became prey to the same fate, magic-induced collapse. Thunderous crashes boomed through the air as we raced against the trail of destruction that followed our path. Unfortunately, my pace was far slower than Weiss', due to me now wearing the fifteen tons of training armor I had. The ground rumbled beneath us as the buildings all simply broke, crashing down and practically getting thrown onto the streets by Roimontagne, and eventually my luck with my slower pace ran out.

Over a dozen tons of stone and glass crashed down upon me, scratching against my defenses and impeding my movements. With uppercuts and vertical jabs, I broke through the stone and surged more energy into my Ki skills to outrun the next falling building, feeling part of my skull cave in before I tumbled forwards. Gamer's Body imposed its rule over my biology, and I stood again, struggling to catch up to the unencumbered Weiss.

I heard her laughing in exhilaration, and pushed myself to keep up with her.

 **By raising "Sprint" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Furious Pace"!**

I felt my speed increase slightly more, and slowly caught up to Weiss, hearing her loud, joyous laughter from the adrenaline. Maybe she knew I wouldn't let her get hurt.

I playfully shot a burst of gravel at her, "Hey! Stop laughing! You should be screaming in terror, you could get crushed if you aren't fast enough!"

She turned her head towards me as we rounded a corner, "It's exciting, isn't it? Thank you, Jaune!"

I didn't quite understand why she was thanking me, "Thanks for what?"

She just smiled, "Hah... you know, that's what I was thinking about too. Thank you for that too."

I raised an eyebrow at her, "Are you thanking me for trying to crush you under collapsed buildings?"

"No you idiot! You don't even get it, and that honestly makes it better." she grinned and I saw the glow of her aura cover her.

The hotel was at the end of the street, straight ahead. If we continued running, we'd hit the front doors. I summoned a group of Gaster Blasters to assist Roimontagne in bringing down the massive building, "Tell me what you mean!"

Weiss didn't look particularly threatened by a thirty-story building that was slowly tilting towards a slow, but earth-shaking fall straight for her, "This is another example! God, how can you be so dumb?" her grin denied harshness from being imparted by her words, "You're such an opposite to all I've experienced before. A sweet smile and a pulling proposition, only to be disappointed, pulled too far, and stabbed in the back, but you're nothing like that! You're rough, blunt, and rugged. You push, but you don't force things, and behind your exterior of strength and stubborn willpower, your heart is true and pure, and you want nothing but the best from your friends, something I also feel!" she continued to grin, her Aura glowing brighter, "You want to help everyone, not hurt them, something I find myself admiring. Even in your harshest, you always make sure not to hurt any of us, it's very kind and sweet!"

I grimaced internally as I realized she was right. Already I was calculating where I would have Roimontagne reduce the strength of the stone wall to that of a tortilla chip, and she looked to have a plan of her own, "If you don't do something, you'll be crushed!"

She saw through my words, but opened her profile, "Don't worry, Jaune. I won't disappoint you!" she looked at her profile, her slender fingers tapping some points into place.

I reached out to her as she confirmed her selection, and then...

* * *

 _(One second later, Weiss' POV)_

I confirmed my selection, feeling the changes take place.

 **Dexterity: 67 -} 70 (+84%) = 128.8  
** **Vitality: 32 -} 40 (+43%) = 57.2  
** **Intelligence: 83 -} 90 (+124%) = 201.6**

 **Stat Points: 40 -} 22**

 **Hit Points: 5000/5000  
** **Aura Points: 26,000/26,000  
** **Stamina Points: 8000/8000**

I felt a bubbling in my soul, like ice being boiled away, and warmth filled my chest. It felt almost exactly like when I'd first gotten my Aura unlocked, but it was different in a very large way.

And that was that it felt VERY large. I breathed louder, heavier, harder, feeling like my chest would burst open.

Instead, a great warmth spread through my body, and finally it burst free, shining outwards and filling me with vigor.

 **By raising "Aura" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Aurora"!**

I felt my Aura reaching out like a corona, protecting me and burning like a bonfire compared to what previously felt like a large candle.

Suddenly, my knees buckled as tons of stone crashed down on me, but Aurora wrapped around me like a barrier, keeping me safe. A slight ache spread through my head, originating from where the stone hit me. Still, it felt fragile and weak compared to my new light.

Looking at Jaune, I felt the surges of the elemental buffs filling me, and I focused on my new power...

I am a Schnee, and a Schnee is groomed to be perfect. A perfect diplomat, businessperson, Dust expert, public speaker. I have to dress perfectly, be a perfect lady and neither uncross my legs nor spread my arms, appear calm, cool, and collected in my posture. Cold and judgemental, I'm supposed to be, willing to trade fairness for profit, to maintain my lifestyle.

I was supposed to be pampered, pretty, a delicate flower whose fragility is only outshone by her beauty.

A scar? Schnees have no scars, and no scar need be seen by anyone who doesn't know about my training incident, what my father called an absolute failure. It took a miracle to convince him to let me try again.

I was expected to be nothing less than the epitome of poise, grace, and elegance.

And I was absolutely NOT supposed to partake in, or even THINK about rampant destruction...

...

...

...Sadly for all of my previous training... _it was just SO MUCH FUCKING **FUN!**_

Myrtenaster was swung with high levels of velocity and confidence, blades of wind-augmented and metal-augmented projected energy slashing through now-vertical floors as I ran.

Jaune ran beside me, relying not on accurate blade techniques, but rather his raw strength, durability, and momentum to surpass the integrity of the floor. It worked, luckily for him, and he kept moving with hardly any loss in speed. I continued swinging my quickly tiring arms, and eventually we reached the first floor, the overturned and smashed lobby. I focused my energy into Myrtenaster and drew a hole in the floor, using one of my glyphs to make sure it went all the way through.

It was almost funny, how I left a gigantic hole in the floor, and Jaune left a Jaune-sized hole, though the edges broke off as well. We reached the final leg of our journey, jumping down the elevator shaft and reaching the room.

I formed a glyph on the ground ahead of myself, jumping off of it high into the air, before falling gracefully through the air, aimed directly at the elevator shaft.

Jaune simply ran to the edge and slipped down, plummeting with extreme. A crashing sound echoed from below, and I ended up landing in his arms.

He smiled at me, "I'm glad you're okay." the words were simple, and very very honest. It made me smile.

I was breathing more heavily than yesterday, simply because of the change in situations. Outrunning a collapsing city?

It shouldn't have been fun, but the huntress in me called out to the challenge.

We walked through the elevator doors, which peeled aside like tin cans, and entered.

Suddenly, the world shifted, and I felt Eismeer whimper inside my soul. I was set on my feet, and immediately I dropped to one knee, summoning the small wolf and petting him, not minding the cold water droplets that clung to my skin.

I looked up and saw Marbel looking at me expectantly, "Is there something wrong?"

* * *

 _(One second later, Jaune POV)_

 **Training your muscles to move against greater resistance has increased your STR by a total of 2!**

 **Pushing your body to move faster despite extreme encumbrance and resistance has increased your DEX by a total of 2!**

 **Withstanding extreme strain on your entire body and surviving has increased your VIT by a total of 4!**

I felt the new surge of power, not only a higher amount of HP and SP, the two breaking 40k and 60k respectively, but I was more focused on Marbel's look.

"So, you got Aurora?" she asked curiously, "What's it like?"

Weiss instantly got a look of awe, "It's so warm and invigorating. At first, it felt like my Aura was being unlocked all over again, then I felt strength and speed and mental capabilities, I was able to cut through the floors with ease, after not collapsing from breaking through the wall." she grinned brightly, looking over at me, then back to Marbel.

Marbel let out a low chuckle, "Sounds pretty awesome. I'm just six and a half thousand from getting there myself. Greedy smartass Jaune already passed it like 6 times over." she pouted at me, but her gaze held no negativity.

I laughed and pointed at myself, "What? I didn't do anything except play The Game! You're taking this outta context, Marbs!"

"Context, shmontext. Now hand over the AP and nobody gets hurt." she held her hand out like she was mugging me, her other hand pointed at me with a gun gesture.

I opened my hand forward, "Alright, here's 5 AP, coming right at ya." I shot a single Energy Bolt at her.

It burst on her chest, making her cough in a flash of pain, "Ow! Too literal." she rubbed her chest and glared at me.

I chuckled, "Come on, Marbs. We've played enough competitive games that you should have known I'd do something like that." I laughed and grinned playfully at her.

She didn't respond out loud, but I heard her mumble, "I really should have."

Weiss laughed with me for a few seconds, still high on adrenaline, and I gave her a few minutes to calm down from that and recover her SP with Regeneration.

Marbel shot me a glare, "Anyways, Blake is leveled enough, I think we could squeeze in some training without her... also she's unconscious."

I rolled my shoulders, "Alright, fair enough. I need to hone some of my other skills. Honestly, I think we'd do best to train our skills some more, leave stats to exercises for a bit." I smiled at them, then formed Vorpal Sword in my hand, gazing at the gleaming, shining cyan blade. I decided to turn my thoughts of the hour to _this_ subject.

Vorpal was such an odd word. The sound 'vorp' was sometimes used to describe the sound of a teleportation. Vorpal also somewhat sound like 'verbal', which fit since it was often the subjective sword of epic tales. Many swords were called a 'vorpal sword', to be fair. In some translations, though, it was also called a 'vosbal sword'. It might have been one of the countless 'misunderstanding translations', perhaps 'voice of the bold', but it also sounded similar to 'gospel', which were religious songs.

I messaged my father to make sure nobody came in and killed Blake while she was asleep, and then we all slipped into an ID. About ten seconds later, there was a great crashing of stone, followed by the sounds of digging. Bursting through the ceiling, an Elder Deathstalker gnashed at us with its pincers.

Candidus Murus blocked one of the pincers, while the other struck a protective glyph that Weiss threw up in a second. Her body glowed with Aura, while Marbel climbed onto the beast's back, avoiding its tail.

I chuckled and slashed a great rift into its face with Cyclone Strike.

 **-/\\-**

 **Cyclone Strike (Active) Level: 6, Exp: 24.64%, Cost: 890 SP, 295 AP  
** **A powerful attack performed by spinning around rapidly, using spiral motion and Aura augmented with the element of Air in order to taking advantage of torque and carry force along multiple targets many times over in rapid succession. Warning: Not for the weak of stomach!**

 **Hits all targets immediately surrounding the user.  
** **24% chance to hit targets up to 5 feet past the user's melee reach.  
** **Stacks with all buffs  
** **Base Damage: 180%  
** **Number of Spins per use: 18**

 **-/\\-**

The sheer speed and force of my blade cutting through its bone armor was enough to daze it. Honestly, I'm pretty sure most things would be dazed if you hacked off half their face. Cloudy, sickly yellow liquid oozed from the wound, thick and heavy from the lower water content. Marbel was currently holding onto its tail, just behind the stinger, carving it off with her shortsword. Honestly, thinking about it, I needed to help her make something better. Upgrading your equipment as you grew as a hunter was an important thing to do. My father had described it as being 'like a rite of passage' when he gave up Crocea Mors and Candidus Murus, moving on to using Midnight Tide and Titan's Levee. He'd taken a massive step in his career, moving on from being solely what the family defined him as, and becoming more of his own person.

While not quite as dramatic a change, Marbel could still use an upgrade. I'd do something after we took down the next few enemies.

I saw Weiss focusing, and an oval-shaped glyph formed on Myrtenaster's blade, shortly followed by several slashes of searing flames. I hummed curiously, the noted that she'd developed a skill called 'Dust Slash'. Interesting to say the least.

Vorpal Sword wouldn't be receiving any such boosts, just good old fashioned 'hit them more, and harder'. Power Burst helped to offset the reducing damage of Combo-Count Attacks, even though the latter currently allowed me to do about 12 attacks, while the former only boosted 6.

I lopped off the Deathstalker's pincer on my side, before leaving the girls to handle it, surging several meters to the side as I turned my attention to the two new challengers

 **Vulcyrie Mantleus**  
 **Title: Damned Master of the Mountain**  
 **Level: 78**

 **Miraganger  
Title: Hopeful Dreams under the Deadly Sun  
Level: 84**

One with two broken wings, but no cloak, and wielding a spear, the other with a sword stolen from a fallen soldier. Granted, they looked a tad cleaner than the real ones had held, but it was to be expected for what were basically copies made by my power.

A flurry of slashes and thrust fell down upon me, and I snapped my shield into place to block most of them, getting struck where my armor didn't quite cover. My movements, honestly, were kinda slow, only the usage of Blade Mode allowing me to block like I did. Well... that, and the increased size of Candidus Murus. More surface between me and attacks meant it was easier to block stuff, after all.

Suddenly, as I deflected a spear thrust and cut the weapon in half, simultaneously blocking a sword slash, I felt the surge of power flow through my system.

 **By raising "Shield Skill" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Shield Proficiency"!**

Blocking a pair of flaming punches, followed by three slashes, and hacking off the Vulcyrie's arms, I grinned and laughed at them, Vorpal Sword cutting the Miraganger's sword in half, then into a quarter, then cutting its hand off.

The two were pushed apart by a very brief Bullrush, then cut into pieces by Cyclone Strike.

Heh, that was something I liked about a sword. It meant a lot to the human race. It was a symbol of our might, not just in our brawn, but in our brain.

Swordplay wasn't just a fighting style, it was practically an art form. The sword was something that had to be known to be wielded properly. You had to have wisdom to use a sword, and power, and definitely courage.

 _A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage._

Swords were more than just that, they were symbols of order, and power. Two crossed swords behind a shield, with a helmet over it, was the traditional symbol of an army. An army was more than just a collection of fighters, it was an organized group that fought together. They fought for the same cause, even though a hundred soldiers might give you a hundred different reasons for what they fought for on a personal level.

A sword was a symbol of sophistication, of mentality, of knowing what you're doing. An axe was a tool for chopping wood, a hammer a tool for striking metal or stone. It may have happened that these weapons were useful in hitting an enemy really hard, but a sword was... different.

A sword, much larger than a knife, was made specifically for battle. It was made with the purpose in mind that it would draw blood and take lives. It was a sophisticated weapon, for a brighter type of fighter.

The cruciform sword was popularized by Saint Nicholas Charismus, who also established other big things, like Sainthood, the status that suggests a person is of such a great level of power and fame that they may have been blessed by the gods. He also became the father of what would later be called Christmas, due to his story of great generosity even in the position of an ancient king. He made people happy, and was also where the word 'Charisma' came from. Of course, time metamorphosed his name into the much simpler Santa Claus, but hey, stories are stories.

The cross-form, or cruciform sword, was also held in his hand, and it came to also be a symbol of generosity, mercy, and love. Yeah, a _sword_ became a symbol for _mercy and love_. Stories, man, I tell ya.

Stories... the word Vorpal came back to mind, as an army of beowolves flooded into the room through the massive hole in the ceiling, descending on the recovering Marbel and Weiss, who had successfully killed the Deathstalker without getting hurt.

I joined in, but the thoughts didn't stop flowing through my mind, almost seeming to slow for dramatic effect.

Vorpal... verbal, gospel, a combination of the two? Taking letters alternatingly from the two words, you'd make the word vorpal. Had I cracked the code? The truth of the vorpal sword?

Ha... I felt the itch of new skill levels start forming in my arms, as Fundamental Factor W helped me to grow as I understood.

The truth of the Vorpal Sword, of the sword of the verbal gospel, of the sword found in all of the legendary stories...

The truth... was what you made of it.

 **By raising "Vorpal Sword" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Excalibur"!**

Hmmm?

* * *

 _(Hours later, Jaune POV)_

My paranoia must have been acting up, I swear it must have. Jeeves, not the limo driver, but my second in command, was even more vitriolic tonight. Funny, that I'd unlocked a skill based on some sideways concept of 'truth', and the hierarchy of the security team was being upset by a lie.

 **-/\\-**

 **Excalibur (Active) (prestiged from Vorpal Sword) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00%, Cost: 1200 AP  
** **The ancient sword of the great King Arthur, both an excellent knight and a powerful wizard, having learned from the great Merlin the Wise. Though Merlin's diseased mind and heart led him to slowly destroy the sword Excalibur by carving, ever deeper, new formulae of magical channeling and power across its form, he never knew the greatest truth: That the sword Excalibur was not one sword, but rather a force born of King Arthur's soul. The legends say that Merlin died to the purified light of his own creation, and that any sword King Arthur wielded would bear the power of Excalibur.**

 **Base Damage: 500%  
** **Defense Penetration: 500  
** **Not Affected by the Sword Proficiency branch.  
** **Charge Time: 20.0 seconds**

 **-/\\-**

In modernese, Excalibur was King Arthur's semblance, not his physical sword. It had, like the majority of other skills, metamorphosed instead of simply grew. The problem was that I couldn't quite tell _how_ , only that it had changed in more than numbers. The truth of that particular matter seemed to be presented to me behind a thick wall of frosted glass, so that I knew the truth was _there_ , that it _existed_ , but I didn't know _what_ it was.

"Quit staring off into space, captain." I heard my second in command jab, and I sighed.

"I'm not staring off into space, I was composing my plans further in my mind. You'd do best not to underestimate me." I could have sworn I'd dealt with his insubordination already.

The truth was that I actually had been. Blake's condition following getting a Lightning elemental was best described as 'kinda like a twitchy ragdoll'. Her movements were normally fluid and loose, but it seemed like they'd become so loose that they dangled and were tugged through the air, like a puppet. I could tell she was trying her best not to let it show, but the clenching of her fists, the uncomfortable look as one of her biceps slightly spasmed under her skin, she was tense. The power was still settling, something I'd somehow forgotten was a condition for normal people's souls. Her thoughts, soul, and body all seemed to have something inhibiting their connection.

Regardless, she still kept control over herself, despite **Raidinger** 's electrical interference.

But her twitchiness, however, was not for the reason I'd be twitchy.

Naranja was here, again, as was Lucen, and two more people.

 **Xavia Fargrad**  
 **Title: Scathing Eyes stronger than Stone**  
 **Level: 71**

Her semblance, plain and simple, was a form of x-ray vision. Her weapon, Nightcrawler, was hard to see, mostly because it was actually invisible. A crystal of white Dust at the pommel of the long chokuto projected a field of energy that rendered the weapon untouchable by the visible light spectrum. Her eyes, hands, and soul could still feel it, though, and anything that stained it might be outside of the invisibility field. She looked like a normal old robed woman, but her age was far too young for her look. Lucen's work, no doubt. She and the other newcomer had very similar visors under their illusions. Xavia's visor featured two pairs of reddish eye-lenses that acted as cybernetically operated telescopic sights.

 **Navio Warchester**  
 **Title: A Blue Streak staining with Red  
Level: 82**

For Navio, who could maintain Mach 3 speeds for a relatively extended period of time (about three to four minutes, depending on outside conditions) with his current power level, his visor granted him thermal vision, x-ray vision, and scanning sights. His weapon, Bloodlash, was something I immediately wanted for myself. A system using 'inert' magnetic, water, and earth dust crystals, combined with a high level of aura control, allowed him to utilize a pair of gauntlets that projected three diamond-strong, razor-sharp 'wires' that could entangle and cut foes to pieces.

Now, while fatally efficient against Grimm, it usually wasn't the most effective against human targets, because of Aura, but it was still dangerous.

Want want want want waaaaaaant.

I heard the second in command cough next to me, and I pat him on the back, "Anything the matter, Jeeves?"

He looked displeased by the physical contact, "Are you even paying attention to the monitors?"

I looked more closely and quickly found what he was referring to, a guard that was sound asleep. I sighed, and spoke into the headset, "Left side, bald guy, wake the fuck up!" I called to him, then used Mystimunja's power to create a loud noise next to him. He jolted awake and spoke up, "Apologies, sir, I-"

I groaned, "If the job is truly that boring to you, you're free to quit and go get a good night's sleep back home, while you can still afford it." if the second in command was going to be a toughass about my demeanor, I'd show him I could take care of business.

Instead, the man looked incredulous, "You can't fire Krim, he's our best man!"

"Can't I? I'm the owner of the contract. I'm the head of security, I can fire a slacking employee." I glared at the second in command.

I heard Krim speak up, "Ah, sir, please no, you must understand. I was awake one second, and waking up the next."

I stopped. That... didn't quite sound right. I spun and dashed out the door, "I need to make sure." I said ominously, pushing the door open with telekinesis and Schwarza bent light around me to make me invisible. Between one step and the next, I was suddenly running on solid air, and soon found my culprit.

Lima Temvun, from the Vacuan White Fang. A rattlesnake faunus whose semblance allowed him to create sounds that induced mental status effects. I sighed at his usage of a janitor's outfit for a disguise.

I watched him for a few minutes, sending the message that I was handling the situation myself while examining his movements. At his current slow pace, he'd reach the monitoring room by the end of the concert, when we'd all normally expect the janitor to come by and clean stuff up. Clever, very clever. Nobody questioned his slow pace, for he was disguised as an old man. His thick jacket hid the small bulge caused by his small rattle tail, as well as his weapon.

Branching Dogma, a spear that could mechashift between having one, two, three, four, or five different point, with two and three being for spearing people, four having a lightning dust crystal give it taser-like power, and five allowing him to shoot small bolts of lightning by using four points around a central spire that acted as the focus. It was currently in its small transport form, but his DEX and skills told me he could pull it out and run someone through in just a couple of seconds.

God, but it was tempting to pull him into an ID and obliterate his face. It would be so easy too, just a minute or so, maybe wait for him to notice, put on a creepy illusion, summon an ominously staring Gaster Blaster...

But... not right now. The risks this presented were considerable, but the Vacuan White Fang, as I'd been seeing more and more, was a well-oiled machine. It would not take very long to notice that one of their scouting members had been killed.

Would they act out of anger? Accelerate their plans? Try to kill us all in our sleep? It was a risk. They wanted it to be known very quickly that the Schnee heiress had been killed, but not so instantly that they couldn't escape with their lives.

I sighed heavily, and returned to the monitoring room, letting my invisibility drop, "I checked my suspicions, and it was nothing." I turned on the receiver, "Krim, try to stay awake for the duration of the concert. You should try to get properly rested before we start these things, problems might pop up if the guards are asleep on the job." I instructed, trying my best to convince everyone it was just a random mistake and not a coordinated effort from the White Fang.

"Ah, of course. Sorry, sir. I'll do my best." he saluted the camera with a serious expression.

Dammit, holding two groups with conflicting interests in balance, with just my wits and quick thinking, was going to give me a migraine.

I sighed heavily, cupping my face in my hand, and breathed a single long, slow breath.

Under the cover of an illusion, I summoned Schwarza and Mystral, instructing the two to check nearby buildings for additional Fang members. Waiting for a long while, and feeling the second in command glaring daggers into the side of my head, I sighed.

"Is there a problem, Jeeves?" I asked as I turned to face him, my eyes burning with disdain for his bad attitude.

His expression twisted into a mixture of disbelief, disgust, and anger, "Do you just not care for procedure?"

I raised an eyebrow, "I'm sorry?"

"No, you're not sorry, don't even say that in questioning. You run off randomly and return even more randomly. You ignore my suggestions, and most of what the rest of the team says. You've shown no regard for the standard procedure! Do you just not care that there is a proper way to do this?" his face was red with anger.

I simply stared at him, feeling something within myself twist, and I spoke with great calmness, "There haven't been any problems, I can assure you of that. My 'disappearances' are to make sure things are going smoothly. If the team reported a problem, I'd show my concern and attention just as any other security authority would. You haven't made any suggestions, and your idea of 'procedure' isn't perfect. If you keep acting out like this, and projecting your childish disdain onto me, then I'm going to have to fire you."

He looked taken aback, as if my words had metaphorically slapped him in the face so hard that it reached his physical body. His aura flared in anger, but he backed off when my expression fell from calm to deadpanned, and I showed him which of us had the bigger aura, along with a friendly reminder about Gaster Blaster.

He didn't complain again.

I sensed something, or rather someone, on a nearby rooftop. His power... well...

 **Prasino Monatas**  
 **Title: Standing in Ashes, Speaking to Ghosts.**  
 **Level: 78**

He was... odd. I couldn't tell anything from where I stood, but he looked quite dangerous.

 _... (about two hours later) ..._

The ghastly skull floated next to him for the rest of the night, only leaving when he left to return to the hotel. I messaged the girls to stay put while I dealt with the 'janitor'.

He pushed open the door, and I simply stared at the screens, looking only to show I was aware of my surroundings, "Oh, sorry, I was just looking over the footage again. You're very slow, old man." I chuckled at him.

He shook his head, "Not very nice, young man." he said in a convincing elderly voice, chuckling a little, "These old bones can't go as fast as you youngin's."

I smiled, almost, ALMOST getting convinced, "I'll clear out right after I log and lock the footage up."

He didn't even flinch, but I swore I saw his eyes bulge slightly when I said that. It was... a little concerning. Was he not here for the footage, then?

I hummed, then did as I said I would, watching him out of the corner of my eye the entire time. He was just... sweeping.

Sighing internally, I left the room, deciding that delaying him further would only draw suspicion. The last thing I wanted was them catching on that I knew more than I should.

My footsteps echoed through the emptying halls. It was hard to think that just ten minutes ago, this building was packed to bursting with people and noisier than a freight train. Now, it was almost hauntingly empty.

My heavy steps echoed through the hall, drowning out the quietened ones of the illusion-hiding Lucen and Prasino. Glancing at him with Gamer's Sight, I found his stats and semblance. He seemed to be primarily focused on INT and STR. His semblance was something odd. He could read the imprints of Aura people left behind to create an image of past events. He could also apparently take enough imprints and form them into a splinter of power he could graft onto his soul, which had granted him telekinesis.

Well... it's a good thing the sheer power of my Aura had probably bleached that entire room with the color of my soul. Plus... his semblance could only copy one power, and he'd already gotten the one, and invested a lot of time and effort into it. Even if he DID try to copy my power, I'm pretty sure his soul would collapse under the strain. It's... kind of a power that needs an exceptionally powerful soul.

I would trust him to be smart enough to quash his curiosity for the sake of safety.

With a sigh, I cracked open the door to Weiss' dressing room, knocking, "I hope y'all are decent." I called out, keeping my eyes closed.

Marbel called back, "No, don't come in, we decided to have an underwear party because you were taking so long." her tone and laughter were enough to assure me they were all fine.

"Aw damn, I love underwear parties, can I join?" I laughed as I opened the door, holding my jacket in my hand like I was already getting undressed, "Damn, why do you lie to me like this, Marbs? I thought we were friends~!" I cried out dramatically, bringing the four of us, plus my dad who was waiting by the back door, into an ID.

I relished Blake and Weiss' laughter, the two having already started to get used to our humor, and Weiss spoke first, "I'm afraid I'd need to bill you for all of your money if my underwear got damaged." it was a brave and bold attempt at a joke.

Blake laughed, at least, "What, are they covered in diamonds?"

Weiss scoffed, speaking in a mock snobbish voice, "Oh don't be so boorish, they're carved from diamonds themselves, solid crystals."

Marbel giggled, "Wow, must have been small diamonds, then." Weiss went beet red while Blake and I hissed from the burn that was delivered.

Weiss stood up, "Well, perhaps with my Aurora, I'll grow much faster, in fact I may even outgrow Yang."

I laughed at that, then spoke up in warning, "If you do, Yang will grill you until you tell her how you did it, probably literally."

We all shared a laugh like dumb teenagers, and I felt my heart swell with joy. After this stressful and annoying night, I could use a laugh.

I gestured for them to follow me as we walked through the now starkly empty halls of the ID'd building. With no worries, we went at a casual pace, just laughing until we got it all out of our systems.

I casually opened the wall with Roinmontagne, pulling the stone away and making it fall perfectly around the girls. My dad was standing on the other side of the still-standing door frame. I chuckled, walking over to the door and knocking on it, "Knock knock."

My dad sighed from the other side, "Who's there?"

I smirked, "A rack."

He hummed, "A rack who?"

I chuckled, "A raccoon, it's eating all the trash."

He opened the door, "Don't worry son, I'll save your comic book collection!" he laughed and gave me a clap on the shoulder, "Come on, let's just get through this creepy illusion dimension of yours."

I hummed as a thought came to mind, "Actually, this would be a nice time for training. I already sent the messages through that I'd discovered a new technique and would be using it to transport Weiss to the hotel. We stop by for a few to show Weiss is back, then have a quick meal to fuel up, and start training time." I grinned, then pulled several nearby cars towards me, making them conglomerate into one massive chunk of metal, then setting the remains alight with Xiburichu, followed by extinguishing it with Pluviteus. I sighed, noting the tiny amount of EXP the acts got me, "Let's get going, I was just checking something." focusing on speed, I led the way towards the hotel, donning my 15 tons of armor as I did.

Another night of grinding it was, then.

* * *

 _(About an hour later, John POV)_

I grunted as I pushed back against the fourth Miraganger Star, which seemed adamant on trying to kill me even after getting a building dropped on it.

I was close, tantalizingly close to that next level. It was almost unfair, but that was just life.

Life wasn't fair. Not everyone was made equally, which was true from the outermost features, all the way down to one's soul. It was just a sad fact of life, some people had larger, more powerful souls than others, some had smaller, less powerful souls. Some had souls that lacked in one area almost entirely, as I saw Blake's aura had given her what could almost be considered a bare minimum for an active Strength boost, starting at 0 and increasing by 1% every 10 levels.

While not having the sheer mental power my son now had, I had experience and smarts of my own. It was a sad fact that was hard to accept.

Life wasn't fair, it didn't care about being fair, and it didn't change no matter how much you complained and, sometimes, no matter how much you tried to change it.

It brought tears to many eyes, and torn even more hearts to pieces. Why? Why couldn't you succeed?

Life just didn't deal you a very good hand.

Who knows, truly? My son's power had the ability to affect someone's Luck. Was it able to change someone down to their very soul?

It certainly felt like. My soul had something in it that it didn't before, it didn't feel much different, but... something was in there, making me stronger.

It was like my soul was a light bulb and got plugged into a Factory Ton Generator, and simultaneously forced you to be able to stand the power influx. It was... odd.

The fifth Miraganger Star lost its head as I found myself realizing that these things weren't exactly the toughest things to kill, at least for someone with such strength. I wanted to kill REAL Grimm, get the proper amount of EXP I needed in order to get that level.

With a grunt, I simply kicked a Deathstalker's stinger aside, cutting its two pincers off. It felt... liberating, being able to go all out like this. It was an exceedingly rare opportunity that Hunters got, mostly because we had to worry about collateral.

All of this 'collateral' was fake anyways, so I had no worries.

I heard Jaune call for us to make our way to the desert, which was a tad confusing, but I shrugged it off. Technically, he was the boss, and I wasn't so caught up with shoving my head up my ass to ignore his decisions just because he was my son.

I cut a swathe through an army of Beowolves that poured from the stoneworks. It barely slowed us down at all, and got a microscopic amount of EXP, but it was something at least.

And enough bricks would eventually build a city.

 _... (Thirty minutes later) ..._

Sand crunched under my feet as Jaune flew by, body alight with his Aurora, and I felt the world shift as the illusion dimension thing fell apart. I watched my son tear through a Deathstalker with fire crackling and hissing all around him. I saw what he'd apparently sensed in the distance.

An oasis, and just twenty or so feet past it was a small house with a garden of fruits and vegetables, even a sleeping camel inside a small stable.

It was... weird, "I don't get it. What's wrong?" I spoke up, and Jaune only smirked.

"I saw this on the way over, seems they didn't learn the first time." he chuckled, then his sand dragon rose from the ground and let our a ground-shaking roar.

Sand was blasted away from the nearby dunes, revealing the tall, dark figures of Miragangers. I shook my head, "Of course." and charged forwards.

The first one met my surprise charge with a surprise of its own, a large revolver aimed right at my head. Titan's Levee blocked the shot, and I countered by stabbing my sword through its skull, tearing it free and following up fluidly with a decapitation.

The girls moved in with their less effective offensives, but they handled the right side while I took the left.

Well... until the Miragangers disappeared, and I sensed a prickle on the back of my neck.

Spinning around, I swung my sword and cleaved through the hammer and arms of a Miraganger Star. It screeched in my face, but I just laughed, grabbing its face.

"Shut your disgusting mouth, swamp-breath." I focused my Aura into my arms and put my other hand up, jamming my fists into its eyes. It continued to shriek until I broke its skull open on either side, leaving just the front, top, and back. I pushed it away, then drew my sword and delivered three swift swings, slicing its head off in many pieces. I delivered a shield bash to knock it back, watching it dissolve into a plume of smoke and its illusion disappear.

I saw some loot drop from its dissolved corpse, and grinned as I saw the notification I'd been waiting to see since I started 'playing the game'.

 **Your level has increased by one!**

 **Going through extreme exercise has increased your STR by 4!**

 **Loosening up and going through extreme exercise to make yourself more flexible and speedy has increased your DEX by 5!**

 **Enduring monumental damage and strain has increased your VIT by 1!**

I felt a surge of power inside my chest, blooming throughout my entire body as the power took hold. It was... hard to describe.

At least the numbers told me what happened.

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Johnathan Arc  
** **Title: The Ninth Moon to Illuminate the Night  
** **Level: 109 -} 110**

 **Hit Points: 157,000 -} 162,000  
** **Aura Points: 205,000 -} 210,000  
** **Stamina Points: 263,000 -} 270,000**

 **Strength: 181 -} 185 (+380%) = 888  
** **Dexterity: 140 -} 145 (+255%) = 514.75  
** **Vitality: 224 -} 225 (+380%) = 1080  
** **Intelligence: 132 (+255%) = 468.6  
** **Wisdom: 110 (+380%) = 528  
** **Luck: 80  
** **Charisma: 93**

 **Stat Points: 0 -} 5**

 **-/\\-**

I laughed in joy, looking at Jaune and the others, "I finally leveled up!" I grinned at them, already thinking on what to use my points for. I had plenty of physical ability, so increasing my mental stats seemed to be the answer.

Jaune chuckled, "Well, looks like you did it, dad. Heh, I'm proud of you." he smirked at me, turning my own words against me.

I chuckled back, "Shut up, I'm prouder of you, son." and I was, I really was.

I put the points into INT and saw my Max AP jump up by another one thousand. Feeling my mind grow sharper and a bit more focused, I grinned, "Upping my stats feels good."

The others laughed at my expense. They didn't understand how denied I had felt, going so long without getting any levels. Finally getting one, it was almost like a rite of passage. I looked at them, noting that Weiss had already leveled up again, probably because those Miragangers were about thirty-five levels above her.

Jaune floated in the air, humming, "Let's take a quick break, I want to try something." his body began to glow as he floated towards the oasis pool.

I waited, standing guard and watching whatever this new trick was.

* * *

 _(One second later, Jaune's POV)_

I levitated in the air, gathering my Elementals together, focusing hard. My Aurora glowed brightly around me, and the moment my foot touched the surface of the now perfectly circular oasis pool, the surface froze over.

Standing in the center, I focused with all of my mental power, and surges of power blasted through my body.

 **"Reparative Claying" level increased by 1!**

 **By weaving the elements together and enhancing yourself with Fire and Air, you have created the skill "Explosive Heat"!**

 **By weaving the elements together and enhancing yourself with Fire and Earth, you have creating the skill "Flaring Lava"!**

 **By weaving the elements together and enhancing yourself with Fire and Water, you have creating the skill "Washing Steam"!**

 **By weaving the elements together and enhancing yourself with Fire and Lightning, you have creating the skill "Searing Aura"!**

 **By weaving the elements together and enhancing yourself with Fire and Metal, you have creating the skill "Invigorating Forge"!**

My body glowed with bright flames as I took the final step myself, leaving the ice untouched as I let the elements fill my soul even more... just...

...a little...

...more...

Suddenly, I felt something inside myself open up...

And all of my perception poured into the hole...

* * *

 _Light..._

 _A brilliant rainbow of light..._

 _Divided, only to by woven._

 _It is brought around again._

 _Poured into a circle._

 _My head pounded like a drum's beat, resonating throughout my entire being with every single breath._

 _I opened my eyes to see myself once again standing in an infinite darkness, feeling like a tree, mighty and tall._

 _I felt something shudder in the space, and I reached up, way up, and... touched the sky._

 _My fingerprints left marks of cyan on the darkness. Their individual shapes melted and pulled themselves together into tiny, uniform points of light on the blackness._

 _I hardly knew why I did this, but I did it. It felt... like the right thing to do._

 _With a sky marked with light, I turned my eyes downwards, towards the ground..._

 _The six arms of the six-pointed star inside the massive ritual circle all lit up, one by one. I was once again awash in the light at my feet._

 _I felt my soul burgeoning inside myself, my body threatening to tear open as those splinters of power pushed and grew and thickened..._

 _Crocea Mors, my metal elemental, formed at the end of the purple arm. He looked like myself, maybe given another year of growth. In his hand, he held Crocea Mors, the sword. A truth entered my head, and it saddened me. I sighed, and turned to the next elemental I'd summoned._

 _Xiburichu flared to life at the end of the red arm. He stood as he had before: short, muscular, with skin like sheets of flame stitched into a perfect human shape. A thin smattering of reddish-gold fire imitated hair on his head. His body was surrounded by a corona of golden flames, and his azure burning eyes popped out in the middle of the red flames that wrapped around them on his smooth face. He nodded as smoke rose from his form._

 _Mystral pulled together from a swirling of wind, forming into her small dragon self._ _Her form was faint, hollow in the center, with azure wisps of wind, some tinged gold, some tinged purple, forming her lean body. Two frosty horns sprouted on her head, on either side of a mane of lavender clouds. Her wings were tinged yellow, lightning faintly arcing between bones of wispy clouding. Wind surrounded her, a visible tempest of distorted air._

 _Roimontagne climbed out of the ground, his eyes glowing as azure crystals. His bald head was, as always, adorned with a tiny diamond and two tiny sapphires in a triangular pattern, on the frontwards crest of a crown-like carving. His body was still rough and rocky, its formation muscular, but bulky and stocky. His base was simply were he melded into the ground. Cracks began to form all over his body as he seemed to 'sweat', almost._

 _Pluviteus formed next, a river of water flowing straight upwards from his spot. His concave eyes and mouth opened up, tiny stars of azure light glowing in the former. Slicked-back hair made of orange seaweed grew from his head, as his thin, river-like body formed two buff arms with huge forearms and hands. The water completely left the ground as his fluctuating body floated a little higher, his ghost-like 'tail' dripping water. His head became cloudy, all of a sudden._

 _Juristimunja struck upwards, forming fully in just a second. The tips of her buzzing form were white, fading to a yellowish hue nearer her torso, which then faded to an azurish yellow hue near the beating heart on her chest. Her head formed as a ball of lightning, with six long, wriggling arcs of lightning represented hair, which floated and lashed in the air behind her, coming together halfway down their length like a ponytail. Three azure eyes opened on her face, and a thin smiling mouth followed. She grinned at me, her body glowing brighter, her heart beating faster, and I saw the truth._

 _Together, they all stood, and spoke in their order, "We grow, as you do." "We fight by your side." "We bend the world to your will." "We grant you even more power." "We protect your life." "We help you grow, as you help us."_

 _The sky and ground suddenly lit up, showing me a plain of grass and dirt._

 _The distance between us grew from six to twelve feet, the entire circle scaling to fit the new distance._

 _They all began to glow... and then change._

 _Once more, they spoke in order, "Metal reforged, aided by friends." "Fire blazing, leaving only ash." "Wind blowing, pushed by ambition." "Earth rumbling, becoming ever stronger." "Water flowing, coaxing out life." "Lightning striking, bringing forth change."_

 _Crocea Mors suddenly started to come undone, an unearthly roar of wind escaping him as his body began to glow purple. But... he was metal, he would endure. He stood his ground with a mighty stomp as smooth skin began coalescing up his leg. He stomped his other foot, his other leg doing the same, the flowing liquefied metal suddenly drawn into a new shape. It reached his hips, and continued upwards, showing his skin was now hued with gold. His arms formed, thick and strong, then his head. A shock of golden hair on the top, trailing down to a thick stubble along his jawline. If he had a matte finish, he'd honestly almost look like a real human. His eyes formed from the liquid, turning to white gold and showing cobalt irises and black pupils, and he stood fully up at a height of 6'6"._

 _His stance relaxed as Crocea Mors the sword floated in front of him. Suddenly, it pressed against his golden steel chest, sinking in as though the surface were liquid. Out of almost nowhere, he let out a shriek like a train's whistle filtered through human vocal chords, and metal flowed inwards seemingly from nowhere. Shining golden plates of armor, relatively thin, adhering close to his skin, formed. Tall boots that trailed and articulated up to his thighs, full gauntlets that trailed and articulated up his arms to his biceps. A golden chestplate formed, pouring out from his pecs and abs and wrapping around his torso, with flared shoulderguards, ab plates, and a metal skirt. Suddenly, sheets of blue flowed down the spaces between his shoulderguards and gauntlets, and his metal skirt and boots, filling the space with what almost looked like cloth. Runes formed on his plates, very similar to the ones on Crocea the sword's blade._

 _Finally, two strips of leather were thrust out from his neck, stretching to either side and laying over the tops of his shoulderguards. Suddenly, they surged and stretched down his back, creating a long leather cape that was blue on the inside and white on the outside. He showed his strength by simultaneously kneeling and thrusting his arms out and backwards, causing a great gust of wind to flutter his cape, blades of wind cutting the grass for hundreds of feet. He then thrust his hand forward, Crocea the sword jutting out from his arm and sliding into his hand's grasp. He smiled at me, his transformation complete as he took his available charges._

 ** _Crocea Mors  
Title: Metal Soul, Yellow Death Knight.  
Level: 15_**

 _Suddenly, to his side, Xiburichu flared up brightly. I watched as the grass surrounding him turned to ash, swirling on the updraft of heat. Flames flared at his legs and they grew into a pool of fire, his legs becoming one long tail as his muscular human body flared brighter and lost cohesion, becoming a broad, recognizably masculine body with a wide mouth and cyan eyes ringed by red flames._

 _His pool of fire grew a tad wider as his tail melded down into it, as though her were a phantom leaving a trail of ashes instead of ectoplasm. Ashes swirled in the air and suddenly thrust inwards, becoming consumed by the flames. He laughed a deep, bellowing laugh as thick gouts of flame and smoke started pouring from his mouth and skin. He grinned as his flame pool grew to be six feet wide, his body stretching up to be about 6'8"_

 _Finally, the ashes came back out, coalescing into craggy volcanic stones that formed armoring spikes on his shoulders and hands, creating claws on which his flaming fingers could focus. His back grew three rows of slightly larger spikes, which I could see only as he doubled over. He reared up, throwing his head back as a flaming roar flew from his massive maw, and all the fire of it coalesced into a ball that was then thrust at the ground, burning the grass for over a thousand feet behind him. He relaxed his stands, grinning at me and taking his available charges._

 ** _Xibu_ _richu_**  
 ** _Title: Fire Soul, Ashen Western Sunrise.  
Level: 15_**

 _Across from him, Mystral roared with the sound of wind, and I turned to see her start to expand. She grew and grew and grew, going from three feet long to about eight feet long. She was still hollow in the middle, but her faint azure scales filled in a tad more, maybe only a couple of millimeters, but when applied to every single scale on her body, she became a lot more visible. Still dotted around were scales tinged gold or purple, and the occasional slightly darker scale. Her frosty horns and cloudy mane formed, followed by the faint lightning buzzing on her now much larger dragon wings._

 _Suddenly, a faint belly of yellow colored scales formed on her underside, trailing all the way down to her tail, which now seemed to have a more definite form, ending in a small curling hook shape. Her eyes brightened and her frosty horns grew thicker, as suddenly her cloudy mane was punched through by a powerful wind, turning the previously puffy balls of cloud into large wispy ones, looking a lot more like hair. Her lightning wings grew more visible, points on her wing bones now acting as foci where lightning arced between. Ten arcs of lightning marked each space where a membrane should have been._

 _Finally, with a large flap of her wings, Mystral took flight, gracefully looping around with her slender body and breathing great clouds of wind and frost, turning back and creating a thick frost over a massive area of several hundred feet. She landed and sat down with a smile, taking her available charges._

 ** _Mystral  
Title: _****_Air Soul, Eastern Cold Wind  
_** ** _Level: 15_**

 _Then, next to Xiburichu, Roimontagne began to move his arms rapidly. He threw punches in the air as more mass drew into his burgeoning body. Uppercuts were thrust into an invisible foe as he began to make small bursts of movement around backwards, his body trembling as he did so. Reasserting himself as the tallest, I watched as he grew to about seven feet tall, his body cracking heavily and his three tiny crown gems glowing brightly._

 _Suddenly, one last crack spread down his body, and he stopped, facing me. He punched one thick, beefy fist into his palm, and the earth around him rumbled. The cracks spread more and more, until at last his body began to break. Crumbling away was the thick, bulky, almost fat body of a cobbled-together rocky sludge-beast, now his limbs were relatively smoother, made of only a few thick sheets of stone. I saw thin veins of green crystal mark his now robust and (very literally) chiseled abs, as well as his joints. His head thinned out, stripped of excess mass and forming a more humanoid one, this time with a thick mat of dirt acting as hair. His azure eyes glowed brighter, and his lower body bulged._

 _Finally, he then began to_ stand up _from the ground, leaving behind the sludge-like gravel base and replace it wit two thick, powerful legs capped with broad feet. He performed several more motions with his new body, feeling the freedom and not so much jumping as_ tossing _himself up into the air. His 'crown' grew too, the gems doubling in size and three more sapphires forming, making a row of five with the diamond now above the middle one, with two rubies forming between the two rows and recreating the triangular crown shape. He smiled, far stronger, even more so when he took his available charges._

 ** _Roimontagne  
_** ** _Title: Earth Soul, Great Mountain Tosser  
_** ** _Level: 15_**

 _Across from him, Pluviteus surges and flows in his spot, letting out a watery battlecry as he suddenly threw out a dozen punches, each attack flowing past the next and tossing droplets of water into the air, where they hung suspended. He continued to do this until a massive dome had formed around him. He moved with wide, flexible, dramatic motions, letting out another watery battlecry._

 _Then, all at once, he burst outwards, filling that massive dome of water out. It began flowing backwards, as if being launched by some unseen force across some imperceptible distance. His previous humanoid battlecry was replaced with that of a great beast as a surging pool of water formed on the floor. The rest of the water seemed to almost impossibly compress down into a figure about nine feet tall, with massive, thick muscles and long flowing hair of orange seaweed. I watched it surge as light filled its chest, the surface of the water seeming to eternally flow upwards and backwards, as though some unknown wind was always blowing against him._

 _Finally, I watched as a thick foam began to form on his head and the backs of his hands. Steam rose from the foam as it formed, eventually boiling it all away to leave behind a smooth, open-faced helmet made from salty ice. The same happened on his thick, beefy hands, plates for the water to cling to, and he punched the ground, a wave of water flooding the field for nearly a thousand feet behind himself. He let out another bellowing battlecry, and took his available charges._

 ** _Pluviteus  
_** ** _Title: Water Soul, Orange Oceanic Rain  
_** ** _Level: 15_**

 _I looked towards Juristimunja, who just nodded, and her body lengthened from 6'7" to about eleven feet even. Her entire body swelled with more energy and voltage, and she didn't waste any time in beginning to change._

 _Suddenly, her limbs and torso all split in two, then split in two again, forming eight legs, eight arms, and four bodies. Her head split into three pieces that grew to be normal sized. Then, the lighting all began to curl and twist and combine, two thick skeletal arms formed, ending with large hands that had four claws. The legs braided together and forming into a single surging, wriggling tail that trailed down and connected to the ground. The four bodies separated, three of them breaking in half and forming six ribs around a central spine that connected all the body parts together._

 _Finally, the three heads poured into streaks, forming an almost draconic head, with several long, almost bramble-like teeth, and two columns of three eyes formed, one on either side of its face. The third head fell down and melded into the spine, and I watched as sinew-like arcs of electrical energy connected all of the limbs together. Her 'heart' reformed in her chest finally, with three small triangles marked on it. She pulled herself together mostly, and lightning struck down from the sky, scorching the earth for a few hundred feet. She took in a breath, her electrical body wriggling lightly, and breathed a cloud of sparks as she took her available charges._

 ** _Juristimunja  
_** ** _Title: Lightning Soul, True Storm Raging  
_** ** _Level: 15_**

 _All around me they stood and floated, their power flowing into me in massive waves, so massive I was almost overwhelmed._

 _But I wasn't... I stood my ground, enacted my will, breathed my promise, flexed my strength, flowed with motion, and simply changed._

 _The hexagon of life._

 _Purple, Metal._

 _Red, Fire._

 _Green, Air._

 _Orange, Earth._

 _Blue, Water._

 _Yellow, Lightning._

 _These six colors, the rainbow._

 _The rainbow that blesses life._

 _And that rainbow is yours to command, master._

 _You wield the reins over all the elements._

 _I am Crocea Mors and I am Metal._

 _I am Xiburichu and I am Fire._

 _I am Mystral and I am Air._

 _I am Roimontagne and I am Earth._

 _I am Pluviteus and I am Water._

 _I am Juristimunja and I am Lightning._

 _You and us._

 _We and you._

 _We are all one._

 _I am Jaune Arc and I am Human._

 _My endurance is infinite._

 _My willpower is infinite._

 _My breath is infinite._

 _My strength is infinite._

 _My life is infinite._

 _My energy is infinite._

 _I am colored completely._

 _The rainbow branches out from my soul._

 _My soul... is eternal._

 _And it is colored with all the powers of the world._

 _I am Jaune Arc._

 _I am Crocea Mors._

 _I am Xiburichu._

 _I am Mystral._

 _I am Roimontagne.  
_

 _I am Pluviteus._

 _I am Juristimunja._

 _I am... one._

* * *

 **By raising "Summon Elemental" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Summon Elemental (v2)"!**

 **Your elementals have evolved from "Basic Elementals" to "Lesser Elementals"!**

 **You have earned the title "Adept Wizard of the Elements"!**

 **You have unlocked the class "Elementalist v2"!**

Well... that was... wow.

I felt my soul inflame with massively increased power. Not only had my elemental affinities increased from +10 to +25, I gained 4 elemental summon charges from the prestige, putting me at a nice even 30, which explained what I saw in my head. Now, just like Incredible Strength, I felt that I was able to surpass my previous limits with ease.

I didn't gain any insight into new elements, sadly, but the power boost I received was enough to make me shudder, not only from the overwhelming power, but also from delight. I checked the new form of the skill, finding it to be nearly identical to the previous version, except I had the boosted numbers. One thing that was a tad odd was that the first version, in the Tier 1 skills folder, was completely grayed out, as if it had evolved into this new skill and there was no going back to those old times.

"Well... you probably just saw that I prestiged Summon Elemental." I chuckled heartily and looked at them all.

Marbel nodded, "A-hah, yeah, and probably everyone in a fifty mile radius. Your Aurora activated and turned rainbow colored."

I let out a small sound of confusion, then realized how bad that may have been. We'd moved at least 100 miles away from the city, but that didn't mean much if I basically sent a massive glowing beacon through the sky.

Sensing my distress, my father spoke up, "The chances that anything was seen are very slim. So... what does it feel like?"

I thrust my arm and launched eight Fireballs in just a second, checking my new title. It was much the same as the previous version, with predictable boosts, only now I could also imbue a skill that already had a single elemental alignment with a secondary one. The new class was just a straight upgrade of the previous version.

 **-Elementalist v2 (prestige from Basic to Lesser elementals): +15 to ALL Elemental Affinities, +200% APR, -30% AP Cost of elemental skills, +100% Ease of Casting elemental skills.**

I grinned, "Oh yeah, things are getting awesome now." I chuckled, moving my hand down.

We all were brought into an ID, and I summoned my elementals once more. With a powerful shine of Aura, I watched them form in the air. Steel, stone, and water each bloomed from their respective cores of light, forming almost from nothing but energy. Stilll, though Crocea used the barrel, Roimontagne used the ground, and while Pluviteus had a harder time with the dry desert air, he used it to help.

Marbel looked up, all the way up at the now towering Roimontagne, and let out a squeak.

Weiss looked questioningly at the hulking form of Pluviteus, tilting her head to the side, "That doesn't look like water on its head and hands."

"It's compressed salt." I answered, looking at my dad about to question Xiburichu's stone-like spikes, "And he has compressed ash."

Blake stood in front of Juristimunja, slightly shaking. She summoned her own elemental, which looked like a rough outline of a large housecat made of lavender lightning. I chuckled, smiling.

My father next looked at Crocea Mors, staring oddly, "Is that the handle wrapping acting as a cape?"

Crocea Mors nodded, "Yes, it is. Expanded by magic to fit the dimensions, of course, but it is." he thrust his hand out and a copy of Crocea the sword jutted out from it, falling into his grasp, "Care for a duel, old friend?"

Him shaking his head was all it took to make me laugh. Honestly, I must have been riding a high, because I was unable to stop smiling and laughing.

One by one, I unsummoned them all except for Roimontagne, saving on my AP. I chuckled, then created a small spot on his back where I could lay and practice what I wished to while he smashed things.

I'd already formed all five dual-element buffs that involved Fire, as well as two that involve Earth and/or Water, but I wanted to get the other ones, see what new powers could be found in the combinations.

Calling out the order that we'd take some time to focus on just skills, I willed the ID to spawn Lizalgrunts at a fairly decent rate, enough to give the others plenty to fight while I developed my buffs.

I had the five fire buffs, which were Heat, Lava, Steam, Plasma, and Forge, and two of the Earth buffs, Clay (or Mud) and Lava had Earth in it. I was currently missing Sand, Crystal, and Ore.

So I focused on them, then the buffs for Metal, then Lightning, then Water, then Air.

 **By weaving the elements together and enhancing yourself with Earth and Air, you have created the skill "Grating Sands"!**

 **By weaving the elements together and enhancing yourself with Earth and Lightning, you have created the skill "Voltaic Crystals"!**

 **By weaving the elements together and enhancing yourself with Earth and Metal, you have created the skill "Bronze Veins"!**

 **By weaving the elements together and enhancing yourself with Metal and Air, you have created the skill "Magical Rust"!**

 **By weaving the elements together and enhancing yourself with Metal and Water, you have created the skill "Arcane Polish"!**

 **By weaving the elements together and enhancing yourself with Metal and Lightning, you have created the skill "Magnetic Amperage"!**

 **By weaving the elements together and enhancing yourself with Lightning and Air, you have created the skill "Thunderous Motion"!**

 **By weaving the elements together and enhancing yourself with Lightning and Water, you have created the skill "Storming Energy"!**

 **By weaving the elements together and enhancing yourself with Water and Air, you have created the skill "Frozen Light"!**

Air ended up looping back around to Heat, so that took care of itself. I selected a few of the buffs, namely Searing Aura, Voltaic Crystals, Magnetic Amperage, and Storming Energy, because they all granted an APR boost. Just for fun, I also put on Thunderous Motions, completing the set of Lightning buffs.

 **Applying all six distinctly Lightning-based buffs has granted you the status effect "Blood of the Storm"!**

With a grin, I launched myself over a hundred feet into the air, levitating myself twice as easily with my 50% decreased inertia from Thunderous Motions. I grinned and began to fire dozens of spells towards the legions of Ursa. I pushed my aura into the air around myself with Aura infusion, focusing on casting Mana Barrage from it.

Unfortunately, it left holes in the suffused Aura after a few spells, but I noticed its level rocketing upwards. With a grunt, I continued pushing Aura and manifesting spells until a breakthrough came about.

 **By raising "Mana Barrage" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Magical Bombardment"!**

It was... exactly what I wanted. I was now able to, for only 3000 AP per minute, fire spells in midair. I no longer needed my hands, so long as the origin point was within 2 meters of my body.

Experimentally, I willed twenty lightning bolts into existence. They conjured up, taking only a second to cast, before screaming forth with full power. I switched to Fireballs, launching four every second for five seconds, then switched to Wrecking Ball, then Tornado, then Stalagmite Strike, then Crashing Wave, then Energy Orb. It worked for all of them, and that's what made me grin.

I formed a platform of solid air above myself, flipping around and kicking off of it, thundering my way down to the ground where I tackled a newly formed Miraganger. I buffed myself with all of the Earth buffs and literally ripped it to pieces, grinning as its vile ichor was denied getting splattered on my face by a field of telekinesis. It screeched in pain, but I silenced it by ripping its head off.

A quiet laugh bubbled up from my throat, as I kicked off of its dissolving body, flying into the air again. Thunderous Motions allowed me to thrust myself to and fro in the battlefield with greater ease, by not only giving me a Strength boost (but conversely, a Vitality decrease), but also decreasing my inertia by half, doubling the knockback of my physical attacks, and increasing the effectiveness of powered movement.

I laughed a little louder, practically dancing across the battlefield while swinging Crocea Mors and Excalibur, slowly churning out levels for the respective skills they used.

Tonight, was going to be fun.

* * *

 _(The next morning, Jaune POV)_

To be fair, I was far too caught up in battle to check the time. We'd stayed out far too late and now it was only my father and I awake. He'd explained that after a training exercise like THAT, he probably wouldn't sleep for two days. Really, I didn't blame him.

Still, Luck was on my side in that the girls would have been long-since awake by the time anything started. The results of the training were also pretty fantastic.

Marbel gained 1 point in VIT and 2 in DEX, as well as getting a 'Body Training' bonus that increased her Max HP and SP each by 1000.

Blake gained 2 points in VIT and 1 in WIS, as well as a similar training boost that increased her Max HP and Max SP, but not nearly as much as Marbel.

Weiss gained 3 points in STR, 1 in VIT, as well as 3 CHA for what amounted to 'fitness beauty', and on top of all that, she also received the same 'Body Training' bonus that the other two did, with equal numbers to Marbel.

I noted that my quest to help her now highlighted the line describing her stats before May 1st, and the most she had to do for the next two months was increase her STR, DEX, and CHA. That would be easy.

I ran a hand through my hair, breathing a sigh while focusing back on my meditation. I had, as I planned, temporarily switched my class and title to Monk v4 and The Mountain Monk, humming and meditating for the duration of the flight, then switching back when I sensed we were about to land.

I set up an illusion, have explained to the security team that I'd discovered my semblance was not telekinesis, but rather conjuring, which explained the 'dragons'.

I then ordered a securing of the penthouse while my dad and I did a 'super secret transport' of the lady Schnee and my 'teammates'.

Said transport was going into an ID and walking them there, holding them on a platform of telekinesis while Mystral kept them soundproofed and warm, Roimontagne and Crocea Mors going about wrecking the city around us, the former with his power over stone, and the latter with just his sheer strength. Watching the destruction was almost beautiful, in a way. Then, I ordered them to put the city back together again, watching the property damage almost flow in reverse, stone melding back together, metal frames untwisting and tempering and hardening into place. I eventually found that by just adding a touch of heat with Xiburichu, my levels for the two blacksmith skills shot up like crazy.

 **By raising "Heat Treatment" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Diamond Alloy"!**

 **By raising "Tempering" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Plastic Alloy"!**

Like fucking crazy.

I brought out my combat armor, Crocea the sword, and Candidus Murus, then basically drained my entire AP stock empowering them.

Feeling them heavy in my hand, having added a hundred more pounds of titanium to Crocea Mors and the remains of my stock of White Alloy to Candidus Murus, I smiled, letting a calming haze settle over my mind before it cleared, leaving me feeling stronger.

 **You have discovered a new ability of the weapon "Crocea Mors"!**

 **You have discovered a new ability of the weapon "Candidus Murus"!**

I checked them, smiling as I looked at my reflection on Crocea Mors' blade, finding it to be the older, wild-haired face of the new Crocea the elemental, and found that the new sensation of strength was the two new abilities, Knight's Oath of Sword, and Knight's Oath of Shield.

Sword gave me a 50% Effective STR boost, 25% DEX boost, and 75% VIT boost. At the same time, Shield gave me 25% STR, 50% DEX, and 75% VIT boosts, granting me a total of +75% Effective STR, +75% Effective DEX, and +150% Effective VIT while wielding both.

I sighed softly, feeling a resonance from the two. I'd increased them both to the maximum level of power I could at the moment, which set the offense and defense at 2500 and 2000. If I had better materials, I could do so much more, but I didn't. I needed mithril or adamantium if I wanted to get better than titanium. My desire had been completely renewed after I'd gotten the hihirokane. Before, it had begun to wane as I saw that most drops I'd gotten were fairly normal 'RPG items' to find: weapons, armor, even a couple of potions based on the Grimm's capabilities, but nothing overly spectacular. The rare drops didn't count since they were also armor, but... *sigh* before I'd found the hihirokane, I'd not found anything that didn't make sense.

With a sigh, I let Animakinetic Flow kick in while Mystral kept the girls in peaceful silence, even with the city collapsing from a stampede of Longhorns charging through, getting mowed down by my spells with Magical Bombardment.

Life was... strange, sometimes. At least nobody woke the girls up.

* * *

 _(Late that night, Jaune POV)_

 _Jaune W: I swear, babygirl, if that guy makes one more snipe at me, I'm fucking him up. :W_

 _Yang W: Jeez, Jaune, I know the guy's a shit-talker but he isn't worth the effort. :W_

 _Jaune W: When did you start advocating pacifism? :W_

 _Yang W: Oh trust me, if I was you, I'd have already fired and kicked his ass out the door so hard I'd lose a boot up his charred colon, but you kinda have a big deal security team to worry about. Anyways, what was the profit for tonight's show? :W_

 _Jaune W: About 300k, plus Weiss did an interview before the show, so that's a nice little bonus. Tomorrow I've arranged for her to do several advertisements in the capital, then we have the concert, then we move just an hour or two after because we have to be ready in the morning for some interviews and stuff in the next town over. :W_

 _Yang W: Damn, sounds like heavy stuff. You think you can do it? :W_

 _Jaune W: I'm 4 days in and I haven't lost my mind, so I think I'm good for the rest of the tour. :W_

 _Yang W: That's good, I don't want you to come back insane, you might bite me or something. :W_

 _Jaune W: And you're saying you wouldn't like a little love-nibble? Honestly, babygirl, I can't want to see you, and hug you close and feel your body against mine. It's a good deal of what's keeping me going here, another lot of the reason is the money. :W_

 _Yang W: Fortune, women, and fame, sounds like a typical dream. :W_

 _Jaune W: Heh, I'm not looking too much for fame, just money and my woman. I hope you haven't been siphoning my funds. :W_

 _Yang W: No, of course not! And ignore the new shoes! :W_

We both burst into laughter at the same time the building next to me burst into flames. I knew she wasn't, just because she wasn't that kind of person. I also knew that the comedy club to my left was made of wood to look more inviting.

Sadly, it now looked like a nightmare, flames roaring inside.

I'd noticed it in Xiburichu's actions, as well as those of Roimontagne, Crocea Mors, and the others.

Not only had the skill grown on two fronts, and my elementals themselves evolved from Basic to Lesser (which implied a 'Normal' and 'Greater' rank), they'd also grown internally, evidenced also by their change in titles and behaviors.

Before, and I'd tried this, I'd told them to go do what they wished. They mostly just hung around me and moved some stuff of their element around. Now, it was clear their 'minds' had expanded to accommodate for some modicum of personality.

Xiburichu seemed to be sadistic, enjoying burning down the comedy club and torching the wooden guts of many buildings we'd gone through. He almost looked like he liked seeing himself in the flames, spreading his power across as much area as possible.

Roimontagne seemed prideful, not only with his stature as the largest elemental, but also with how he seemed to beam as he toppled buildings and collapsed roads. The way he smiled told me that making things able to be seen over was a joy for him.

Crocea Mors seemed challenging, using his fists and blade to break things that got in his way, as well as taking to chopping through Grimm like a hot sword through butter. He let out gonging battlecries as he challenged foes both grimm and imaginary.

Pluviteus, in contrast, seemed as curious about the land as some people were about the ocean, or space. I found him looking into windows, seeing rooms and feeling them out before flooding and destroying them.

Mystral seemed to like gathering things, having pulled rubble and broken wood and even metal scraps and money from a destroyed bank. She especially loved large things as she tried to take whole pieces or furniture or large chunks of walls and floors.

Juristimunja seemed to be at the same time mindless and yet also the most intelligent. I sensed her gleefully fry computers and short-circuit traffic lights. Power lines melted and some structures either burned or burst from the sheer energy being thrown around.

It was kinda nice, letting my elementals go and enjoy a bit of destruction. It had saddened me before that they, who I considered very close friends, had little mind to them, but now they seemed to be discovering themselves. I could tell it wasn't enough to form a full personality, only a fraction of one, but letting them have thoughts and feelings was wonderful.

I almost felt like a dad, or a great big brother.

A great...

I sucked in a sharp breath, the flash of emotion bringing my elementals all rushing back towards me, as if concerned.

I raised a hand and waved it off, "I'm fine, everyone, really. Just a bad memory. Continue."

It was proof of their lack of mentality that they took my words as absolute truth and went back to their previous actions without the slightest hesitation.

Well... it was good for some things, I guess.

Sighing, I telekinetically floated into the air and began bombarding an army of longhorns with my Blast spells. When they'd all leveled by an acceptable amount, I began firing off my Bolts, determined to bring them all to level 99.

 **By raising "Energy Bolt" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Energy Rocket"!**

 **By raising "Energy Arrow" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Energy Missile"!**

 **By raising "Cannonball" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Missile"!**

 **By raising "Fireball" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Flareball"!**

 **By raising "Water Gun" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Water Pulse"!**

 **By raising "Wind Burst"** **to level 99, you have earned the skill "Wind Blast"!**

 **By raising "Volt Orb"** **to level 99, you have earned the skill "Shock Orb"!**

 **By raising "Stone Shot"** **to level 99, you have earned the skill "Stalactite Shot"!**

I grinned, reading the descriptions of the new skills. Energy Rocket accelerated along its flight path, and could reach farther. Energy Missile had a massive range, but didn't seem to have much evolution, but its base damage and number of missiles lowered, thought it had started out with 'Automatic Missiles'. Missile dealt extra damage based on 50% of how much defense was penetrated, so if the enemy had 100 defense, and it penetrated 30 of that, then it would deal an extra 15 damage.

Flareball burnt the area of its explosion for five seconds, dealing extra damage over time. Water Pulse added a DEX debuff, presumably from the shocking force of its impact. Wind Blast seemed to be a straight growth, though I could tell it was significantly stronger. Shock Orb's DEX debuff would double in power if the enemy's VIT was below a certain threshold, which was currently 50. Stalactite Shot had a 50% chance to launch two shots instead of one.

Coming off of them, I switched to my Shots, power-leveling them for a while, until I grew bored entirely.

With a groan, I called my elementals back after they'd cleared the final wave of Grimm, and drew my hands together, "I'm going to try combining you guys, okay?" I explained briefly, getting a chorus of approval before moving in several patterns.

Crocea Mors jumped high and sunk into Roimontagne's skin, several pulses of magic causing him to become less whole as he became a bit more squat, and dozens of iron, lead, and nickel spikes jutted out from his skin, forming protective armor, sharp claws, and even large teeth. Xiburichu then flew down his mouth, and fire poured from every crack and orifice he had, forming a glowing red-hot giant that held a hammer in one hand and a sword in the other, uniformly-arranged cobblestone acting as armor in some places. Just like with my other skills, some of the elemental combinations were simply growths rather than metamorphoses, which is why Forgero was a 'super forge' elemental, and why Qing was a thunderstorm elemental.

Speaking of, the now more massive ice dragon that formed seemed to be colored with both the faint azure of the opaque ice, and the occasional purple or yellow-tinted scale dotted around, as well as the golden underbelly. Pluvistral roared out a cloud of thick frost, before Juristimunja conducted herself along it and into the dragon's mouth. The scales suddenly caught fire for a brief moment, while the body broke into pieces. However, whereas before the lightning acted entirely as the joints and the shape of the dragon was mostly lost, at least half of the scales seemed to retain their shape and lightning acted as the sinew and tendons that acted between the joints. Her eyes blazed with lightning and the rage of the thunderstorm, and a mist of condensed vapors formed around her.

With a pair of motions, I split one piece off of both of them, leaving the isolated Xiburichu and Pluviteus, then switched them over.

Suddenly, Crocea Montagne began to tear open, the wounds pouring out water, until his form lost solidity and rearranged into a golem of clay, with metal plates forming over his body as armor, thick and strong and marked with clay runes, wielding a massive shield over half as tall as he was, and a scaled-up hanbo staff of all things, replacing the thick iron rod he'd used before. Taking on a ruddy hue as his power solidified, he stood between me and a trio of deathstalkers, as well as pair of owanshees.

He moved almost automatically, three minds forming into something new. He swung his massive staff low and simply batted the deathstalkers aside, then raised his shield high. A sheet of purple magic projected outwards, blocking the swooping maneuver of the owanshees before he simply batted them down out of the sky, notably making sure they were away from me.

Meanwhile, at my back, I felt a painful heat begin to pour off of the other combination. I turned the watch the process.

Thunder, Heat, Plasma, three powers compressing into one, not just the constituent parts of Air, Fire, and Lightning. A faint, dragon-shaped cloud of azure light formed, marked with the occasional arc of lightning or flash of fire. An invisible wave of air distortion struck me as I removed my clothing, laying myself bare.

I felt the heat, unbearable heat, heat on the lowest level, seeing a faint hue of light blue in the air. Then, suddenly, I felt my blood boiling in my veins and my muscles being cooked, and my skin began to redden, blister, and peel away, boiled blood leaving with frothy, excited bubbles.

 **WARNING! Gamer's Body is being taxed! If overcome, you will receive the following status effects: Skin Cancer.**

Heh, well, I called off the attack, not wanting to damage myself too deeply. I suddenly felt the cold sting of Granlero's power of Protection heal the damage, my blood cooling, my proteins renaturing, my skin flaking off as new skin formed within seconds. My body was fully restored in a total of six seconds, and I focused on Granlero's power, willing it to enhance my body.

 **By weaving the elements together and enhancing yourself with Metal, Earth, and Water, you have created the skill "Guardian's Vigor"!**

Smiling, I split them up again, then switched Roimontagne and Mystral's places.

Suddenly, Crocea Pluvis' form, which was previously an offensively shiny male silhouette, filled with green energy. Noxious fumes escaped a perfect spiderweb of cracks as his skin shifted into a slender, four-legged, four-armed humanoid. Steel chitin plates covered with tiny spines formed over the surface, and six almost melted-through eyes and a fang-filled mouth tore open and leaked green fluid. A segmented tail ending with a wicked spike shot out from his backside, and his four hands formed six fingers tipped with thin, knife-like claws. Tokyrus, my Poison elemental, screeched like a whistle, droplets of toxic green fluid flying from his mouth.

It reached out and picked up a flailing Cavaliscera, and I watched as its struggles grew weaker as patches of green formed on its skin, until it slumped down lifelessly, dissolving into smoke.

Crocea Mors strength, Pluviteus' curiosity, and Mystral's greed, they'd combined in a rather poor way to make Tokyrus, lacking a lot of mental functions and bent on destruction.

On the other side, thick formations of tempered quartz formed two feet, and clear topaz formed legs, arms, and a torso, all reminiscent of Roimontagne's new form, but a foot shorter. Angular sheets of deep blue, tempered sapphire formed a relatively thin, but durable armor over his body. His head formed from yellow topaz with onyx framed goggles that had emerald and diamond lenses, and a sort of 'hair' formed from squirming wisps of fire. Buzzing gouts of flame marked his joints and surrounded his fists as they formed from clear diamonds. Saprumerc, as I'd called him, lashed out with quickness and punched a hole in one of the nearby buildings that hadn't been toppled by Roimontagne's careless destruction driven by a desire to be the tallest thing, or Crocea Mors' ever-challenging spirit.

He suddenly started walking, then went to running, then sprinting, and finally he leaped into the sky and clotheslined a giant nevermore, breaking its wings with a karate chop and sending it plummeting into the ground.

Tokyrus on the other hand was content with taking down Ursas, Boarbatusks, and other various medium-sized Grimm with just his claw slashes and potent poison.

Humming, I pulled out the Poison dust crystal I'd gotten in Cinder's offer long ago, and focused my Aura into it, casting Soulforge Restoration and memorizing the pattern. Just like with casting spells and combining the elements, understanding the combined patterns of mana that made the elements grew exponentially. Combining two elements had been four times more difficult than casting one, and combining three elements was nine times more difficult than THAT. Still, though, I managed it.

 **By weaving the elements together and enhancing yourself with Metal, Air, and Water, you have created the skill "Aura Stain"!**

I looked at the skill, and realized what it meant. I was able to make 'marks' with my aura, in fact the skill actually described that it was like an ink. It seemed so insignificant, especially since it had a base power of 1%, but it could be overcharged with Aurora, and could be used...

Humming, I brought to mind my last school report, which seemed like it was years ago when it was actually barely five weeks ago. Sighing heavily at the memory, I brought out a blank piece of paper and held my hand over it.

Like magic, in fact quite literally _with magic_ , the words appeared on the paper in a dark azure color.

Grinning at the implications, I began throwing liquefied Aura everywhere, painting the area with dulled light.

I unsummoned my elementals, watching the steel and crystal frames of their bodies disintegrate into nothingness. When they were gone, I began running through the city, launching my new Flareball spell and watching the flames turn to liquid and stain the area in red-colored liquid aura. Blue colored the spatters of several Water Pulses, while Stalactite shot melted into orange and brown. A spectrum of green marked where Wind Blast hit, followed by rubble and purple spraying out from the impact point of a Missile. Shock Orb left a smoking patch of dark yellow. Energy Rocket burst with high velocity impact, and I saw Energy Missile also burst on impact, though it was rather small even when compared to the lower levels of Energy Bolt.

Still, they all dealt significant damage, and I was leaving a trail of various shades of azure and yellow from applying it to Azure Dragon of the East. It was... well, it was certainly keeping up with my insane Aura regeneration, painting the city with Aura Stains, especially with how expensive the skill was.

 **-/\\-**

 **Azure Dragon of the East (Active) Level: 6, Exp: 23.55%, Cost: 5000 AP  
** **The penultimate technique created by Qing Long. With the various shapes of a dragon inscribed into his soul, he was able to use this power to connect all of the pieces into a glorious whole, unleashing his soul as a force of massive power and compensation, the strong ethereal body inside being evoked to protect the frail physical body outside.**

 **When active, Three Claws, Teardrop Scales, Sweeping Stride and Winged Flight are automatically activated at no extra cost.  
** **When active, Chilly Breath, Scathing Eyes, and Shocking Steps may be cast freely.  
** **When active, Chilled Armament may be cast at no cost, or create a weapon of the user's choice at the cost of 5 AP per gram of ice.  
**

 **Increases Max HP by 30% when active. (25)  
** **Increases Effective VIT by 53% when active. (50)  
** **Increases Effective INT by 55% when active. (50)  
** **Increases Effective WIS by 55% when active. (50)  
** **Costs an additional 24,500 AP every 10 seconds. (25,000)**

 **-/\\-**

I was hardly able to keep it up, only by dialing back some of my other skills to base level, especially since AD of the East cost me 147k AP every minute, and my current limit was actually a bit over 200k, nearly 225k with Magic Knight equipped. Given that I'd been running all my Ki Skills at 10x power constantly, costing me 60k per minute, I was... well, it was certainly an issue with something like THIS running.

Still, I was able to spread Ice-aligned and Lightning-aligned Aura all over the road.

When I reached the city wall, I stopped, dropping AD of the East and instead having Roimontagne create a pillar of stone under my feet. Standing steady on top of it, I raised myself up to an altitude where I could see the entire city.

I saw legions of Beowolves, Ursa, Cavaliscera, and Longhorns all charging towards my pillar, running over where my Aura Stains lay thick and heavy on the road.

I paused for dramatic effect, then snapped my fingers.

At my will, the Aura Stains all activated, raw aura bursting forth with force and energy, Earth creating spikes of stone, Fire creating plumes of flames, Water creating powerful sprays, Air creating powerful updrafts, Metal shooting out shrapnel, Ice creating entrapping crystals, Lightning shocking any who happened to be nearby.

The stragglers soon found their end at the hands, or rather the lasers, of a dozen Gaster Blasters that chased them down. Grinning, I leaped into the air and came down fist-first, drilling my way through the stone pillar until I reached the ground.

 **Gaster Blaster's level increased by 1!**

 **Physical Resistance's level increased by 1!**

It was a good night.

* * *

 _(The next evening, Jaune POV)_

It was not a good night.

"I swear, with how you've been so fucking flippant and ignorant of the way things are done, I'm surprised we haven't found Miss Schnee choking to death on her own goddamn blood thus far!" the second-in-command was chewing me out because they caught Weiss, Blake, Marbel, and I sharing a drink in her dressing room, and I took the blame. Really, she'd wanted to make a toast to friendship, and who was I to deny something like that? "Seriously, if she showed up drunk on stage then do you know the kind of PR backlash that would cause? No, of COURSE you fucking don't! I swear you Hunters are all the same, you just throw your weight around and don't give a shit about who's affected by your actions! Back when I-"

I stood up, towering over him even though we were nearly the same height, "Nobody, not just me, but nobody here gives a single fraction of a shit about when you were a lil boy going about begging your mommy and daddy for coins to go squander on candy and toys! It doesn't matter what happened 'back when' you were ANYTHING! What matters is that we do our fucking jobs which, to be frank, I've been doing five times more than you have, and you've been ignoring in favor of getting on my case every five fucking seconds!" I squared my shoulders, "Now the way I, as the manager and head of security of this whole operation, see it, you have two options: You stand down and calm your whiny titty-baby bitching and moaning about how I'm working a higher position than you at half your age, or you keep getting on my nerves and I give you a going-away gift of an all-expense paid trip to the fucking hospital!"

He flinched, big mistake, "You wouldn't dare! You wouldn't dare you little pu-" he was cut off as my open palm rocketed across his face, cracking his jaw and sending him to the floor.

"I wouldn't WHAT, Dillan? I wouldn't dare FUCKING WHAT?" I stood over him, waiting for him to make a move. I'd used his actual name on purpose, to emphasize how serious I was.

He laid there cradling his jaw, "You wouldn't dare fuck with someone who could ruin you like I can."

I chuckled, "Ruin me, eh? Ruin me? Are you so fucking STUPID that you're actually threatening a man who can beat your head in so hard you forget what your own fucking name is! Then I'll call you fucking Jeeves all the live-long day!" I was red in the face, I could tell from the heat building in my ears, "Do you want that, jackass?" I picked him up by the collar roughly, making sure to jostle and shake him around a little, "You fucking want that?"

He spit in my face, "Fuck off you meat-headed asshole."

I sincerely contemplated crushing his face in my fist, but settled on looking at the head communications officer, who was standing to speak, "I know what to do, don't worry." I threw Dillan against the wall hard enough to send waves of pain through him, "You're fucking fired, hand over your headset, pack your shit, and go the fuck home you ignorant, self-righteous jackass."

"You fucking hypocrite..." he reached up and pulled off his microphone and tossed it at me, stumbling past me, "Fucking going to kill a man for pointing out your mistakes, piece of shit, fuck you and fuck all the rest of you too!" he pushed through the door and stumbled away.

I shook my head, "Calling me a hypocrite is ignorant too. Not even going to ask for context to the scene before shouting at me." I looked at the others, who looked like they were relieved that Dillan was gone, "For everyone's information, we weren't getting drunk right before the show, we were sharing a toast of friendship."

The head communications officer got a slight smile, "That's nice." he turned away from his scroll to look at me, "You know, you held back a great deal. If I were you, I'd throw the prick on the ground and punch his face in for being a constant annoyance." he rolled his eyes, "Worked with the guy for a year and never knew he was so insecure with himself he'd resort to rampant bitching when he didn't get designated like the old boss would'a done. At least you knocked him down a peg, maybe."

"Maybe. Thanks, Rudy." I pat the man on the shoulder, "Alright, we've dealt with the problem, people, so let's get back to work! Now that that bastard isn't distracting us anymore, we might actually get something done." I shared a hearty laugh with a couple of people, most of the others only gave a slight chuckle before slipping back into work mode.

I sighed and watched the screens, as well as focusing and seeing through Schwarza's eyes, which now allowed me to see things normally by simply adjusting her vision to the visible light spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. I was learning a lot about science through my elementals, much to my surprise, and it was kinda fun, since I was able to use these things to my advantage.

Well... even in a massive crowd, and I mean MASSIVE, I found it not too difficult to locate the White Fang... when having the ability to look anywhere and pick out individuals, as well as having my Gamer's Sight, it was pretty easy to do it.

 **Lima Temvun  
** **Title: Toxic Sounds sicken the Mind  
** **Level: 71**

 **Lucen Mirros  
** **Title: There are worlds up above, there are worlds inside  
** **Level: 86**

 **Greyna Vakanz  
** **Title: From nowhere comes the Storm  
** **Level: 75**

 **Nayro Skyus  
** **Title: A Shooting Star leaping through the Sky.  
** **Level: 69**

 **Xavia Fargrad  
** **Title: Scathing Eyes stronger than Stone  
** **Level: 72**

 **Navio Warchester  
** **Title: A Blue Streak staining with Red  
** **Level: 82**

 **Jade Halberry**  
 **Title: Through Wind and Rain and Snow, He finds them**  
 **Level: 78**

 **Aeron Black  
Title: Abandoned in his own Devices  
Level: 68**

 **Kroma Black  
Title: Lost in Incandescent Radiance  
Level: 78**

 **Nai'Lan Black  
Title: Guarded by Unbreaking Will  
Level: 74**

 **Prasino Monatas**  
 **Title: Standing in Ashes, Speaking to Ghosts.**  
 **Level: 78**

 **Naranja Tamas  
** **Title: The Sun-bleached Grin that Hunts through the Night.  
** **Level: 92**

The entirety of the Vacuan White Fang was present. Were they going to attack during the fucking concert? Seeing through their illusions, I sensed no weapons or armor, though Nai'Lan's semblance could harden and reinforce certain materials to be stronger than steel, and despite their assorted, random, unorganized, casual outfits, each of them had high-quality materials in their clothing and with just half her AP, Nai'Lan could essentially armor them all enough to block blades and bullets.

I checked into Aeron, Kroma, and Nai'Lan's last names, since I found it odd that three people with such a name existed in such close proximity. The story was rather simple: They had no names, so the government gave them a standard one. Black, to signify their past was shrouded in mystery. The names had stuck because none of them really cared to change them.

Nayro and Lima had gained a couple levels between them in the past couple of days. Nayro was a tad physically weak compared to the others, but had strong jumping capabilities, and it was easily explained since she was the youngest among them, and the most recent addition. Still, despite that, she was solidly built, and could definitely take a few hits.

Xavia had broken a milestone in her own capabilities, resulting in a level. It seems they were all fresh out of training for 'the big day'. I sighed and excused myself to the bathroom, slipping into invisibility once I was out in the empty hallway.

I pulled out Adam's scroll and checked the messages, finding two new ones.

 _Naranja: Hey bossman! We're all ready for tonight. We're going to hit that Schnee bitch when she least expects it! You still investigating or are you d_ _one and going to leave now? Is it too much to ask you to join us?_

 _(Unknown Number): I was informed of this number through your lieutenant. I plan on staying in touch to pass on orders, am I understood? -C_

Sighing, I rapidly tapped out replies, noting that the third message had come ten hours ago.

 _Adam: I'm done with my investigation, and I'm not risking myself like you are with fighting those damned Hunters. I hope you're ready for the_ _fights of your lives._

 _Naranja: We are, sir. Even if it kills us, killing the Schnee Heiress will be a huge blow to the SDC_

I sighed again. These people... they were truly willing to die for their cause. That... was almost respectable. I had no desire to let them see their cause through, but they'd come to pass on with their ancestors able to say 'they did their best, were brave, and fought for what they believed in'.

 _Adam: Right. I've been investigating the new head of security. He's a powerful telekinetic, he could take on four of you with ease._

 _Naranja: Let's see. 1.5 each, that's 4.5 from the Schnee bitch, the faunus traitor, and the little brunette. The Huntsman could probably_ _take on 3 of us, that's 7.5, and the blonde boy takes on 4, that's 11.5 There's twelve of us, so one of us will make it out at least halfway alive. We have little room for error, but we'll make you and all of the White Fang proud, bossman._

 _Adam: It would make me prouder if you waited until she wasn't so guarded. Charging in like a blind fool is just going to kill you all._

 _Naranja: That's a risk I'm willing to take, boss. Anything for the cause, am I right?_

I sighed yet again. This was a bit ridiculous. I couldn't just tell them to stop, because that isn't what Adam would do, he'd want them to kill Weiss no matter what, even if it meant their deaths, but I was trying to play things a little softer.

 _Adam: You're right. Fine then, proceed. I was just concerned. I told Sierra that she wasn't allowed to turn over any corpses this week. It would damage our reputation in Mistral even further. We don't need to lose our foothold because of stupid mistakes._

 _Naranja: Ah, you've finally grown a bit more of a brain, boss. Glad for that! Don't worry, we've trained hard. Even if they're as strong as you say, I'm sure we'll work out a way to deal with them. They don't even know we're coming, so we'll probably get 1 or 2 survivors out of having the element of surprise._

 _Adam: Right, I nearly forgot about that. Still, be careful, Jaune Arc is very skilled, as is his father. If you don't focus on taking them down first then you'll never get to Schnee. Really, I suggest you bide your time, continue training, and wait for a better opportunity._

 _Naranja: I...  
_ _Naranja: No, you know what? You're right, sir. We should wait until later. You're sure that the blonde guy is able to take down 4 of us?_

 _Adam: I don't think I would be able to take him on in a one on one matchup._

 _Naranja: Damn. Alright, sir, we'll pull back. It will be a major loss, not getting a chance to execute Schnee.  
_

 _Adam: I know it will. Trust me, I want her dead even more than you do, but we can't throw our lives away like that when they'd be better spent_ _getting stronger so we can destroy our enemies._

 _Naranja: Understood, sir. I'll make sure the others get the message._

I breathed a sigh of relief, content that I'd saved everyone's lives. Honestly, Naranja didn't seem like an overly bad guy. He was disciplined and professional, but he was directing his energy towards a bad cause. The others were groomed for duty, but... it was sad, almost.

I didn't count on the girls' abilities to simply overpower their enemies, which already didn't work on several types Grimm, would work on these thinking, trained, Aura-wielding, semblance-having soldiers. I sighed again, waiting for them to all leave. One by one, they randomly found excuses to leave, leaving after random intervals of time from the last person, between thirty seconds and five minutes.

The first person to leave was Lima, followed by Greyna. I caught the info on the others' semblances and faunus types. Jade was a wolf faunus who could see trails of Aura. It was with a different frequency and degree of ability as Prasino, as the latter could read what the marks left behind, while the former could see the marks with extreme precision. Therefore, technically, if he'd been the one to scan the room from a couple nights ago, he'd find thick layers of my Aura residue, and under that would be what the others left behind. Jade also had skills pertaining to using clawed weapons.

Aeron seemed to be able to manipulate machinery with heat or radiation, I wasn't entirely sure until I read that he can receive radio signals through his aura. He seemed to be skilled in setting up traps too, so that was something to watch out for.

Kroma had the ability to form extremely intense flames that were incorporated into what her skills suggested to be a sniper spear, given her power of Aura Suffusion, oddly enough, as well as Weapon Channeling. For me, that ability was just classified under a general **Aura Channeling** skill, so that wasn't too weird.

Nai'Lan I'd already scanned and found her able to reinforce and harden materials. Apparently, she was able to incorporate that into a warhammer that was also able to act as a scythe, given the proportions of the two skills.

Prasino's weapon besides telekinesis appeared to be twin swords, given his skill in a Dual Wielding martial arts style and his sword proficiency.

Honestly, though, if it came down to a fight between telekinetic swordsmen, I think I'd win that fight, especially with three skills I'd developed last night.

 **-/\\-**

 **Invisibility (Active) Level: 10, Exp: 24.56%, Cost: 8910  
** **A skill combining the powers of three elements into an incredibly more powerful effect. By combining Metal, Earth, and Lightning, and attuning the power to Electromagnetism, you are able to create a protective field that bends visible light around you.**

 **Become invisible.  
** **Aura's glow may still be visible.  
** **Duration: 31 minutes**

 **-/\\-**

 **Enhanced Weight (Active) Level: 4, Exp: 24.56%, Cost: 8970  
** **A skill combining the powers of three elements into an incredibly more powerful effect. By combining Metal, Earth, and Lightning, and attuning the power to Gravity, you are able to increase your personal gravity to make yourself heavier.**

 **Your weight increases by 18 lbs.  
** **Increases Effective STR by 14% to compensate.  
** **Increases Effective VIT by 25% to compensate.  
** **Duration: 30 minutes.**

 **-/\\-**

 **Blinking (Active) Level: 6, Exp: 24.56%, Cost: 8950  
** **A skill combining the powers of three elements into an incredibly more powerful effect. By combining Metal, Earth, and Lightning, and attuning the power to Dimension, you are able to render yourself not completely whole in one completely shaped volume.**

 **Alters your physical appearance with flashing after-images and other visually distorting effects.  
** **Grants space-distorting evasion against attacks.  
** **You are unable to be hit 21% of the time, unless incoming attacks are made with Lightning, Magnetic, or sufficiently massive weapons.  
** **Melee attacks you deal have a 49% chance to miss due to your ethereality.  
** **Reduces effective VIT by 48%  
** **Duration: 30 minutes**

 **-/\**

It had taken significant additional leveling of Mana Sketch, but I'd managed it and was able to manipulate the ratios of elements to allow my Gravity/Electromagnetism elemental to have power over dimensions, which made it easier to cast Illusion Dimension. It wasn't exactly based on the four dimensions of length, width, depth, and time, but rather on locations in space, as I found it also helped ease the casting of Teleport.

After nearly twenty minutes, they'd all left except for Naranja, who still sat there. I watched his expression shift slightly, watching Weiss. I silently urged him to leave, _'Please, just leave, it's not worth it. Just go! Leave! LEAVE! RUN FOR YOUR FUCKING LIFE YOU IDIOT!'_

He set down his popcorn, which I STILL questioned where he got every single night, stood up, and made to leave. I sighed in relief, "Well, looks like the coast is clear."

Grant nodded, "Yeah. No suspicious individuals as far as our floor watchers have seen. Sad to see some people leaving the show early, but we already got their money, so it's only a shame for them." he chuckled, "So uh... hey boss, seeing as you've fired the old second-in-command, that position is open now, right?"

I glanced at him, "Prove you're capable and I may consider promoting you. Bribing me won't work, nor will favoritism." I grunted lightly, "Keep in mind that the promotion will make your job harder, not easier."

He nodded, "Understood, sir." turning away, he walked back to his station.

I sighed yet again, a sound that I was sure could now be counted as a significant part of my vocabulary, and went back to watching everything, calling Schwarza back to me, as well as reverting to her spiritual form.

Well, we still had a job to do, even if we'd be doing nothing.

Sitting in a chair of telekinetic force, I focused on the monitors and anything that might pop up on them.

Listening to the music, and watching the screens, I felt confident we'd get through this without any problems.

* * *

 _(Five or so minutes later, Naranja's POV)_

I groaned. Dammit, the boss was right. We might have our semblances and training, but compared to the power of Hunters, and especially a telekinetic? Even if I sent Prasino after him, that battle would probably cause a lot of collateral.

I'd caught sight of the blonde kid, and not only was he jacked, he had very wise and attentive eyes. To say he was probably wise beyond his years was about the same as saying that the desert was probably lacking in vegetation.

Sure, there were cacti, sandweeds, and the occasional patches of grass and fruiting trees around oases, but for 95-99% of the time, you were absolutely right.

I sent a message to the others that I'd get a drink, ordering Lucen and Navio to accompany me.

With effortless ease, we all ended up on the same path, the distances between us closing every second by our varies paces. They'd both already switched clothes and makeup, allowing Lucen to disguise myself and our faces with much greater ease. No use straining his Aura levels unnecessarily when we were able to plant hidden caches all over the city.

We'd worked in this kingdom for years, myself for over twelve, already being part of a stealthy cell before. There was plenty of time when you were strong enough to bypass normal time-eating methods. I've been able to jump to the roof of a two-story building for nearly nine years now.

I pushed open the door to the bar, I did a scan of the room with my semblance and a cough. Doors to the bathrooms on the far wall, windows on the right wall made of only glass, left wall had metal bars on the other side, not wide enough to squeeze through quick enough. Right wall windows easily within jumping height. The grid of support beams in the room weren't thick enough to protect the full body, but enough to cover the head and spine if you keep still enough.

Lucen had already walked towards a booth on the right side of the tavern, while Navio took a seat at a table with a pair of ladies, and started the chat them up, keeping one hand on his comm receiver. I walked towards the bar, a big dumb smile on my face.

I sat down on a barstool one seat away from the nearest patron, "Excuse me, good sir, can I get an Amaryllis Nectar? Shaken, please." I smiled at him as he poured the liquid into the tumbler, shook it, and poured it into a wine glass. I looked to my left, seeing the haggard, suited man to my side. I could smell his angry heat and stressed sweat. I raised my glass to him, "Hey, buddy." I caught his attention, "A toast to shitty jobs. May they drive us to drink more." I chuckled.

He looked at me with a slightly glazed expression, then smiled half-heartedly and clinked his glass against mine, "Heh, I hear that, bud." he took a long swig of his glass of what I could smell was a weak gin and tonic, "Fucking prick of a boss fired me." he groaned as the alcohol burned a trail down his throat.

I sighed, "Damn, sounds shitty, man. You wanna talk about it? The name's Cyril by the way, what's yours?"

He looked at my fully, scanning my face a couple of times, "Yeah, I need someone to rant to about that childish bastard. The name's Dillan, nice'ta meet you." he held out his hand for a handshake.

I suppressed my delight, "Nice to meet you, Dillan. I'm all ears, man, tell me about it." I looked at the bartender, "Hey, bartender, another gin and tonic for my friend here." I put a hand on his shoulder, lifting my other arm up and pointing a finger towards his head.

Well... hacking and observation and dossiers were fantastic and all, but nothing really beat true insider knowledge.

* * *

 _(Hours later, Jaune POV)_

I meditated, focusing on the airship as we took off. Crocea Mors stood across from me, doing the same. Whereas before, doing this felt like I had a 'grasp' equal to about a thousand magical fingers, it now felt like two and half thousand with the same level of effort put in. I had a far better grasp over my own power, thanks to helping my friends grow.

With a grunt, I let it go, then focused on Xiburichu and the flames used to keep the ship afloat (along with the flapping of its wings). I switched back to Crocea Mors again, feeling out the ship again, judging its weight, moving it up an inch, then down an inch, though the effort needed to do that was a little extreme.

I unsummoned Crocea Mors after I'd gotten the next level in Summon Elemental v2, grunting and focusing on the sky.

I could barely keep meditation going while making small hand gestures, so when I'd gotten a message on my scroll, I just dropped it, opening my eyes and pulling out my scroll while my dad walked in. I was about to look at him, when I noticed the name on the message.

"Hey son, we should probably call lights ou-"

"Hold on, dad. I need to see this." I opened the message, and I felt my blood run cold from the surge of fear and panic that ran through me.

 _Naranja: Hey boss! Listen, I know you said not to attack the Schnee, but we found out some amazing info! The second-in-command got fired early on in the concert, and I found him when I went to get a few bevs.  
Naranja: All I had to do was water him up some more and his lips got looser than Shade's dress code! Turns out, the leader of the security isn't a Huntsman like we thought, but just a Huntsman-in-training, like his two lady-friends. Not only that, but he's not a telekinetic, he's a conjurer! And an idiot who thinks strength is the answer to everything.  
Naranja: I think Prasino will be able to deal with that if it comes up, but not only that, something even better! The ENTIRE security team travels on a different ship from the Schnee bitch!  
Naranja: I know you said to wait for a better opportunity, but this is technically already a better opportunity! We're about to take off and intercept the bitch's ship. We should be able to get in, take her out, and get out before anyone on the other ship can even get close enough to try to maneuver onto the ship!  
Naranja: If on the off chance one of us dies tonight, then please know that it was an honor to serve in the White Fang under you, sir._

He had then sent a picture of himself in a helmet, saluting to the camera.

"Fuck. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!" I looked out the window. We were maybe only a couple of miles away from the city, and I could see with faunus nightvision a dozen flying motorcycle-shaped contraptions all headed for the other ship, "Dad, the Vacuan White Fang are currently flying towards Weiss' ship." was all I had to say.

I grabbed his shoulder and teleported several times, forcing Aura Suffusion to move quickly enough to allow me to grab everyone and teleport to the other ship.

Weiss jumped in surprise as we appeared in her room, and she covered her bare chest.

I looked away, "Marbel, stick by Weiss. Weiss, the Vacuan White Fang is fast approaching the ship, get dressed and get ready to fight. They're here for you and you alone, so stay safe. Blake, you need to stealth through the hallways. Avoid Xavia Fargrad, Jade Halberry, Prasino Monatas, and their leader Naranja Tamas. They each have ways to bypass your stealth."

I turned to Marbel, "Marbel, you and Weiss need to move if someone finds you. Be wary of Kroma Black and Aeron Black. The former can create incredibly power flames, the latter can manipulate machinery."

I looked at my dad, "Dad, you're in charge of finding their two illusionists. Lima Temvun can induce hallucinations with sound. I'm counting on the Arc's strong mind to do you well. Lucen Mirros can create highly detailed illusions. If you see someone who looks like me, but isn't glowing cyan, then just kill them, because it's not me. Blake will be keeping on the ceiling, so that's how you'll know it's her... if anyone looks like you, then beat the shit out of them for being that fucking stupid." I nodded and smiled, "Use the party chat for any and all communications, okay? We don't need to give them any chances to get the drop on us. Be quick and use any advantage you have, they're all extremely skilled, they've been training day-in-day-out for a number of years now. They have incredible reflexes, weapon proficiency, and pain tolerance, so be careful, alright?"

Blake sighed, "Well, this won't be very easy, will it?"

I shook my head, "No, but then again it's easier than it should be, since we're anticipating it. We should move quickly, we probably have less than a minute before they reach the first line of defense."

Everyone nodded, and my dad and Blake both quickly made their way to more strategic positions in the ship. I drew Crocea Mors and engaged Blinking, and was about to leave when Marbel spoke up.

"Wait, Jaune! Two things: Is that Blinking?" she pointed at my jittering and warping physical appearance.

I nodded, "Yeah, it is." I glanced back at her, seeing her and Weiss now in their combat clothing, "What was the second thing?"

She coughed lightly, "You said first line of defense? What is that?"

I smiled broadly, "Oh, just a knight and a beast." I chuckled and made my way out of the room and towards the center of the ship.

I ignored Marbel's call for more answers and shut the door telekinetically.

* * *

 _(A minute later, outside the airship, at the rear, Third Person POV)_

Naranja nodded to Aeron, the gesture almost lost as the wind whipped at their eyes, "Do it!" he called out over the tiny tempest forming in the wake of the airship's path.

Aeron nodded back, his aura glowing a bright electronic green and yellow, and they all watched as he willed the port door to open by activating the lock release. After the cabin pressure was balanced, they were allowed them to enter. Parking their sky bikes and activating the compression mechanisms that reduced their size to about a fourth of normal, they checked their weapons once more, locked and loaded, secured their bikes down, and made to proceed, with Aeron taking point.

Suddenly, though, the cargo door closed behind them despite nobody pressing the button for it. Suspicious, they aimed towards the door that led deeper into the ship. Surprisingly, something broke a hole in the ceiling, landing with a very loud clank of metal on metal and sending up a light cloud dust everywhere.

Waving it away with one hand, Prasino hissed, a few scales flaring out on his neck as he looked at the counter-intruder, "Who are YOU~?" he demanded in a demented voice.

The man stood up, brushing himself off. He had tan skin and bright golden hair, with cobalt eyes full of a challenging spirit. He wore gold-colored armor marked with what looked like runes or something, blue underarmor visible where the plates didn't cover. What seemed stupidly impractical, however, was his long cape, blue on the inside, white on the outside. He grinned at all of them, and something seemed off about his pearlescent white teeth shining in the light, "Well, hello there villains. It seems you've come aboard our ship without permission." he reached to his hip and drew out a fancy sword and a heater shield with a reinforced rim and that odd double-crescent symbol on that Jaune Arc's chestplate.

Xavia stepped forwards, "Stand aside, you annoying knight, we're here for the Schnee, and you're outnumbered twelve to one."

The knight made a show of counting all of them, then grinned, "Actually, I believe it's twelve to two, or six to one."

Navio spat on the floor, "Fuck you! I'm already tired of this bullshit!" he lunged forwards, activating his semblance.

However, before he could reach the knight, all of the lights in the cargo bay simultaneously exploded into a massive shower of electrical sparks, which all zipped towards a single point. Quick as lightning, long bars of electricity formed and branched and flared out and formed a horrendous figure of what looked like to be a draconic skeleton.

Navio was hit with a powerful zap of lightning and his collapsed body skidded along the ground and out of the room through the open door, which then closed again.

The knight grinned, brandishing his sword and using it to point at the eleven soldiers, "Well, that makes eleven to two, then."

The group spaced out slightly, ready to unload their ranged attacks at the mysterious and seemingly cocky knight.

Crocea Mors only grinned, looking at the soldiers with nothing but confidence, "So..."

Juristimunja roared and left to go make sure Navio couldn't overwhelm the others with his extreme speed. Left alone, Crocea only smiled wider.

"... who's up next?"

* * *

 **Oh boy! Damn, man, I wasn't planning on wasting the time I did on this. I seriously need to train myself to be more disciplined, or at least more focused and prioritizing.**

 **Damn, this was quite the chapter! I wasn't planning on it being _THIS_ long, it just kinda happened. At least it's all fairly good, I hope. I've written a lot of this chapter late in the night/early in the morning, so it's probably not the best in the world.**

 **Please leave a review telling me what you thought. As always, I'll answer questions in the next chapter just like I did my best to do this chapter.**

 **We didn't do the entirety of the Vacuan leg of Weiss' music tour, but honestly this chapter needed to have certain information present, and after I realized about halfway in that I wasn't going to fit ALL of that into this chapter, so... yeah.**

 **Next chapter will finish up Vacuo, have a bit of Vale, and get them moving to Mistral, if all goes well.**

 **I'm on spring break, so I'll at least have a chance to get a ton of that chapter done really fast, so yaaaay~! ^w^**

 **I hope you all had a good read, now please enjoy this omake... actually, I've got an idea.**

 **From now on, I'll sprinkle in plausible story stuff on the omakes. Normal nonsense and impossible stuff will be called Omakes, but this new brand of plausible things will be marked as DLC.**

* * *

 _DLC: A Knight is not Our Name._

* * *

 _(One week after the events of this chapter, Jaune POV)_

Honestly, for all that Mistral claimed to be a bastion of culture and creativity, the current town we were in was a massive disappointment.

It was just called 'Nice'.

And it looked like the last three towns.

Like... what the fuck, Mistral?

Currently, we were on the border of the Paris and Rome regions, just enjoying a little time off while my dad guarded Weiss during our promotional deals to rake in more cash. It was beautiful, as Mistral usually was. Not a lot of industry was present, so the sky was very clear and clean.

I had my hands in my pockets, wearing my full garb- cape, armor, and all -as I just took a casual stroll, thankful for the relief in duty for a little while. I hadn't had many daylight hours to myself in the past week, so this was a welcome opportunity.

I sensed something as I turned down a less populated street, however. Something ominous, something that felt like I was being watched. I slowed my pace and the feeling didn't pass. How was something evading the direction of my Sense Danger?

I felt out with Mystral, sensing a person in a nearby alleyway. I pulled her back and cast Invisibility on myself, crossing where the alleyway intersected with the street.

What I wasn't expecting was a large hook to reach out and yank me into the alleyway. I went down, but fell into a roll, flipping back onto my feet and reaching for my sword and shield.

The man was even faster than me, pinning me against the wall with his arm on my neck, nearly knocking my breath out and breaking Ki Breathing. I looked at him with anger as he snarled at me quietly.

"What exactly are you trying to do, you fucking idiot?" he demanded, "Displaying the crest so openly, the authorities will catch you for sure." he flicked his wrist, a long dagger extending from the heel of his hand all the way to my throat.

I willed Crocea Mors to bear, pushing the man's aura out of his blade and bending it away from my throat, glaring at him with righteous anger, "Who the hell are YOU, asshole?" I verbally lashed, upping my strength boosts and easily bending his arm away from me, now holding him back by his arms. The wind caught his hood and pulled it back, and I hit him with Gamer's Sight.

 **Acier Arc**  
 **Title: The Lunar Disciple whose Heart was kissed by Steel.  
Level: 98**

His blonde hair and steel-blue eyes glared at me, but he quickly pulled his hood back up, "Idiot! You show my face and SO many things will be compromised." he flipped his body up and kicked off my chest, breaking my hold on his arms and allowing him a moment to look at his ruined blade, "Fucking dammit, this thing will be impossible to hide."

I stared at him, "Why attack a member of the family, Acier?" his name meant Steel, and I could see he must have pumped it often, because his body was wrapped in layers of lean, dense muscle, "Why are YOU being so stupid?"

He looked up from his blade to glare at me, "What is your name, cousin?" he released his other blade and pointed it at me.

This time, I simply pushed it back into the gauntlet under his sleeve, "Jaune Arc."

He went wide-eyed, staring at me in shock and horror. He pulled his scroll out and dialed a number, getting an answer in a second, "Familia, aye, Puce, listen, the Monolith Line has returned."

A voice nearly shrieked in surprise from the other end, before they called out to someone else in the room and the line went dead. Acier looked at me, "Come, come, you've not met the others, have you? At Chateau d'Or Lune?" The Castle of the Golden Moon, the home of my extended family.

I shook my head, "No, I've not. So... is this the standard family greeting, or-?"

He cut my off, "Shhhh, close your jacket. Come, come." he tapped a part of his robe as he closed it, and I watched part of it gain markings, a rope belt becoming visible. When it was done, he looked like a Mistralian priest. He lowered his head and brought his hood up, "Follow me. Tell me, is your father here?" his tone was cautious.

I nodded, following him. If he tried anything, he'd be dead, so I didn't worry, "Yes, he is, is that a problem?"

"It may be." he said quietly as we started heading in a direction I could sense was as directly north as this crooked road could lead, "He left on unpleasant terms. We forgive him, as is only natural, but he may not be so inclined. He has not returned since he was a young man of seventeen."

"When he went to Beacon?" I asked, willing Mystral to keep our conversation unheard by anyone besides ourselves.

"Exactly the day. He took Crocea Mors as well, our family's relic." he sighed heavily, "I only wish it has not failed him."

I smiled, drawing the sword, "It didn't fail him, nor has it failed me." I showed him the upgrades I'd made to it.

He gasped, panicking, "Gah! You fool, put that away before someone sees it-"

"STOP!" a voice called out, "Stop where you are!" an armored guard rushed towards us, barreling down the street despite his heavy armor.

 **Brasero Talcus**  
 **Title: An Angry Torch fighting the Shadows**  
 **Level: 76**

Acier winced, then quickly drew up my hood before the guard was able to get a clear look at my face. I was quick to realize what was probably going on.

Oh fucking hell...

My fist shot forward and caught the man's heavy sword aimed for my head, "You're best off letting this go and walking away, Brasero." I dented the edge of his sword with my bare hand.

He growled in anger, "Shut up, dirty assassin." he punched towards my gut, but Candidus Murus blocked it.

I pushed him back, only for Acier to launch into a flurry of attacks that looked to be failing to truly penetrate it. I conjured up Dawn Breaker, my hardlight hammer, and shouted, "Knees!"

Acier dropped to his knees just in time for the heavy strike to shatter a hole in the brutishly strong man's now hard, but brittle chestplate. Excalibur lashed out an instant later and cut the man's sword in half like it was made of butter, right as Acier caught himself and pushed forward, knocking Brasero back and breaking his greaves with his fists.

I sensed the man's scroll loading something, and immediately stopped it with Juristimunja, forcing the machine to turn off. I stabbed forward, catching the man in the chest, running him through in a non-vital area.

Acier realized the opportunity and stabbed upwards, his blade penetrating the man's heart.

Falling off of our blades several seconds later, when his Aura gave out, the man hit the ground slowly as Acier lowered him gently.

I watched as a wallet magically fell out of Brasero's pocket, and quickly caught his soul as it made to leave his body and fade to nothingness.

All the while, I was internally facepalming so hard that I'd thrust my palm through my skull. My family wasn't one of knights, we were assassins, like from the game.

In fact, we might have made the game just to get some money... goddammit!

Groaning, I looked at my cousin, and he technically was my cousin, just an older one.

Acier looked back at me, "Whatever you did, cousin, it was fantastic. None of us have been able to get through this bastard's armor before, and he's been a real pain in our asses." he smiled at me, "Come, the family will be happy to hear this."

I nodded, "I'd be, if I was in their position. So... you called me the 'Monolith Line' before, why is that?"

He raised an eyebrow, then seemed to realize that I'd had no reason to know what that meant, and he nodded, "Ah, yes, just a moment. I'll explain after we move this body."

Rain fell and washed away the blood as telekinesis picked up the body and moved it into a dark alley, blacking out the man's shiny armor and covering him in dirt, "Alright, it's moved, now talk."

He went wide-eyed at the display of power, then raised his hood and gestured for me to follow, "Though we are assassins, the Monolith Line, your family line, is the truest and purest blood of the Arc family. The first-born son of the first-born son of the first-born son, all the way up to the beginning of our line. The Knights who show their light so as to blind our enemies to the actions of the Assassins."

I examined his stat build, he had decent VIT, great STR, and incredible DEX, just what I'd expect from an assassin's stat build, except probably with more STR and VIT than expected, "I see... so I'm either a tank, or a glorified piece of bait."

"Both are vital parts of our style, don't ever doubt that. Come, come." his grayish-yellow aura glowed and bent light around us to turn us invisible. I cast the buff on myself as we took to the Rogue's Highway out towards the north.

 _'I swear, if the Chateau d'Or Lune is just the Masyaf, I'm going to be pissed!'_

 _... (an hour of running later) ..._

 _'I'm pissed!'_

We made our way through a carved-out tunnel through a mountain. Despite our difference in Base DEX, my many boosts helped me keep up with him, especially Furious Pace and Blade Mode.

Acier chuckled heartily as we exited out to see a castle on a mesa in the middle of a river filled with long, jagged, deadly stone spikes. I could see someone down there moving a body off of one, then looked at Acier, "So, there a bridge?"

He chuckled, "Of course not, cousin, that would make it too easy for anyone trying to attack us."

I rolled my eyes, "Oh yes, because the complete ring of mountains around it was SO ineffective."

"Even a tiny tunnel through a mountain can allow an army through if they line up single-file. Give them no advantage, and take care for our own. If I'm not of mistake, Saffron gave birth yesterday." I realized he might not have been the most skilled in english. While he was certainly fluent in it, it wasn't his first language. He kneeled down, his Aura glowing on a runic circle beneath our feet, and he leaped into the air towards the castle.

I hummed curiously, then focused my aura onto the rune.

 **You received the status effect "Featherfall"!**

 _'Interesting...'_

I Power Jumped, flying high into the air as I followed Acier. We landed at nearly the same time, and I caught him wince slightly, one hand coming up to his chest.

Concern welled up inside me, especially given his title, "Are you okay, cousin?" I waved off the concern of two robe-wearing people that came bearing assault rifles, which is when I noticed the area we'd landed in, a sort of 'docking bay' for the jumpers. The two relaxed, then went wide-eyed and began messaging through.

Acier recovered after a few more seconds, "Yes, I'm fine. Sometimes I get phantom pains after a rough landing." he stood up and looked at the already messaging guards, "Co'alla, Brent, I'd prefer we don't stir them up until we actually reach the castle."

The woman nodded, "Of course, Acier. My apologies."

Brent looked at me, "So... you were telling the truth, and here I thought this was your greatest deception yet, Acier." he chuckled, and I saw that he was quite old, old enough to not be named after a color.

I looked at Acier as we made our way past the small, but thick portcullis, while noting the thunder-pulse cannons pointed at each 'dock', which would blow just about anyone off and into the deadly spikes below. Getting back to the concern at hand, I asked him, "Phantom pains?"

It seemed Arc-brand honesty was more brutal out east, because he answered, "I survived getting stabbed in the aorta. My semblance, a form of magnetism, allowed me to direct bloodflow as normal while they patched it up. I discovered, during that time, that I was perhaps the toughest among us. The others have incredible respect for me, I just wish the younglings didn't go through that brief phase where they thought knives to the chest would help them get stronger."

As we made our way up, I realized the sheer size of this mesa, as it was at least twenty minutes of walking up winding pathways and past subterranean farms before we came out into a small town. I heard children playing, I heard meat sizzling at an open grill nearby, and my stomach growled. I hadn't eaten in over sixteen hours, and my food meter was getting low.

Noticing my hunger, and the grill nearby, Acier smiled and chuckled, "Don't worry, cousin. It's okay to have a meal here. You're family, and we take care of our own." he directed us towards the grill, where a middle-aged man with a torso that suggested his workout routine and his love of alcohol were at war. His yellowish-orange hair flicked a little as he turned towards us.

His bright blue eyes went wide when he saw me, "Ah, hungry, fellows?" he smiled and plated up some meat and vegetables, along with two long rolls of bread. We broke the bread together, as I guessed Acier wanted, and ate heartily.

The man, whose name was Fioro, smiled at me, "So... if I'm not mistaken, then... sharp jaw, brilliant royal-blue eyes, golden locks, strong structure, broad frame... yes, it's true, the." he stood up and pointed at me, "You're Jaune Arc, latest of the Monolith Line." his voice was quiet as the low rumbling of campfire.

I nodded, "Yes." and received a bow in return.

"It's wonderful to meet you at last, Jaune Arc." he smiled, "Consider this meal on the house." he gestured to us, then poured us both a glass of whiskey, the family brand. He left it on the counter and I examined the label. The name was **Two Gold Moons' Glows** and it had a blue silhouette of a man and a woman standing in front of the full moon, facing away from each other and leaning dangerously far forward, but holding hands to keep each other steady, the space between them shaped like a heart. A similar bottle of a much harder liquor was labeled **Two Gold Moons' Embrace** , sneaking a taste, I found that the 'embrace' part was supposed to mean 'kissed in the mouth by a wrecking ball'. I grunted and set it back, playing it off like I just had a small cough.

Acier looked at me, "You just did an illusion. You're not a telekinetic?"

I shook my head, "No, a conjurer, and an expert with Dust." I smiled, polishing off my plate with four or five good passes. Fioro was incredibly skilled, the meat had a slight crispness to it, but was succulent and delicious. I felt a tug on my cape right a mere seconds before turning around. I looked down and saw a group of small children all looking at me in awe. I smiled a little. Kids were alright, "Well, hey there chil'rens." I accidentally let my accent slip through as I stepped off the stool, watching them make a circle around me.

"Isth it true?" one girl with bright orange hair and a missing front tooth asked, "Are you the Monolith persthon?"

I chuckled and leaned down, patting her head, "I am."

A boy with purple mixed into his pale blond hair jumped up, "Hey! If you're the knight, then will you distract Old Man Charles while I get some chocolates for us?"

I shook my head, "Sorry kiddo, but I'm not allowed to do something like that. Don't try to steal his chocolates, that's bad."

A boy with grayish-blonde hair spoke up next, "Can you suplex me?"

Acier turned around, "Aimant! Son, what have I told you? Father was very lucky, luckier than anyone else. You won't be."

The boy lowered his head, "Sorry father."

Acier picked him up, "You're forgiven, but don't do that again. Jaune is only visiting, and he'd hate to leave behind a poor image, like one of a man who broke a child's neck." he set his son on the stool next to him, "Fioro, my boy is obviously going crazy from hunger. Can you help."

Fioro nodded, preparing a dish while I walked away with about twenty little shadows.

 _... (after they got out of Acier's earshot) ..._

I was assaulted with many questions, and did my best to answer them. Suddenly, getting in front of me, a shy green-haired girl spoke up with her own question, "Is it true you're s'posed to have about five girlfriends?"

I blinked, "What? What do you mean?"

"Daddy says that the Monolith Line peoples have between three and seven girlfriends so that lots of baby Arcs are made." she said simply, "I did my maths and in the middle of three and seven is five, s-so I said 'about five'." she blushed and looked away, more embarrassed by explaining her thought process than by her question or where it stemmed from.

I felt a slight blush rise. About five? Yang, Ruby, Marbel, Blake, and Weiss. That was five right there... dammit, why do so many things seem to be urging me towards polyamory?

I shook my head, "No. I have one girlfriend. She's very beautiful, and I don't think I need another." I looked ahead, "Listen, children, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have things to attend to, I'll be sure to meet up with you all later, okay?" I resisted their adorable begging faces and looked to see Acier catching up with us, "I'm sorry. I promise I'll even play with you all later, for now Acier is taking me to see the leader."

They all nodded, and scampered off while Acier caught up to me, each of them expertly weaving past him as he jogged towards me, "Hey. I see the kids have already taken a liking to you."

I nodded, "Yeah. I think I'm a natural." smiling, I followed him as we jogged our way up the town and to the castle.

Acier chuckled, "Well, it's a notable trait that on top of being very strong, tough, and bright, they're remarkably good with bonding with people, and caring for children. I'm guessing you must have multiple siblings?"

I sighed, "Y-yeah. Six blood sisters, plus an adopted seventh. I loved them, but... my mother's ideals and my father's pride clashed, and they've been separated for seven years now. I haven't seen my sisters in so long, but I've never forgotten their names." I let out a lower, more pained sigh, "It's... not easy, but after my current mission, I'm going to visit them ASAP."

He nodded, "Good. You're a good man, Jaune. I'd hate to see that shine inside you get dulled by this cruel world. It's sad to hear the problems of your father, it's... very unpleasant. I wish you the best." he and I scaled the wall of the castle, running along the roof, and dropping down into a hallway. He led me to an office not far from our position, and I followed in close pursuit. It was almost surprising that nobody made to stop us, rather they simply gave us a wide berth. I suppose this was probably something quite normal to them, given their lifestyles.

We ended up at an office at the back end of the building. Acier straightened up and knocked on the door. There was a pause, then an elderly voice spoke from within, "You may enter."

Opening the door and stepping inside, we were greeted with the sight of a gray-haired man sitting at a desk, wearing a fancy gray hooded robe with complex designs woven onto it with Dust Threads imbued with Metal dust of all things. He looked up at us and smiled warmly.

I used Gamer's Sight on him, and immediately wanted to scream in frustration.

 **Ezio Ditore-Arc**  
 **Title: By Law and Rule, Honored under the Golden Moon**  
 **Level: 104**

I grit my teeth and let my anger loose, "OH YOU HAVE _GOT_ TO BE _FUCKING KIDDING ME!_ "

He raised an eyebrow, then looked at Acier, "I think he may have played our games."

* * *

 **Hehehehe, well this is what a DLC looks like. I'll go back and change the one omake to say DLC and put a note on it too.**

 **Well... I hope I did this all very well.**

 **Here's the stat dump.**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Big Star Boxer  
** **Level: 72  
** **Class: Magic Knight  
** **Nickname: Knightlight**

 **HP: 42,500/42,500  
** **AP: 152,000/152,000  
** **SP: 63,000/63,000**

 **Strength: 86 (+265%) (+110%) (+75%) (+100%) = 559  
** **Dexterity: 78 (+265%) (+110%) (+75%) = 429  
** **Vitality: 90 (+265%) (+110%) (+75%) (+50%) = 540  
** **Intelligence: 143 (+5) (+265%) (+50%) = 614.2  
** **Wisdom: 166 (+5) (+265%) (+50%) = 709.65  
** **Luck: 116  
** **Charisma: 80**

 **Stat Points: 130**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 6'1  
** **Weight: 245  
** **Build: Med-Heavy Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blonde / Brilliant Azure / Medium Tan**

 **-/\/\/\** **/\\-**

 **Well, that's everything in the chapter, then.**

 **As you could probably guess, the next chapter will start with the "boss gauntlet run" that is the Vacuan White Fang. I'll do my best to make them seem like an actual threat, because as it was mentioned, they are extremely skilled, probably enough to match up to a fully trained huntsman. There's a dozen of them, too, each with their own Auras and semblances... I've not mapped out every single detail, since I don't need to list them, but I've got a general idea of them, which equates to "this person is stronger than Blake, but not as strong as Marbel" or "this person is faster than Weiss, but not as fast as Blake" or "this person is tougher than all three girls, but not as tough as Jaune or John".**

 **Then, after that, and some drama, we go to the rest of the Vacuan leg of the journey, and some stuff with the pink partners (guess who guess who~) and then we go to Vale for a bit, and the chapter should probably end as they're heading towards Mistral.**

 **The next couple of chapters after that, however, should go through the entirety of Mistral, followed by a chapter full of fights.**

 **I hope I've built up your anticipation with those teasers. I hope you all loved this chapter. I hope you all love the next few chapters. I hope you all are just full of love.**

 **Make sure to check out the supplementary information handbook (or whatever I'm gonna call it), which I'm going to post after I post this chapter.**

 **Make sure to leave a review on this chapter, it's just plain courteous, and gives me feedback on what I'm doing well/poorly on.**

 **Also, official announcement: I'm looking for someone who can make a cover picture for the story, possibly, or maybe could link me to one, if possible. PM me if you have something.**

 **This is Player 1 signing off, see ya later ^w^**


	17. Splitting Sunlight, defying Corruption

**3/15/2017 at 4:05 AM: Well, I literally JUST pushed the button to post the last chapter like less than a minute ago. I'm going to make the document, set it up, and get to work on the supplementary book.**

 **3/15/2017 at 4:12 PM: A little over twelve hours later and I've barely done anything. That's to be expected since I've been working on making the other fic with the handbook of info. I'm gonna do my best right now, after I go take a piss**

 **3/18/2017 at 5:19 AM: Well, I've been working and doing stuff over the past two days, and I just now realized that I'm about 14.3k words deep and haven't even finished the White Fang stuff. Well, I won't spoil it here, you'll just have to read on, dear lovely readers. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **3/18/2017 at 7:40 AM: I have 16.1k words and I'm too tired to continue. I should sleep, since I haven't done that yet.**

 **3/20/2017 at 5:25 AM: I shouldn't have stayed up so late, but at least I have ~20.2k words done, so yaaay~ ^w^**

 **3/21/2017 at 2:52 PM: I feel like 40% of my writing these chapters is the meticulous and anal-retentive adjustment of the numbers acting behind the scenes.**

 **3/23/2017 at 9:04 AM: I haven't slept yet. I went to the dentist about 20 hours ago. I'm going to go to sleep, I've made 31.4k words so far with the ending in sight, but the road hazy.**

 **3/24/2017 at 10:51 PM: I've barely done anything today, but I DID watch the Power Rangers movie ^WWWWW^ it was awesome.**

 **3/25/2017 at 6:08 AM: I've spent the last several hours just goofing around, but I've had a great time and that's all that matters, ^W^ on the bright side, I have made it to 33k words now, so that's something at least.**

 **3/25/2017 at 10:19 PM: Well, I just saved because I'm going to go do a couple of things... the number was literally at exactly 34,999 words when I did. Hehehehe, rare moments people, rare moments.**

 **3/27/2017 at 10:56 AM: Well, I've spent the last couple of days just taking some time to do stuff for myself. Now I'm back and ready to start writing more ^WWW^**

 **3/30/2017 at 2:39 PM: So... my sleep schedule is 8 kinds of fucked up, I need to focus on my grades NOW and need to do a ton of work ASAP, it's all terrible TBCH.**

 **3/31/2017 at 2:06 PM: Well, I'm currently dealing with some troubles in paradise and have to deal with them, but I'll get the chapter up in the next couple of days hopefully. It feels like so much time has passed when really it's only been like 2 and a half weeks. Crazy how life can make it feel like a month. Anyways, the current wordcount is 41.4k and rising. I'm nearly done with the chapter itself, then I'm making the Omake, THEN I'll be done.**

 **4/2/2017 at 2:31 AM: Damn, I missed April Fool's Day. That sucks. I'm gonna just focus on finishing the omake now.**

 **4/4/2017 at 5:17 AM: Wow, another 2 days down the drain with pretty much nothing happening, at least not enough to matter. Honestly, this stuff could have come out last week if I'd been able to focus on it. Current wordcount: 47.6k words... actually I guess at this point it could be said that I wrote 6k words in five days, but at the beginning I wrote 16.1k words in like 3 days. My chapter completion is more asymptotic than I'd like it to be.**

 **4/4/2017 at 9:27 AM: I'm finally done with the chapter! Final wordcount: 50.1k words! Holy shit that's a lot!**

* * *

 **Reviewer Responses:**

 **Noble the Unknown Primordial:** Yeah, that part was what I wanted to include in the previous chapter, but couldn't because of size and stuff (not that that helped here at all). Yeah, the White Fang in Vacuo is pretty efficient and self-ruling, to be completely honest. They received what they were informed was vital information. I mean, under normal circumstances, what are the chances of a conjurer being able to catch up to the other ship? What are the chances any help will arrive and will they even be good enough to stop a dozen highly trained soldiers from killing one single heiress? The interception is almost comical when you consider it. They expected little to no resistance, but someone and his lightning dragon beast meets them in room 1.

 **ShotgunWilly:** Yeah, I suppose I kinda did. Don't worry, I'll be doing my best to correct such mistakes in the future.

 **XerzoLOTCN:** That is certainly interesting. I may just take you up on that offer. Yeah, the sword is different, but I might include something like Renji's later as a drop. Yeah Aura Confusion is pretty scary.

Yeah, Yang is awesome. Yeah, Weiss has a sad past. Right now I'm honestly just trying to close some of these points so you can hopefully not have to type SO much in your next review, and move onto more recent things.

Yeah the disease is absolutely terrible. Yeah, harem stuffs.

That omake idea might occur, or it might not. You may have inspired me, you may not have. Honestly, at this point, I don't know for sure yet.

The omake from last chapter is not canon. A DLC omake is things that are plausible, but ultimately are not canon. It would be interesting, certainly, but it's just not how things are.

Jaune might have an assassin-style armor set, but he is a knight first, wizard second, and then an assassin would be third (or maybe 4th, depends on how important boxing ends up, LOL).

 **Zyxis ORA:** Sorry, but DLCs are not true. They are plausibly canon, but ultimately they are not canon. Sorry about that, bud.

 **zen-aku the spirit of the wolf:** Right... I'm gonna be honest, I didn't even really think about that. I mean, like, even when you say 3 AM, I'm usually up and active at 3 AM, so... yeah. I didn't mean to sound like a high-horse jackass. I'll try to be better in the future, promise ^-^

 **Umbrardor:** Yep, it's not ideal that people like them have to die (or do they? Who knows? Anyone remember what Jaune's main belief is? Hehehe) But yeah, like... I guess the titles are sometimes indicative of more about a person's character than even *I* might think. Plus, I did explain the thing about the name Black, so that's a thing. I'm going to do my best in this chapter.

 **Dark Durian:** I wouldn't say **Night Omen** is broken, per se. I mean, what Jaune knows about it is that it showed a single ONE, of possibly MILLIONS of outcomes that his mind could possibly think of. He didn't even predict it, he more theorized it. Yeah, the White Fang chose the wrong night to go against direct orders. The DLC _is_ indeed pretty cool, I worked hard on it, mostly because I found it hard to write well. I always fear that when I get to the omake, that I sink into single-liner spamming.

 **Uchiha Rai:** I'm glad I can keep you captivated with my story, dude, that means a surprising lot to hear.

 **bookcoda:** and another surprisingly nice thing to hear. Man, you guys are pushing all the right buttons this time, ^WWW^

 **kyuzo3567:** well the elementals increased in rank, in fact the skill became like 3.5 times more powerful in its new form, and it's one of the more powerful skills, so while other skills may get 20%, 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% more powerful "technically" (Energy Bolt does 200% base magic damage at level 99, the prestige Energy Rocket does 250% base magic damage). If the story extends to him getting all the way to the final tier of Summon Elemental (slight spoiler but it goes higher than 3), then he could... it's too much spoilers to say. I hope you understand. He could easily move mountains, just as an example.

 **uriil:** the next prestige stage might not happen before Beacon, it ultimately depends on what goes down over the summer (beach episode confirmed). Jaune will find some of his questions will have the answer of simply 'no', but say a Nature Elemental? Well, that's a combination of the single elementals. I can't say which yet, but it's a thing.

He hasn't _shown_ much training of those skills because he's been focusing on getting new skills and leveling up some of his oldest skills, but he's been doing it off-screen. Rest assured, Prismatic Spray has been getting training, but Engineer's Aura has been ignored for the most part.

Don't worry, he can still harvest their semblances from their souls. It worked for Adam, it will work for them.

 **Alex2909:** And I love YOU, random reader, ^w^

 **A Guest with big claims:** Actually, if you take a closer look, you can see that the first timestamp reads AM, the second one reads PM. I travel through time just like anyone else, at a constant rate of 1 second per second, _thank you very MUCH!_ _*sassy snap of my fingers*_ XDDD jk but I found this review too funny to not respond to.

 **Siriusly Grim:** I have maybe 6 or 7, IDK. This current Story Arc has about 3-5 more chapters planned for it, because it's technically not ending at the Mistral Regional Tournament, it's ending a bit after that. This chapter WILL cover the rest of Vacuo, even if I have to make it 40k words long! The summer-based story arc will probably be only 2-4 chapters at the most, and even then it'll mostly be time-skips with significant bits in between, and a beach episode because any good anime has a beach episode XD. After that, Beacon awaits them all.

 **deepwound78:** more like shallowwound0.78. Honestly I don't even care about the LUK thing anymore, I had my reasons for it, in fact the next review actually sums it up quite nicely.

 **Phoenix007x:** Glad you're enjoying it, and you summed up the Luck thing very nicely. Jaune might have had high mental stats and Gamer's Mind (which mitigates but does not entirely prevent his emotions from coming up, and I'd established before could be overtaxed and broken), but in chapter 4 he was mostly still just a teenager with super powers still getting used to everything. He panicked because he didn't want to get in trouble with his dad, and his dad has been his only parent for seven very important years now, so to piss him off or disappoint him was something he desperately didn't want. He might have had high mental stats but he couldn't possibly know what skills would come about because of the dump into Luck, and couldn't see the value of them until much later... As for the concern that you yourself had, Phoenix, I've already explained it pretty well in the response to Siriusly Grim's review.

 **ABeaupain:** Yeah, I didn't really have any plans on making more than 6 elementals, those hints and speculations were just to fill space and provide consideration fuel for the skill. The skill just evolves his elementals to be more powerful, like Pokemon, but with more than 3 evolutions (1st is Basic, 2nd is Lesser, which implies a 'Normal' version and a 'Greater' form, so he can guess there are 4 tiers at the current time)

 **jACK905:** he will! And he'll use them to increase his mental stats (MINOR SPOILERS) enough so to get the INT 150 skills!

 **sorry-.-no-names:** And I'll soon have this down and you JUST REVIEWED THE LAST ONE! Funny how nature do dat, XD. Yeah, the purple flames actually has to do with its opposite color, more than its adjacent colors. Technically speaking, Blue and Red are not opposites, Green and Red are, so Green is Kindness and Red is Anger. Blue is Calmness and Orange is ?. Yellow is ? and Purple is the opposite of whatever that is.

Factor Wisdom is indeed amazing, and Factor Intelligence will be just as amazing... yeah, pretty much, Proficiency to Mastery, a 100% increase from Skill, 500% increase from Proficiency, and 1000% increase from Mastery, leading to a total of 1600% increase to damage with such attacks, and if you think about someone who was just starting karate, and someone who was a complete master of it, blackbelt and decade-plus of training, there'd easily be a 17x power difference. The thing you haven't thought of is "What comes after Mastery?". I may have 63 pages of Jaune's Tier 1 skills, and only 17 pages of the Tier 2 and 3, but I'm planning on having him later focus more on prestiging his current skills rather than just getting new ones, so yeah man, what DOES come after Mastery? How do you improve further in something when you're already a master at it?... He would indeed, but sleeping takes 6 hours and while he may not be in a position where someone might want to come kill him in his sleep, he does prefer just staying up for that time to make sure nobody ELSE in his group (Hint: her first name starts with W and ends with S and sounds a lot like the first half of one of his stats) runs that risk, but yeah he'd get updates from Gamer's Mind using the Fundamental Factors of Intelligence and Wisdom to process information about what he knows about stuff, combined with Gamer's Sight letting him access the annals of history, he could literally prestige some skills with a nap... the nightmare is about immortality, in a sense, yes.

Ruby is indeed getting closer to Aurora, what will happen when she gets it? Hopefully good things, HOPEFULLY, but you never know when you poke at evil things you don't understand... Jaune's will to protect is indeed scary. I mean, take for example the fact that the guy recovers all his aura from 0% to 100% in under a minute, then take into account that he has probably in the top 50 largest amounts of Auras in the fucking WORLD at the moment, and that he can use it to do dozens of crazy things like cover you in red-hot ashes, shred you with magical bullets or high-speed gravel projectiles, slog you down with rain, cut you with the wind, or shock the fuck out of you, and that's just with the Shots spells! His will to protect will drag you into an extradimensional plane, throw you half a mile into the air, slam you back down like a rocket, grab literally tons of rock and metal to crush and shred you with, burn you alive, send LIGHTNING BOLTS AT YOU, choke you in a magically induced vacuum, drown you, and all the while, you're looking at a man whose very being seems to shift, jitter, and blip in and out of corporeality seemingly just through his sheer level of _anger_ (the buff Blinking looks frightening for someone who doesn't understand it). Jaune is The Gamer, and if The Gamer's will is to protect, then by god those guarded things will be PROTECTED... unless he's restrained to an airship that he does not want to let crash, then he's greatly limited... Weiss is indeed getting happier, and this chapter she's going to get sick because she's going to have to spill blood. White Fang blood. Jeeves is indeed a shit.

Elementals upgrade YEAH~! Crocea Mors developed some mind, and the some mind that he developed happened to be that of a challenging person. They all went from basically mentally incapable, to being 1-dimensional characters (only one personality trait can ever be seen at any time), but that won't stop Jaune from delving into their minds and cultivating intelligence in them. He sees his elementals as his friends, and he wants his friends (even if they're pieces of his soul) to be healthy and happy... Crocea the sword also indeed got an upgrade, and Adamantium or Mithril would indeed improve it. The weight isn't actually for Jaune's physical stats, it's to increase the damage because he can already swing it super fast, and swinging a normal-sized sword super fast is more effective than swinging a super heavy sword at normal speed, but what if you swung a super heavy sword super fast? BOOM, like 8x more damage... the elementals aren't naturally destructive, they technically are only 'naturally' what their new dimension of personality dictates. The current environment encourages that Jaune adapt his elemental training. It's quicker to level up the skill by destroying the city every night than, say, going out into the desert and making giant sandstone structures or something. It helps all of them a lot, since some of these cities are extremely close (within a mile or two) of the coast, which is water for Pluviteus. Air is everywhere, stone is in the buildings, metal in cars and shit, flammable things burn, and electricity is in cars and buildings too. All the elements ready to be used.

Yeah, cancer isn't a joke, but mostly he was just like "Do I want to willingly give myself a deadly disease purely because it's possible?" and decided "Nah I'm good without skin cancer.". Dillan will certainly be under the spotlight soon, right after the White Fang he unknowingly pointed at the group are dealt with.

 **NexusBladeguard:** The Player1 is pleased that you've finally gotten the chance to read and review, friend.

* * *

 **Well, that's it for reviews. I have no announcements other than go check out the supplementary handbook if you get a chance.**

 **Alright then, let's get started.  
**

 **Story Arc 2: Playing Prometheus  
**

 **Chapter 17: Splitting the Sunlight, defying Corruption.**

* * *

 _(Weiss' Ship, cargo bay, Third Person POV)_

Everyone stood staring at the knight, who only stared back, his eyes flickering to each of the members.

Naranja's mind raced, "Silver Claw, go!" he barked out, already on the move.

With that simple command, hammered into their minds over years of training, Kroma and Jade surged forward, moving to perform a pincer attack. Kroma's spear hit the knight's shield, Jade's claws hit the sword

Crocea Mors soon found himself overwhelmed. Though his DEX had come increased in the great breakthrough that was his evolution into a Lesser Elemental, the change even greater than Roimontagne's, he was still solid and technically rigid. He empowered his shield while fumbling slightly to fight off a pair of clawed gauntlets. He was easily stronger than either of these fighters, but he was slow. He saw the others immediately move towards the door, Aeron brandishing a small tool and hooking it up to a box on his back.

He kicked at Kroma, but the soldier only jerked back out of the way, reducing a brutal blow to a glancing one that lacked positioning to do any real damage.

His shield needed to be constantly adjusted to resist the plasma torch effect that the spear would have.

The spear slid across his shield, and if he hadn't been occupied on the other side by the savagely quick Jade, he'd have easily been able to compensate his lack of true dexterity with overwhelming force and control over metal.

"Supply Chain!" another order barked, and he turned his physical eyes to see the soldiers passing along a case to Aeron. He hooked up a plate to the case and attached the other hose of his tool to it. Hitting a button, it shot out a long stream of plasma that he then used to rapidly cut the door open.

Drawing on more charges to increase his power, he pushed back the two fighters and shot out a blast of metallic magic at the door, slowing the process but costing him his entire shield arm as the metal was sheared through by the intense plasma-like flames. He swung his sword at the woman and scored a deep gash across her lower face. Reinforcing his physical form, he picked up his arm and reattached it, grinning at the shocked looks.

There was a loud clank as the door was cut open against his wishes, "Extinguish! Jade stay on him!"

There was no sign of acknowledgement, only a powerful bullet piercing his shield and punching a hole through his side to cover for the woman's escape. Jade did as ordered and stayed on him, his savage speed only getting faster as his aura glowed around him.

Crocea frowned, "You're going to lose. You're all going to lose."

The wolf faunus snarled at the elemental, "You're an abomination. I'm reading Aura all over you, but you're not protected. What the hell are you?!"

The knight exchanged his sword for a second shield, acknowledging this man's speed was far beyond what the others were capable of. If he caught Blake, then her ribbon would be tied to more ribbons... ones made of flesh that was, "I am Crocea Mors, and you are my enemy. Prepare to be vanquished, fiend!" he pushed the man back and switched to dual swords to stab him, but was too slow and was caught in the stomach by a kick, followed by five rapid swipes that cut through his armor, but did little actual damage. Technically, he had no HP, since he was a completely solid object, but it was concerning.

Focusing on reinforcing and fixing himself, he swung his swords at the man, who was pushed back and forced to go on the defensive as he was occupied by the knight.

Crocea only hoped his brothers and sisters were doing well, as well as their master/friend.

* * *

 _(Meanwhile, in the hallways, Nayro's POV)_

I pushed myself faster, jumping along the walls with low gravity and high strength. I saw him in the distance, laying on the floor and smoking.

 _'...no no no no No No No NO NO NO NO NO!'_

I reached him and pulled myself to a halt with gravity, seeing his charred corpse stripped of equipment, his wide eyes leaking steam. I grimaced, closing his eyes as my training kicked in, and I hit the communicator, "Navio is dead, I repeat, Navio is dead!" more emotion leaked into my voice than I wanted, but I was a little too bereaved to care entirely.

I turned when I heard footsteps, my ears twitching as I swung my axes, sending pulses of thunder at whoever it was. I knew it wasn't my teammates, they'd have announced their approach.

Skidding back was Jaune Arc, the man who they were told would not be on the ship. I snarled, "You shouldn't be here!" I swung another wave of thunder at him.

He sighed, looking tired, angry, and depressed all at once, "Pots, kettles, you're awful black for the White Fang." he said as he drew his sword from nowhere, obviously conjuring it up with his semblance, "You're crying." he noted with a bit of sympathy, "You don't have to do this."

I gasped at him. What kind of man was this? Was he already offering mercy before our fight even started? Was he so confident in his abilities that he felt pity on me for my seemingly inevitable being crushed.

I let out a roar of anger and charged at him. How dare he? HOW DARE HE?!

* * *

 _(One second ago, Jaune's POV)_

I internally groaned. I wanted them to just leave. To be honest, killing someone still didn't sit right with me, and The Game had acknowledged that with the skill to reform the White Fang. I had Navio's soul, weapons, and visor in my inventory, exactly what I wanted, but... honestly, I thought that emotions like love and grief had been trained out of them, but I was clearly wrong.

I sighed, "Nayro." I said softly as I blocked her attacks with my gauntlets, using my Champion Boxer guards and the reflex boost they gave. I looked down at her, "You're young, full of potential, in a country where faunus and humans have the greatest level of peace. Why did you join the White Fang?"

She gasped in surprise, but recovered, "Why do you care? You're just a Huntsman-in-training trying to keep us from getting to the Schnee, why did you even take up this contract? Sensei Naranja saw my potential and helped train me to become the best!"

I held her back with my telekinesis, "I took Weiss' contract because I saw potential in her too, potential for greatness. She was a lot like me." she gasped, "Threatening to break under the pressure of her family name, with far too weak of a back to carry it. I offered her a chance to improve, I offered a helping hand to lift some of that weight off her back until she was able to get stronger." she grimaced.

"Stop trying to make me sympathize with you! You don't understand the grief of the orphaned, you rich asshole!" I noticed her start to shake a slight bit.

I grimaced and let her out of my grasp, "You and Naranja have a similar bond, don't you?" I was taking a stab in the dark. Honestly, this girl made me think of the young woman I saw in my dream, which gave me some intense feelings. I put away my weapons and went back to blocking, "I don't want you to die, know that. I don't like the White Fang, not one bit. The path they've taken is unacceptable, and needs to be corrected. I want to help everyone, Nayro, and I think you might be a good start. Please, help me help your friends." I offered my hand to her.

She chopped at it with her axe, which I caught and pulled from her grasp, "You don't want to help us! Why the hell should I believe you?!" she tackled me and rained blows down on me, "You killed Navio, didn't even give him a chance!"

I punched her back, followed by a slap to the face, "I DID!" I really had, but... "He told me to shut up and proceeded to try to decapitate me. He was a lost cause, consumed by the swarming mass of hatred and anger that the White Fang's vibes have become." I caught her other axe, stashing both in my inventory as she switched fluidly to an unarmed style and threw several punches at me in only a couple of seconds.

She snarled, "You humans take our rights without justification, just because we have animal features! You disgust me, Jaune Arc!"

I caught her arms and threw her against the wall, "You disgust me because you can't even fight properly! You're much too weak to get past my defenses, and when disarmed, your heavy damage abilities are nonexistent. You needed far more training, and perhaps some with Aura."

She shot to her feet and lashed out with both feet, and I ended up smooching a right boot while getting a left boot as glasses. I caught her ankles and swung her like a club, hitting the wall, the floor, even banging her head on the ceiling, before throwing her down the corridor. I pushed forward, but stopped when she flipped to her feet and screamed, "What do you know?! You're a dumb human and-" she stopped entirely when a pair of bear ears sprouted on my head, "What the hell?"

"I have great magical power, enough to turn myself into a faunus. I can help you, Nayro, help you become stronger. My goal... my goal is to save the world, even if it's just a little bit of it. I'm building a new kingdom too, one where faunus and humans can live together in peace. Did you know Blake is a faunus? She can attest to my honesty, she was once a part of the White Fang, but I gave her an opportunity to move on to something greater." I held out my hand, "What is holding you back from taking an offer for greatness?" I equipped Charmer just to give myself an extra boost.

She looked at the floor, then let out a small laugh, "You think that I'll trust the words of a traitor?"

"Not a traitor, a redeemer." Blake spoke up as she dropped from the ceiling, "We're trying to turn the White Fang back to the path of peace. If we have a human ambassador, we'll be better equipped to politically ensure our rights. Not only that, Jaune is indeed building up a kingdom, and already has a castle built for it. If we become another kingdom, then we can have whatever rules we choose to make. Doesn't a save haven where we get our rights without trouble much better that being forced to fight tooth and nail for them?" she held out a hand and we both noticed that my body-swinging attacks and rough grip had damaged Nayro's legs somewhat, "We're essentially handing you your goal on a silver platter."

Nayro looked between us, "I... I..." she broke down. She'd already passed crying over a minute, "I want that... I don't really want to fight. I already lost one of my friends, I don't want to lose more."

I breathed a sigh of relief, "Stay with Navio, and mourn. Listen, I'm going to do my best, but I might not be able to convince any of your friends to join us. Will you be willing to join us even if none of them are?"

She shook her head, "No. I'd rather die and be with them all, than live and dishonor their wishes."

I sighed, and nodded, "I understand. Come on, Blake, back to work."

Blake nodded and jumped back up to the ceiling.

I patted Nayro between her serval ears, "I'll do my best."

She growled lightly, "You'd better, or I'll kill you all myself, asshole."

Well... that was all the inspiration I'd get out of her.

Time to get to work.

* * *

 _(meanwhile, Marbel's POV)_

I grimaced, looking at my profile. We were in an emergency, facing enemies who were easily more powerful than us.

I quickly dumped my points and prayed, bracing myself for the surges of power.

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **HP: 16,000 -} 20,300  
** **AP: 18,550 -} 20,900  
** **SP: 22,000 -} 28,000**

 **Strength: 52 -} 70 (+105%) (+25%) = 161  
** **Dexterity: 62 -} 80 (+50%) = 120  
** **Vitality: 63 -} 80 (+210%) = 248  
** **Intelligence: 80 -} 90 (+45%) = 130.5  
** **Wisdom: 60 (+58%) = 94.8  
** **Luck: 50 -} 57  
** **Charisma: 48**

 **Stat Points: 70 -} 52 -} 34 -} 17 -} 7 -} 0**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

I grit my teeth as I felt my bones surge with an odd sensation of being filled. I felt like my body might burst.

Suddenly, though, I was overcome with calmness, and I sighed, "Weiss, don't do what I just di-"

"AHP!" Weiss cried out in panic. My eyes shot open to see Lima standing across from me, holding Weiss up by the neck and using her as a meatshield.

"Well, it sssseems I was very lucky, then." he pressed his finger to one ear while holding a pistol under Weiss' chin, "Team, report in, I've found the Schnee and her little bodyguard."

I stepped forward, only for the man to tighten his grip and pull out a short spear that soon expanded into five points, crackling lightning arcing between the points, "Don't come any closer you little bitch! I'm here to kill this bitch and I'm not against shooting her early because her bodyguard was too jumpy. Heheheheheeeeh~." he grinned and licked Weiss' cheek, making her tear up in disgust and pain.

I growled in anger. Dammit, why was I so weak? So distracted? I literally JUST increased my LUK! That should have prevented this from happening. The moment I'm overwhelmed by my stats raising is the very moment he sneaks in with his mental effects and snatches Weiss up! Fucking fucking fucking FUCKING FUCK FUCK FUCKITY FUCK!

I felt something inside me cracking, my pinkish-white Aura glowing around me. I took a step forward, and he tensed up. I couldn't help but step back, and he relaxed a bit.

"Team, report in!" he said with a slight reduction in confidence, "Team? Are these damn things working?" he cursed and took it off, "HEY!" he shouted down the halls, "TEAM! FUCKING GET OVER HERE!"

My anger amplified with every word he spoke, until I felt myself reach the tipping point.

As if the world itself was responding to my mental state, the ship suddenly began tilting.

* * *

 _(One minute ago, Aeron's POV)_

The communicators were fried. That lightning beast must have done it while we were distracted with that knight. I hoped Jade was holding up well, I'd designed those blades myself, so they should be more than strong enough to handle a cocky knight. How? How did they know we were coming?

We'd snatched Dillan's receiver off of him, and there had been silence the entire time between then and now. Not a single soul had spoken over their radios.

So why? How? HOW? HOW THE HELL DID THEY KNOW WE WERE COMING?

Luckily, we had backup plans on top of backup plans, enough to shower in for an hour, "Come on, come ooon." pneumatic were tricky sometimes. Dust helped a lot, but only so much. My Eternal Interface device was hooking itself up to the ship. I was going to send this thing on a one-way trip to Turbulence City! We all were more than skilled enough to handle it, but these Hunters have probably never dealt with it before. It was a bit of a gamble, but ultimately a risk-free game-changer.

*bweep~* GOT IT!

Provided with an interface to use my semblance with, I disabled the flight stabilizers and gave the engines the hiccups.

The ship began tilting, the precursor to further problems.

* * *

 _(Presently, Marbel's POV)_

The ship tilted as my anger increased and my Aura flared up.

Lima shifted his weight, "Don't take another sssstep closer or I'll fucking zzzap you, kid!" he chuckled as I couldn't help but step back, "Good girl. You must be new to thisss, huh? And we were told it'd be 1.5 casssualties to 1, favoring your side. Looks like the big boss man didn't account for ssskill... or cowardiccce!" he laughed harshly, and it grated on my mind.

I felt weak. I felt helpless. I felt powerless.

Jaune wouldn't have let this happen.

John wouldn't have let this happen.

Blake wouldn't have let this happen.

I should have been stronger. I should have been braver. I should have been better.

I should have been more like a Huntress.

I felt something inside me snap as the ship vibrated slightly, my rage hitting the breaking point.

 **Advancing in the story of your life has granted you the trait "Heroic Willpower"!**

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU~!" I screamed as I blinked and in an instant felt a surge of power fill me, seeing a horse and feeling strength fill my entire body all at once.

Lima thrust his spear at me, but my body moved somehow even faster, because I found myself teleporting behind him with a brilliant streak of aura connecting points A and B. I spun and stabbed him in the spine. It was a testament to their training that he didn't freak out from the pain, but I swung high and carved a deep gash into the back of his neck, a spray of blood covering my face as I moved quickly. He reacted to the neck slash, both hands flying back to cover the wound as he dropped Weiss. I grabbed her and jumped to the side, putting some distance between us and him.

He recovered enough to fall to one knee, grab his spear in one hand, and thrust it towards us, but Weiss' elemental, Eismeer, leaped from his position, having apparently been summoned in the middle of the encounter. He caught the lightning with his conductive body, saving us from getting fried like bugs, or at the very least probably getting a heavy DEX debuff and unbelievable amounts of pain.

Romargust compressed into existence from many solid particles and an activated Earth Dust crystal. He slowly swooped in from the side and smashed the man into the ground. I watched as my elemental's massive fist delivered a deadly crushing blow that made Lima's head pop like a grape.

Weiss looked at me fearfully, and the ship lurched, sending us both closer to the bleeding body. I got my bearings and shifted away from the growing pool of blood.

I saw the man's soul float up out of his body. I figured Jaune might want to keep it, and pulled it into the inventory. Looking in that direction, I finally noticed the two notifications that had popped up.

 **The synergy of your physical stats, your LUK, and your traits, has unlocked the Semblance Subskill "The Knight"!**

 **Your level has increased by one!**

Reading it quickly, I found that the teleportation had been called The Knight's Move, and my suddenly jumping ability was part of The Knight's Code.

"Is... is my semblance the ability to imitate chess pieces?" I asked in a moment of peace.

Weiss looked at me like I was crazy, "Who cares? Use that teleportation ability and get us out of here!" she stumbled when the ship lurched again.

I grabbed her, "Right! Alright... KNIGHT!" I commanded, but nothing happened.

Figured it was a mental command, I willed the knight powers up to bear, then picked Weiss up and turned to the door.

John was standing there, "Hey! You two move somewhere else. They'll smell the blood in here and know what happened. Go, go go go, I'll cover you." he practically threw himself down the hallway to our right, so I surged forwards, performing a side jump and twisting my body as best I could to make a sharp turn. It wasn't ideal, and Weiss' legs got banged against the wall, but we were moving and that was what was important.

 _Jaune C: Hey! I've taken down Navio, and Nayro has surrendered. I'll try to turn her later, but right now we need to stop the others. :C_

 _Marbel C: Surrendered? Nevermind, our position was compromised, we need to get somewhere else, and FAST :C_

 _John C: I'm covering their rears, don't worry. :C_

 _Jaune C: Move quickly, no telling where they've gotten to. I'm going to try to find Aeron, he's probably the one causing the ship to freak out. You two stay safe. Blake, status? :C_

 _Blake C: Annoyed more than hurt, nearly ran into_

Recalling what I knew about the ship, it would be best if we headed towards-

*CRU-U-U-U-UN* the ship jerked under my feet and a jolt of pain shot up my leg. I ended up tumbling to the floor, sending Weiss several feet away.

I made to stand up and my Aura glowed around my leg, fixing my ankle as I used Soulforge Restoration like Jaune had taught us. Weiss stood up as well, but stumbled into the wall as the ship jerked again. It was like the engines had the hiccups.

Weiss looked scared, and my ankle's protests were silenced as the healing magic took hold. I ran over to her and helped her get steady, "Weiss. WEISS!"

She looked at me, eyes wide, "Marbel. Oh my god, I... I nearly died, Marbel."

I sighed, "I know, Weiss. It was terrible, but I saved you. The Game helped me save you. Jaune has our backs even when he's not here, you know this.

"Jaune..." she looked lost, so I resorted to percussive maintenance.

*SMACK* "Get ahold of yourself, girl! You freeze up here, then they'll find us and this time I don't think teleporting will save us. Come on, we need to find a new room to bunker down in."

She nodded, getting ahold of yourself, "R-right. Come, I know a room." I picked her up again and started running, "I can move on my own, Marbel!"

"Yes, but you keep stumbling. Come on, just direct me." I started running as fast as my feet could carry me, a notification informing me that I'd gotten another level in Run. I dismissed it and did my best to keep us going.

"Alright, left!" I turned left, "No wait, right!" I skid to a halt and turned around, using my Rook abilities to regain speed.

"Not a good time to get confused, Weiss." I informed her as she held onto me, relieving some of her weight off my arms and allowing me to free one hand to hold my shortsword.

I just hoped we'd make it in time.

* * *

 _(Meanwhile, John POV)_

I ran through the halls, sticking close to Weiss and Marbel's position while watching out for any enemies.

Goddammit, this just HAD to happen, didn't it?

I'd already cleared my intoxication with Aurora and Soulforge Restoration, so I was cleared for combat. My sword and shield were still at my side, ready to be drawn. I needed my hands clear for running until I found a fight.

Lucky me, I saw an unfamiliar figure and ran down the hall, pushing myself into the familiar Furious Pace.

Nai'Lon, the armorer. She noticed me, how could she not with all the noise I was making? She turned towards me, got a look of realization, and up shot a wall of ice.

Shifting my shoulders, I armored myself and shoulder-tackled the wall, breaking through it and flipping through the glittering ice shards. I nearly slipped on the ice, but recovered and pounced towards the woman fist-first, knocking her into the wall. She slide along it before pushing off and rolling onto her hands and knees, jumping to her feet and swinging her long scimitar at me.

I tilted my hand away from the cold, hardened water that raked across my torso and cheek. My shirt nearly got torn, which irritated me. Clapping my hands together, my armor shifted into fullplate, "Alright, come on then. Let's go." a burst of aura flew from Midnight Tide's edge and hit her chest as I tore it from its sheath, which then expanded out into a shield.

She grimaced and her aura flashed over her blade. I saw it shudder for a second before becoming coated with frost. She snarled and made a tight swing towards my right side, "Die!"

I tsked and smacked her sword away, noticing frost form on my own sword, "So, how'd you turn water to ice with the ability to harden and reinforce?"

She gasped, but swung at me, "None of you business, now FIGHT!" she pushed against my shield, but I slashed at her chest and kneed her in the stomach. I stood strong even when the ship shuddered in the air. It seemed that one of them had disabled the flight stabilizers. Sent into a stumble, she fell onto her stomach, but pushed up and swung at my legs. I let it glance off my shinguards, but was surprised when it cut right through them, "And it's not just that. I can reverse the process." she sneered and her sword met my aura-saturated shield, "And under pressure, ice can form even when not at its normal freezing temperature." she grinned evilly and swung at me again, the cold threatening to sap at my strength.

I activated my Aura, fighting off the cold, "I see. You know, you don't have to do this. You can choose to do something else."

"No I can't! Naranja... he saved my life, I owe him absolutely everything. It would be the death of all of my honor if I betrayed him." she let out a small screech of effort as she swung at me in a flurry of slashes.

I shook my head, "Your ancestors wouldn't approve of you dedicating your life to hatred and death. Surely, if it's for a better path, then you could do the morally right thing, and go against Naranja's command." I tried to reason. It was tricky, dealing with Vacuans. Their warriors tended to put honor before reason. It stemmed from their soul-oriented culture and the importance of bonds and stuff.

She looked down, "Like your cause is any better. Liberating the faunus-"

"-Is one of our many goals. We all are planning to do a lot. He has incredible power, enough to influence the entire world. Liberating the faunus from their status would be easy with him on your side." I blocked another slash, bashing her backwards, "Stand down and we can work something out. Nobody has to die." I held out my hand, "We're offering you an opportunity to change your fate, with the help of people who can give you a far better positioning than before. Will you take it?"

She glared at me, but her weapon slowly lowered, "I... I will." she dropped her weapon and fell to her knees.

I smiled at her, "Trust me, things will get better. They usually do." it was a lie, one I knew was a lie, but it was a comforting one.

I didn't entirely agree with this idea of giving them this mercy, but I was the one who taught Jaune that second chances are some of the most important things in life.

I handed her a handkerchief to wipe her wetting eyes, "It's going to be okay." the lie weighed down on my back

"Trrrraitor~..." a cold, almost fog-like voice spoke, and I spun around in surprise.

* * *

 _(Meanwhile, elsewhere, Jaune POV)_

I don't know how exactly I figured out how Aeron was at the very side of the ship, but I did. It was probably Mystral speaking to me, but it was hard to listen when my racing mind was screaming so much.

The ship lurched again, but my balance helped me stay steady as I approached him from behind. He stood and aimed his weapon at me, and I felt his gatling gun chew into my less armored body parts. It started to fight against Stone Skin and Metal Skin, which I noticed soon started receiving level ups, until suddenly...

 **By raising "Stone Skin" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Golem's Flesh"!**

 **By raising "Metal Skin" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Robot's Flesh"!**

I pushed upwards and the new skills took hold, They were harder to deal with, especially since they reduced from a fourth-dimensional space to a three-dimensional. I felt my muscles swell and grow denser as they were converted into stone, only to then find them compressing and turning denser as they were converted into metal parts. I experimented with it for a second and found a better balance between them, where a layer of pneumatic pistons and a stony amalgam blended together with far less interference with each other. Still, it was with reduced speed that I threw a right hook at Aeron, pushing him back several feet, "So, you've fucked with the engines." I said as I looked at his device attached to the wall. Before he could stop me, I smashed it with my fist, then lunged forward and hit him with another punch, "Fuck you!"

He was knocked back, but slipped into backflipping away to get more room, snarling at me, "Your friend and his fucking dragon fried our communicators!" he pulled up the box I'd sensed earlier, which Gamer's Sight told me was called Wallfly Zapper, and was actually four weapons in one. I grunted and dove to the side as he opened up with the gatling gun, then I jumped over the grenade he'd launched at me, drop-kicking him in the same move. He pushed and rolled as he fell, landing hard on one shoulder but deflecting me to the side.

I landed awkwardly and slid along the ground for several inches, receiving a karate chop to the face. I rolled away, but he rolled to catch up to me.

We rolled several times, exchanging blows as we went, until I got the bright idea and blocked his attack with telekinesis, giving him a telekinetic punch to the balls as a third burst of force threw me back to me feet. I caught myself and swung my open palms towards his chest. Grabbing his tactical vest and snatching him up into the air by it, I slammed him against the wall several times.

This should have been easy, but we were in the air inside an extremely expensive airship that happened to also be our own. If Crocea Mors wasn't busy fending off Jade...

Wait, what was taking so long?

I felt at the connection between us as I slammed Aeron into the wall, "Surrender. Surrender now and you'll face only fealty, rather than death." I pressed him further into the wall, my strength actually causing the steel to indent around his shoulders where the pressure was highest.

He let out a slight sound of pain, but glared at me, "Serve a human? I'd rather die." he thrust his palms at my chest and pushed me back.

I kept my grip, though, something he probably didn't expect, and simply spun around to slam him into the other wall, "I don't want to kill you, or make you into some kind of humiliated slave, dammit! I'm deeper connected than you could possibly realize. I want to help you, but before I can help you, you have to give up and swear to stop acting like terrorists dammit!"

He lunged forwards, biting at my neck. I felt a warm sting of something entering me, and I threw him to the ground, "What the fuck was that?"

Aeron hissed and kicked at my knee, which didn't break like he intended it to, "Venom. You honestly expect me to believe you?"

I sighed and shook my head, "I was hoping you'd be more reasonable. Adam and I are connected, y'know, so I knew about the attacks as you were planning for them, and encouraged him to stop it. He trusts me. I'm currently in the process of building a kingdom, one where humans and faunus can coexist freely, where the laws favor equality, where discrimination is discouraged, rather than encouraged or simply ignored. You can choose to believe me, to be brought into a community where you can relax, where you won't be discriminated against because of something as small as having extra features, or you die here, dishonoring your ancestors for having dedicated your life up until death to a cause based on violence and revenge."

Aeron stared at me in shock, "Adam himself trusts you?" he looked at the floor, "Adam trusts nobody except Naranja and Sierra..." he looked to be consumed by shock and awe.

I nodded, "And me. A human ambassador for a more peaceful rule. I defeated him in combat to get my message through his thick skull. It will take spit, and fuming, and letting go of hate and pride... but if we all can find a way to put our differences aside and come together as people united, then we can end the petty ways of the past, and move towards a brighter future." I held out my hand, "But it won't be possible unless everyone involved is willing to cooperate. Will you join me and your teammates, your _friends_ , on a new, better path?"

It must have been something about my face, my tone, my reasoning, or maybe just my smile, because after a long pause, he took my hand and stood up, "If others trust you, then so will I." maybe he had his own issues? I didn't really know.

 **Convincing an enemy to abandon their cause and join your own has increased your CHA by 1!**

I nodded, "Good. Thank you. I won't disappoint you." I shook his hand, "Now... can you fix what you did to the engines?"

The ship shuddered as he looked at the smashed device, "Not without my device."

I sighed, "Damn, and Crocea is still busy... look, stay here, and don't move. I'm trusting your honor on this."

He took a step back, then leaned back, his back hitting the wall softly and his body sliding down, "How many of the us have abandoned our path for you?"

I hummed, getting information that Nai'Lon had surrendered, "You're the third. Unfortunately, two of your group wouldn't surrender, and we were forced to kill them. I apologize."

He sighed, "Don't. I didn't really care for them the most. It's... fine." I could tell it wasn't fine, but I let him mourn in peace.

Feeling out with Mystral, even as the ship lurched again, I sensed two things very wrong happen almost simultaneously.

* * *

 _(Meanwhile, cargo bay, Third Person POV)_

Crocea Mors grunted as Jade let out a loud battlecry of anger and sliced through his stomach. If there were internal organs to be spilled, then spilled and shredded they would be. Sadly, there were not.

Jade looked shocked, "How? WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!" he stabbed the knight in the core.

Crocea shuddered. He felt Mystral's breath on his neck, and smiled. He heard an apology from Jaune through their connection, and felt a surge of power throughout his physical form, which expanded a few inches.

 **Crocea Mors**  
 **Title: Metal Soul, Yellow Death Knight**  
 **Level: 78**

Six elementals, six charges always used. Thirty-one charges available, twenty-five free at any given time, twenty-six charges maximum able to be used. Three levels per charge, maximum level possible was 78.

"Hahahahaa..." Crocea laughed, his voice sounding raspy, "Well... let's turn this around, shall we?"

"What?" was all Jade could get out before his face received an affectionate embrace from Crocea Mors' diamond-hard fist. Separated from his suddenly disengaged weapons, he watched as they were pushed out of the man's mending chest.

Crocea let out a breath almost hesitantly, as if he wasn't sure if he should breathe or not. Purple aura glowed around him, with a few specks of blue and silver. He grinned as his armor flared out slightly, "The power... it's overwhelming almost, far more than I thought I could handle. Such growth, it should take decades, centuries, but..." he turned to look at Jade, "Mere weeks... Jade Halberry, will you surrender, to join a cause of Jaune Arc and Adam Taurus united, to put the White Fang back on the path to righteousness, and join a new kingdom in the making, one where humans and faunus are equals by all laws and regulations?"

Jade stared at the knight as he grew to nearly seven feet tall, his figure swelling with more muscle, changing before his very eyes, "You're a fucking demon! That's the only explanation! A demon of fucking steel and gold! I'd never trust you!" he rushed forwards and move to grab his claws again.

Crocea didn't buckle from the kick to his shin, and instead just kicked Jade in the stomach with his suddenly quite pointy boot.

The faunus was pushed backwards and upwards, bouncing off the ceiling and hitting the floor, bouncing one and struggling to hide his pain tolerance. Dammit that hurt! Like an anvil was rocketed into his stomach with the horn at the forefront. He stood up, breathing more heavily, "I won't give up to you, bastard!" he dashed forwards and delivered a dozen aura-empowered punches.

Crocea took them all in stride, getting pushed back only an inch by the punches that honestly should have dented steel with their strength, "You're strong, but not very smart. A semblance that allows you to track Aura signatures and residues with extreme precision. No doubt infinitely useful under normal circumstances." he picked the buff man up by his neck, "It's a shame you let your pride get in the way of success... I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to kill you." he threw him against the far wall.

Jade stood up, slightly struggling for breath, his aura glowing around his body as he breathed deeply to recover, "Not if I kill you first." he reached for his communicator, "I need backup here! This monster is too strong!" he let off the communicator with a smirk, standing up, "What? You're just standing there." he eyed the knight suspiciously.

"I am. I'm waiting for you to realize the problem with your request." he smirked.

Jade sidestepped cautiously, moving towards some boxes of Dust, "Don't tell me, those filthy traitors have turned over to your cause already!" he tore open a box and threw a random Dust crystal at the knight, charging it with a bit of Aura.

A blast of flames tore through the air and washed over Crocea, leaving a layer of black char on his armor, "No, not all of them, but they wouldn't hear you even if you shouted into your communicator all night long."

The soldier gasped, pulling off the earpiece and seeing the deformation near the back, where the circuits had bee fried and the heat melted the plastic for perhaps only a moment. He threw it to the floor and ran at Crocea again, anger filling his mind so fully that his eyes glowed with a harsher glow of his aura than the rest of his body, fueled by anger.

It was a simple affair to simply grab the man by his neck and lift him up into the air. Arms made of diamond-strong steel and layers of gold made the deathgrip on Jade's neck functionally unbreakable, "This is the part where I have to kill you, Jade."

The soldier, ever defiant, spat on the elemental's face, "Then just fucking do it, asshole." he kicked his legs, struggling against Crocea's grip even when his struggle was hopeless and death stared him in the eyes.

Crocea sighed sadly, noting that the man's level of determination was great and respectable, and he even had a decent metal affinity in his soul, along with fire, but it wouldn't be enough. He simply doubled his gripping power and broke through the flickering techno-green aura, crushing the muscles and bones inside his neck into mush.

Jade stared at the ceiling, his final moments showing him the course of his life from his earliest memories until the end. As he looked into Crocea's eyes, his own faded into lifelessness.

"A great shame, and a sad one too. It's not fair that you'd give up your life over your pride, but the choice was yours. In your dying breaths, you were your own man." he felt... strange, as if his limited mind was trying to grasp something that was beyond its understanding.

* * *

 _(A few seconds later, Jaune's POV)_

 **Expanding the power of your soul and cultivating understanding within its sentient parts has increased your WIS by 2!**

 **Your level has increased by one!**

Hm? That was odd. I saw Jade's weapons and soul enter the inventory, and I felt Crocea Mors return to my soul in his spiritual form. Had he grasped something that should have been beyond him? It was... an interesting thought, to say the least.

I hoped he would be okay.

* * *

 _(Meanwhile, John's POV)_

I was not okay.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I was VERY not okay.

Looking down, I saw a massive spear-headed tentacle piercing my stomach. The damn thing had gone right through my aura, fucking hell! I drew my sword and swung it with all my strength at the tentacle, severing it easily and allowing my Aura to start patching me up as I pulled the severed portion out of my guts. I pressed two fingers to the bleeding flesh, hissing at the screaming nerves. I was sure one of my internal organs was completely penetrated, but I'd survived such an injury before, I'd be fine.

"Agh, dammit... fucking hell."

Prasino, the most mysterious of the White Fang members, stood twenty feet down the corridor, six long tentacles squirming in their position attached to his back. Two had three-fingered 'hands' on them, two had short cannons with discs of Dust in them, and the second of the last two had a broad triangular spearhead on it. The severed one detached a few inches below where I had cut it apart, and a new spearhead floated out.

His cold voice spoke again, "Vile creature, playing on the damaged hearts of innocent faunus just to save your charge. Despicable, almost as despicable as the one who believes such lies!" I couldn't see his eyes through his gas mask, but it didn't take X-ray vision to tell he was talking about Nai'Lon. I grunted, spitting out a bit of blood as I felt my aura form a protective layer around my lungs. Dammit, fucking DAMMIT!

I focused my aura and my semblance to heal myself, blocking a second spear thrust, "Nai'Lon, go and find your friend Aeron. Just go. Prasino clearly does not want to join us." my shield was ripped from my grasp by his grappling tentacle, "GO!"

I heard her footsteps slam down the hallway as I charged forwards towards Prasino, intending to cut him down to size.

I dodged past another stab that shook the floor, accidentally side-stepped a pulse of telekinetic force from his cannon when the ship shook yet again, then freed my arm from his grasper tentacle with a slash that I aimed further down its length, so as to disable its modular repair abilities.

I got within melee range, slashing off his left cannon and cutting a streak of blood across his chest. He seemed surprised that I'd made it that far, and rewarded me with a spear through my back, puncturing my right lung and throwing me away from him.

I bounced back down the hallway with several grunts, ending in a long groan as my body began sliding across the ground with its remaining momentum, leaving a messy streak of blood behind.

I felt my veins attempt to fill the new open space in my chest with blood. My semblance pushed the liquid out of my lung cavity, but I needed something more, something greater, something that would deny his usage of those spears, which seemed to slide past my Aura.

I sighed, bringing my hands together and chanting the words my father taught me. My eyes closed as my soul shuddered.

 _"Militis honorem non habet finem,_

 _Militis ense ferit ad tenebras_

 _Militis scuto protegit lucem."_

My Aurora turned a brilliant white, and a clang of metal on metal rang throughout the corridors.

I opened my eyes, which now glowed with my Aura, as my armor had drained of all color, becoming a bright ivory white. I gathered aura into my fist, then lashed out, catching the tentacle and pulling Prasino's entire body towards me.

He cried out in shock, then in pain as my fist crashed into his masked face like a freight train. I grasped the mask and ripped it off of his head, revealing his dark, almost beady eyes, acid-damaged face, sharp teeth, and scales on his cheeks.

Slicing through the remaining two tentacles, thus disarming him, I grabbed him by the back of his head and ground his face against the wall, "SUFFER FOR YOUR MIDEEDS, VILLAIN!" I started to walk, then jog while grinding his face into the wall, "SUFFER! SUFFER!" I picked up my pace into a run, "SUFFER! ACCEPT DAMNATION!" I fell into a spring as I felt his aura start to peter out and a long streak of blood trailed behind his head. I reached an intersection and pulled him off the wall, before slamming him back onto the next one and grinding his face even harder. After several more seconds, I pulled him off the wall and slammed his head into the floor, breaking his nose. Another hit split his lip, then broke his jaw, and finally his face caved in. Only when blood poured from the tears in his skin did I finally let him go.

His soul floated up from his body, and the second after I stowed it away into the inventory, I saw Jaune approaching. He looked shocked.

"Dad, what happened?" he didn't look surprised by the white knight's power, but I suppose he knew about it with his Gamer's Sight.

I grunted, "That bastard Prasino had some way of making his spear-tentacle things able to slip past my Aura's defenses. I had to use my white knight powers just to deny it... I've got a punctured lung and am going to need maybe fifteen minutes to fix that alone."

Jaune nodded, "I see. Don't worry." he put his hand to my chest as I let the power fade away, falling against the wall and sliding down, leaving a trail of blood behind as I clenched my chest wound.

I felt the healing magic flow through me, but it wasn't going to be enough without my own semblance stemming the bloodflow.

 **Hit Points: 75,434/162,000**

 **Aura Points: 102,235/211,000**

 **Stamina Points: 120,352/270,000**

I got a good clamp on the blood leaving my body, and saw a few thousand points flow in every second, but it wasn't doing much to fix my status effect, "Son, stop. I've got this."

He looked uncomfortable, "What if one of them finds you?" heh, what a hero, wanting to help the wounded so badly.

I shook my head in denial, "I'm a downed enemy, they'll ignore me. It's not honorable." I gave him the best smile I could muster as I internally winced at the familiar feeling of 'sewing' my lungs shut, "Just go and find them, and if you find them away from here, then that means they're not with me, trying to kill me.

He sighed, but nodded. I felt a few more surges come in, before a tiny notification came in.

 **Jaune's skill "Soulforge Restoration" level increased by 1!**

I looked up and saw him rushing down the hall.

"Heh... well, alright then." I looked down at the hole in my stomach, "Let's see... intestines first, then stomach, then kidneys. Rest in any order." I recited, willing my aura towards the organs.

I hoped the others were having a better time.

* * *

 _(Meanwhile, with Weiss and Marbel, Weiss' POV)_

Honestly, these ship jitters were starting to make me sick. It definitely wasn't the fear.

Definitely wasn't the fear at all.

Especially not with Marbel guarding the door to our current location, which was the kitchen. It had two doors leading in, but the other was hidden from view and only revealed itself when it was opened.

Goddammit, why did this have to happen? Did I need to pray again?

I pressed my back against the cold metal wall farthest from the main door.

Well, truthfully, there were four doors, but one led to the walk-in fridge/freeze and the other led to a small 'final prep' room before meals would be delivered to the passengers. That room had doors to it, too, but the layout wouldn't suggest that it connected to this room... at least I hoped.

The ship shook again and I was thrown forwards, landing on my hands and knees with Myrtenaster sliding a few feet away from me. To think that just this morning, we were having fun as friends, and now we were trapped in our own airship and trying to hide and fight for our lives.

I couldn't take this, I don't think I could ever learn how to truly take this. The stress, the fear, all of it, combined with my compromised Schnee composure, I felt like...

"Weiss? You alright?" Marbel approached, finally taking her eyes off of glaring a hole in the door like she was challenging it to get attacked, to look at me with concern thick in her eyes.

"I-i'm fine. Maybe... use your teleport to take a peek outside?" I needed a moment.

Marbel shook her head, "No way am I leaving my sister-in-arms alone like that."

My mind swam, and I teared up. Besides the 'in-arms' part, that sentence... it sounded just like...

I couldn't take it anymore. I lost all composure, and released my pent up emotions all over the counter... well, emotions mixed with my last meal.

"HOLY SHIT!" Marbel jumped back in surprise. Honestly, that didn't even make me feel worse, just confirmed that what I was feeling was real.

I stumbled back, taking a few several somewhat wobbly steps towards the sink before a second wave of vomit forced itself past my lips and hit the floor. My mind went blank, one single thought running through my head, _'Contain it.'_

I stepped through the puddle and reached the sink, and simply retched into it. I turned on the faucet, running it over my face and not caring that some of it dripped onto my clothes, just so long as I could wash away the tears.

Marbel approached me and rubbed my back, which helped the third and final wave of bile and emotion let itself out, leaving me retching for a few seconds before my body caught up and the reflexes stilled. Regaining some modicum of mindfulness, I washed my mouth out to get rid of the putrid taste and harmful acids. Running a cloth over my face, I gasped in air and gave it a quick pass over my teeth, "Fuck..."

"You gonna live, vomit girl, or is your stomach going to kill you before the White Fang even find us?" Marbel patted me on the shoulder and rubbed my back soothingly.

I shook my head, "No, I mean yes, I mean..." I let out a heavy sigh, "I'll be fine, honestly. I'm sure that was the last of it." my arms shook slightly, and I took in several breaths as my Aurora filled the room, dispelling the feeling of weakness, "Come on, don't NOT keep an eye on the door."

Marbel gasped, "Shit, right, that's usually when the worst shit happens!" she turned and ran back towards the door, leaping over the puddle of vomit I left and returning to a position where she could watch it.

I called on Eismeer's power and moved some water to wash the vomit puddle into the drain system on the floor, which all led to a single tank that was usually cleaned out and filled between each flight.

Settling down finally, the ship lurched and I was nearly thrown into another fit of retching. Forcing myself to be calm, I walked back over to the hidden exit and waited.

 _Blake C: Kroma is heading towards Marbel and Weiss' location, I think. Be careful! :C_

Marbel gasped, _Marbel C: Surely she doesn't know we're here, right? The entire ship is lit up like christmas! :C_

 _Black C: Don't take any chances. :C_

I heard Marbel curse as she retreated from the door with a backwards lunge, landing next to me, "Alright, so let's actually have a plan for if they get in here. Last time we got luck, I don't think we'll be lucky this time."

I nodded, "Right, I think, if I go low and you go high, she won't hit me."

"Selfish much." Marbel deadpanned at me, "Why not use our elementals?"

"Sure, if you would kindly point out the source of earth for Romargust in here."

She sighed, then pulled an Earth dust crystal out of the inventory, "You're the heiress to the SDC, you tell ME where we can get some earth." she waggled the crystal in front of my face, "And I was looking through some of the items and found THIS bad boy." she pulled out a long, slender, dark gray revolver, "Witsmes 30, formed from human spiritual energy stolen by a Miraganger. My guess is it took the weapon used by the person, or it took the soul of the person that used the weapon. Either way, it does some pretty decent damage, and has a +50% chance to crit when the target is less than 20 meters away." she aimed it at the door, "Someone walks in that door, I pop them in the skull with this to disorient them, buying us enough time to act." she sighed heavily.

"What's wrong now?" I wasn't sure whether to be vitriolic or concerned.

Concern won over when I saw the look in her eyes, "I'm trying. I unlocked a trait, Heroic Willpower, it helps me act like I'm a huntress, but even then, I'm still adjusting... the thing is, no doubt that we won't be able to convince anyone to actually that comes for us, or more specifically YOU, to turn sides. It's kind of a foregone conclusion that they want you dead so much that they won't have enough brain power left to listen to our reasoning."

I groaned and facepalmed, then used my other hand to steady myself when the ship shook again, "So we can't reason, we can hardly fight, what hope do we have if the others can't make it in time?"

Marbel put her arms on my shoulders, "Heeeeyyy~, hey hey hey now, don't start talking like that. Losing hope NOW isn't going to make it any better. You should keep your chin up. I think I see what your problem is, you're stuck in a mold that they don't think you can break out of. You're thinking this because of the White Fang, not because you yourself have a lack of ability or potential." she sucked in a breath, "Weiss, listen, okay? I'm going to tell you something important, something that Jaune would probably slap me for saying."

I raised an eyebrow, "Don't tell me he's been... giving me looks that suggest he... 'wants' me."

She shook her head, "Oh no no no no no, nothing like that, Jaune is completely faithful. What I ACTUALLY wanted to say was..." she cleared her throat, "Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play."

"What?"

She shushed me, "Hey now, you're a pop-star, get the show on, get paid."

"What are you singing?"

She put a finger to my lips, "All that glitters is gold."

"How is this supposed to help me?"

She put her entire hand over my mouth, "Because only shooting stars break the mold."

I licked her palm, making her recoil, and I grimaced at the taste of cleaning chemicals on her skin, wiping my tongue on a handkerchief, "You know, instead of saying stupid and confusing things like that, you could have just said that I can break the mold I'm in if I try my best."

She blinked, "... yeeeaaaah that would have been a lot easier in hindsight, especially now that I feel sick after saying all that." she shuddered, "Anyways... the point is that we need to do our best, because our best is all we have right now."

I nodded, "THAT is a sentiment I can get behind." smiling at each other, I picked up Myrtenaster and she lifted Witsmes up, and we faced the door, ready to take on anything that came through.

We'd do our best, and fight together like a team, like real Huntresses.

No matter what.

* * *

 _(Meanwhile, Blake's POV)_

I dropped down and drew Gambol Shroud right as Greyna passed under me. She let out the tiniest sound of surprise and spun around, swinging her whipsword at me.

I hummed, and Raidinger simply willed the electric whip away from me, "So, you may not have heard the news. Your friends are surrendering, because Jaune and Adam have made plans together."

She narrowed her eyes, "So... it truly is you, then, Blake. Working with a human, with the Schnees no less? You fucking TRAITOR!" she lashed out again, but her sword was diverted once more. I jumped over a low slash and lashed out with my own, only for her to teleport backwards a few feet.

I sneered and blinked with my semblance, appearing behind her and scoring a hit on her exposed back. She roared in rage and teleported again, swinging at me with her whipsword once more.

I diverted it and charged towards her, only for her to teleport as she pressed a button on the sword. I looked behind me, only to get chopped on the head by the sword, my Aura protecting me from getting my skull cut in half. It seemed she'd decided the whipsword wasn't going to work, so resorted to the normal sword, "Please, listen to reason." I blocked another slash, but got caught in the shoulder by a third and fourth.

She teleported away and I spun around, sliding the katana from its sheathe and going into dual wielding mode, blocking the next slash. If this had been just a couple of weeks ago, I'd have buckled under the pressure, but I held her back, if only barely. Her skills allowed her to compensate for how I overcame her, in only a bit, in raw physical strength.

I pushed as hard as I could, and felt my aura flare as I opened my profile. I couldn't deal with her in my current state, I needed something more.

 **Strength: 44 -} 60 (+8%) = 64.8  
** **Dexterity: 80 -} 95 (+120%) = 209  
** **Vitality: 55 -} 70 (+8%) = 75.6  
** **Intelligence: 70 -} 84 (+155%) = 214.2**

 **Stat points: 60 -} 44 -} 29 -} 14 -} 0**

My body ached as I felt the changes take place, my aura surging as I pushed her back a few inches, before we broke the stalemate and both blinked away. She whipped her sword at me, hitting a clone as I appeared upside down on the high ceiling. I kicked off and rocketed towards her, sending her sliding at least ten feet back with a quick spinning strike with both my blades. I leaped over to her downed body and swung at her chest, only for her to roll away and sweep her arm at my leg. I fell backwards and landed on one hand and the bottom of Gambol's magazine, pushing up and flipping a few feet away to avoid an attempted counter. Greyna pushed herself to her feet with one thrust, glowing with her aura as she grabbed her sword and swung it at me.

Please, please, please, PLEASE WORK! I focused my aura into protecting my hand and caught the sword, using my cleavesword to chop at her wrists to make her let go. The second her hand left the handle, the sword disappeared.

She couldn't suppress her shock, "What the fuck?" and stared at me for several seconds.

I smirked, "It's in a better place now."

She blinked, "You... need to work on your one-liners." then she remembered we were fighting and lashed out with one fist, which I blocked with my katana. I'd gotten very skilled at mentally commanding items in and out of the inventory, but using it to disarm someone was new. A small nick on my thumb was well worth the advantage of fighting an opponent unarmed.

Unfortunately, by the heavy muscles the rhino faunus had, and how she flexed and limbered up her hands, I was pretty sure they'd covered unarmed combat years ago... still, she couldn't cut me at least!

Given the leverage and dexterity of her fingers, she caught my katana's blade at two points and lifted it up, "You can't beat me, I can tell you're wounded in some heavy, major way. You won't survive."

I grunted and pushed upwards, "I will, but you won't, especially not with fifteen holes in your chest." my fingers twitched and Gambol Shroud spoke its piece right into her armored chest. The material was good at dispersing the force, but I'd kept in mind the weaknesses of a pistol when designing and building it.

It wasn't deadly, but I could tell it stung more than a little bit. Her composure was breaking down, and she pushed me back and punched me in the face, sending hurtling backwards.

I slammed against the wall, but pushed and rolled to the side to avoid a followup punch that produced a heavy dent in the wall. I informed Jaune that Greyna refused to compromise over the chat, then took off, the angry woman behind me giving chase.

I pumped my legs as focused my Aura into them to assist me. I felt something inside me cracking slowly, but it wouldn't be on this run that it would break free. Given Weiss' example, I figured what it was, especially with how close I was to 25k Max AP. I couldn't stop, and couldn't focus on my AP at the moment, sadly. I just kept running.

Greyna followed me, shouting incoherent noises with a few expletives aimed at me. If scorn was a weapon, I was sure I'd have a smoking, 'FUCK YOU'-shaped hole in my head right now.

We passed by an intersection and Jaune crossed our path with a powerful flying kick right to the side of Greyna's face. She was thrown down the hallway by at least twenty feet while I skid to a halt and turned towards Jaune.

He nodded and formed his Excalibur in his hand while I pulled Gambol Shroud out of the inventory.

Jaune held his hand forwards as Greyna got up, shook off her disorientation, pulled her fried communicator out of her bleeding ear, and turned towards us. She charged and was immediately peppered by projectile gravel, which shocked her slightly, but she easily pushed through the assault as the gravels slid off her aura's protective shielding. What was shocking to me was that the shaking of the ship actually threw her off balance, sending her stumbling and falling to the ground. Before, she hadn't even seemed to register it. That blow to the ear must have compromised some of her balance.

She got up, but was met with five rapid strikes to the chest from Jaune, shredding her armor as I blinked behind her and put all of my strength into one huge stab.

A tenth hit from Excalibur proved to spell her doom as her Aura flashed in shock and my sword penetrated her flesh easily. I pushed and slid it out through an artery or two, slashing outwards.

Greyna fell to her knees, coughing up blood, with more blood spilling from her massive wound. I felt a stinging slap of remorse as she turned towards me, her eyes moist. Her emotions had drained in her final moments, leaving a calm sadness filled with regret and clarity.

She reached out, her aura sparking around her, "Na...ran...ja..." her final breath was let out as a broken gush of air and blood. One puff, two puffs, three puffs, then it all left her. Air, blood, and life itself left her.

Jaune's face was set into stone, a mixture of remorse and anger, "Stupid, stupid woman... so stupid..." he shook his head, then flashed a weak smile at me, "You did good, Blake, that's eight of them." his tone said that he wasn't able to think of a way to comfort me.

Honestly, I didn't want comfort, I wanted to soak in my emotions until I was numb to them, that's what I usually did.

He looked me up and down, then grabbed Greyna's soul, turned around, and ran off with feather-light steps as I stood there, blood dripping from my blade.

I already felt the numbness setting in.

 **Your level has increased by one!**

And that didn't help any.

* * *

 _(A minute or two ago, Naranja's POV)_

I heard distant clawing fade away, looking and catching Blake retreating away.

I turned and moved in the opposite direction of her, running with open hands. I turned the corner and met Kroma nearly head-on, both of us stopping and assessing each other, "Heya there, bud. The comms are down, that knight's lightning dragon thingy must have fried them." I said with a point towards her ear.

She nodded, "I noticed when nobody responded to my shouting that I'd seen the Schnee and her little bodyguard running through the halls. The distraction of my confusion proved to be their boon, because they escaped."

I shook my head, "Dammit Kroma, always getting distracted. I told you last week that one day it'd cause a huge problem on a mission, and here we are now."

She snarled, "Fuck off, asshole. Do you hear them?"

I focused easily on my semblance, and my hearing expanded outwards, catching pieces of conversation, including an interesting bit from Blake. If I was hearing it right, then this Jaune fellow was working with Adam... thaaaaat explained why we weren't supposed to attack them. Damn, I hoped we could fix some things up, "Hey, listen, maybe not attack them? I dunno right now, we're stuck in the dark. I hear someone stumbling around in the kitchen, it might be her, stupid bitch wears heels."

She nodded, "Right, thank you, leader." and ran off.

I raised a hand, "You're... welcome..." I shook my fist as I contemplated my next action, "Riiiight... shit." hearing that info had really shaken me up. I took in a deep breath as adrenaline calmed slightly in my system and I took off in search of my remaining squadmates. If they died, I'd be pretty beat up about it.

If this was a big misunderstanding... then it would be an enormous dishonor to all of us.

* * *

 _(Presently, Jaune's POV)_

I ran down the hall in search of someone, anyone else. I passed by my father and hit him with a supercharged Soulforge, then was forced into a stumble when the ship veered suddenly.

I called up Crocea Mors and simply phased through the walls by means of making me-shaped holes in them, until I reached one of the windows.

Calling Mystral to form outside, I saw her form shift in the air, getting closer... we were moving away from the land road, out of normal air traffic space. I cursed and unsummoned Mystral as I made my way towards the cockpit. If someone had made their way up there, things would be-

My thoughts were cut off when I suddenly got shot in the side of the head. It bounced off my hair and I stumbled a bit, letting myself fall, only to immediately push up and spin to face the attacker.

"The engines are starting to fail. A hundred tiny problems are adding up and the stress is going to rip this poor bird from the sky." he said with a snort.

I turned towards him, focusing on Crocea Mors and getting him to fix the engines up a little bit, "You don't have to do this, you know. Adam told you to stop for a reason." I moved Crocea back to spread across the entire ship, "There's another, more peaceful way to bring about change. The White Fang used to protest, boycott, and other such things, but now... there's a new way. I'm a conjurer, you know that, and I've been working to conjure up the makings of a whole new kingdom. It's near Vale, but far away enough that nobody will bother us for the foreseeable future. I've already worked with the Valean White Fang to push them back towards peace, to give them a place where they truly can be free. Weiss is helping us, and Ozpin himself is endorsing my endeavors. I've staked a large claim and made sure nobody is grabbing at it." I stood tall and proud, "Tell me... if you could change your fate, would you?"

He looked at me, eyes full of malice, but they softened a bit and he lowered his rifle, "I found Nayro and Nai'Lon... they're willing to join you, and they wanted me to give up to... I'm a master of illusions, so I know a lie when I see it... how much does the Valean White Fang trust you?"

I hummed softly, "I'd say a great deal." I smiled at him, "So... will you accept peace, Lucen, or will you let yourself die in an agonizing war?"

He looked down at his weapon, then held the side of his head, "Every instinct I have tells me I should just shoot you dead right now..." he groaned and I could guess that a migraine was coming on.

I stepped forwards, "I'm sensing there's a 'but', here."

He gave a slight nod, "But... there's this voice in the back of my head... a voice I hardly recognize... telling me to stop... to think about it, and to see if you're right about what you say... to see if your claim is legitimate."

I took another step towards him, "And which are you going to listen to? Your instincts, that are pulling you back towards war, or that voice of reason that wants to have peace?" I held my hand out, "Will you accept my offer, or do we have to fight?" I pushed a slight bit harder.

I saw his hand shake, which transferred to his weapon, now wobbling in the air, before he dropped it, and his hand desperately clung to mine, "I don't want to live a lie, Jaune Arc. I want something that truly will realize my goals... OUR goals..."

I shook his hand and smiled, "Don't worry, all the lies will come to an end, Lucen." I pulled him into a brief hug, patting him on the back of the head and giving him a supercharged Soulforge Restoration.

 **"Social Impression" level increased by 5!**

 **+44 Closeness to Lucen Mirros!**

 **Lucen's respect for you rose monumentally!**

He hugged back briefly, then we let go of each other, and I pointed behind him, "Go find Nai'Lon and Nayro, and stay with them, I'll go deal with your other friends."

He nodded, "Right. I'm counting on your word, Jaune Arc."

I flashed him a winning smile, "An Arc never goes back on his word."

He shook his head and turned around, running down the hallway again.

From the look in his eyes as he gave one last glance back at me, I felt that he trusted me on that.

* * *

 _(Meanwhile, Blake's POV)_

I took in a deep breath, slowly gathering my wits back together.

Had I killed? Yes, I had. Jaune had helped take down her Aura, but I had dealt the rather brutal killing blow.

Did I enjoy it? No, only a true psychopath like Adam had been would have enjoyed killing. I wasn't like him, I left for a reason.

Was it necessary to kill her? Yes, she wouldn't listen to reason, too far gone to accept a new truth, she'd probably end up still fighting even after the war for change was eventually won. Someone so sick in the head couldn't be dealt with at the current moment. The situation didn't give us many options.

Was it difficult to kill her? Honestly, it hadn't been in the moment, but dealing with it... I had to move soon, physically _move_. I knew that I needed to provide more recon info, but this moment of reprieve really helped me out.

Most people would think that I was a cold, clean, efficient killing machine, but they'd be wrong. It was depressingly easy, I had to admit, but every stabbed lung took my breath away, every sliced heart stopped my own, every splattered brain sent my thoughts into a tempest, and every ended life made my own seem all the darker.

Then... then in came Jaune, a beacon of light that I thought was either too stupid or too brave, because he fearlessly ventured into the darkness to pull someone like me into the light.

Was this an appropriate time to think such things? No, no it wasn't, but it also wasn't appropriate to mourn the enemy when the situation had demanded either their death or mine. Jaune had saved me again, so I owed him my life twice over now. I might have been able to fight Greyna off, but that stat dump had left me damaged as my body struggled to adjust to the new parameters The Game said it could take.

I heard footsteps behind me, creeping up slowly, and spun around to grab the slender, almost fragile arm that swung the weapon at me. Xavia Fargrad stared at me, "What are you doing just standing around like an idiot?" she demanded.

I answered in a deadpan tone, "Mourning your teammate." I stepped to the side to reveal the dead woman, "The situation demanded one of our deaths, but sadly I'm not nearly that selfless."

I saw a flash of concern enter her eyes, "I believe only a special few are. I suppose you don't want to fight, do you?"

I shook my head, "No. I offer you a chance to join a kingdom in the making. Jaune is conjuring buildings and making plans to create a new kingdom that will treat humans and faunus equally, where everyone can live in harmony. I know it sounds disgustingly stupidly idealistic, but Jaune is one of those special few, the kind that can make something so absurd into a reality."

She looked at me, "A place where any man, woman, or child, will be treated with the kindness, equality, and respect they deserve?"

I nodded, "Exactly." I listened to the new instructions Jaune added to our 'arguments list', "Jaune has turned Weiss Schnee to our side, as well as become deeply connected with the Valean White Fang, and received Ozpin's endorsement on his endeavors."

Xavia seemed shocked, "This... it would be a great dishonor to my family, for me to leave the world like a terrorist, when such a wonderful plan for the future is presented to me. I accept." she sheathed her sword and held out her hand.

I took it with a smile, "Thank you."

She suddenly held my hand in both of hers, "No, thank you." her voice shook, and for a second my instincts told me she was going to try to slam me into the ground, but instead her shoulders shook and tears escaped her eyes as she hugged me sadly, "Aubur will be so happy."

I blinked, "Who's Aubur? Another teammate?"

She wiped her eyes, "Oh gods no, she's my daughter." she hugged me fully once more, "It's never been easy, but I did everything I could for her. She'll be so happy that mommy doesn't have to go on dangerous missions anymore."

I smiled softly, patting her on the back, "I'm sure she will. Don't worry, we'll take good care of both of you."

She let out a soft blubber of gratitude, and I made to help her find the others that had been converted to our cause.

* * *

 _(Meanwhile, Marbel POV)_

I nearly yelped in surprise when the door shuddered slightly, then a spot of red formed on it, the metal and its coating hissing and popping, bubbles forming as it suddenly started getting torch-cut open.

That had to be Kroma, she was the only one with that kind of, quite literally, firepower.

I stood ready, Witsmes aimed at the door, ready to unload in her face.

The door slowly got cut open more and more, bubbling metal and sizzling coating dripping down its sides. How did she know we were in here? We couldn't just run, she'd be able to smell that we'd been here. Blake informed us that Xavia was converted, meaning that the only two people unaccounted for were Kroma and Naranja. I informed everyone that Kroma was now here at the kitchen, slowly torch-cutting the door open. I was tempted to open the door, because no doubt she'd probably fall through and get caught by surprise.

I turned towards Weiss, _Marbel W: I'm going to open the door and unload on her, you be ready with glyphs, alright? :W_

 _Weiss W: This is insane! We should just leave through the hidden door. :W_

 _Marbel W: And where do you think she's going to look first? I don't think it's going to be the fridge. :W_

 _Weiss W: Dammit, you make a good point... alright, I'll do my best. :W_

I heard the sound of casting behind me, and double-checked the hammer to make sure it was cocked. I didn't want any surprises, not when surprise was the weapon I was trying to wield at the moment.

I pressed the button and lunged backwards. The door suddenly slid open, causing the woman on the other side to stumble in, barely catching herself before I pulled the trigger.

The gun let out a loud crack of noise, then another, then three more in rapid succession, one getting a critical hit and piercing her armor. I pulled some bullets from the inventory and opened the gun, but the soldier had recovered and her tongue shot out impossibly far, grabbing the gun out of my loose grip.

Right, she's a frog faunus... I still thought that was a little much. I whipped out Avtaklo 30 and fired at her, feeling an rising power building in my hands. Thirty solid hits shredding through her armor. She thrust her spear at me and I lunged backwards to dodge.

I saw Weiss lash Myrtenaster from its position near her head towards the faunus. Several glyphs flashed to life. The first thing that happened was dozens of various pieces of cutlery and crockery flew at Kroma, either getting deflected by her spear or an unarmed guard, or grazing past her as she found herself immobilized. A purple glyph filled with sharp strokes of color flashed and launched over a dozen magical slashes at her, slicing at her sleeves and scratching her spear.

The ship shuddered, and I used the opportunity to grab Weiss and teleport out, moving out of the hidden door and into the hall.

I pulled her by the sleeve as she cast a glyph on the floor. A few seconds later as we caught our balance, I heard the chiming of ice and a shout of surprise and pain. Suddenly, footsteps clanged out from our side, and I looked back just in time to see Kroma running along the wall and kick off of it. I snapped my head back to our front and stopped just a few feet short of her. She thrust her spear at me and I lunged back to avoid it.

"You're coming with me, Schnee!" she reached forward to grab Weiss, when the ship shuddered, making them both stumble, which made me notice the blood on the walls from the wound on Kroma's foot, caused by the ice spikes.

Weiss, on the other, cast a new spell, one that the game didn't register, but I would definitely name 'Projectile Vomiting'

The woman shrieked in surprise and shock, "You little whore!" she brushed the vomit from her face, then brought her spear up to stab at Weiss.

I lunged towards her, flipping over and landing a flying kick to her face, sending her stumbling and tumbling back, her spear skittering a few feet away. She rolled and spun her body around, pulling herself up and kneeling in a three-point crouch. She jumped, but not at us, rather she went over our heads, "That's it, I'm taking this fucker down!"

Weiss and I exchanged looks, before we realized what she meant. She was going to take out the pilots and crash the ship! We both ran after her, pouring as much effort into our speed as we could. She'd gotten a good headstart, but we were catching u-

*BANG*

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" a lightning bolt of pain shot up my body, bouncing around my skull a hundred times before traveling back down into my leg, specifically where a hole had been blown in it. I was thankful I had a thin figure, because it reduced the chance of the bullet passed beside the bone and blowing a huge hole in the back of my leg. Blood still poured heavily from the wound, however, and I felt the bullet scraping against my bone, sending more jolts of pain through my body.

I fell to the floor, "Weiss, please, make sure she doesn't crash the ship, I'll be fine." I struggled as the pain sapped my strength away, but I pushed myself onto my back and sat up against the wall.

Weiss bit her lip in nervousness, but nodded and ran off.

I grunted and hesitantly summoned Romargust, deciding that he'd keep watch over me. His fat fingers formed a few blunt, but fine claws with which to pick up my shortsword and pass it to me.

I sucked in a breath, braced myself, and held it inches from my wound. It would be best if I dug the bullet out, but...

Heroic willpower or not, that was a hell of a task to undertake.

* * *

 _(Meanwhile, Weiss' POV)_

I spat out some water as I chased after Kroma down the halls. She fired at me a few times, but they either missed or bounced off my Aura. We exited the dining room, passed by some staff rooms, and I knew we were getting close to the cockpit because of the way the hall curved inwards. I was so close to her, almost...

Myrtenaster nipped at her heels as she gathered her aura into a large bolt, her spear glowing brightly with a large bladed head of flames

She shot the door in the distance, and the flames raged furiously, turning the door orange-hot. She laughed and I cast a glyph at her, sending a dozen more magical slashes at her. The cut into her armor and her greatly reduced Aura, but she still glowed with the silvery-orange light of her soul and tackled her body through the softened, thousands-degrees-hot door, causing it to lose cohesion and ooze into a ghastly, almost hellish portal into the room beyond. I heard a gunshot and used Eismeer to throw water at the metal, cooling it as I jumped past and stopped on a dime.

One pilot was on the floor, blood spreading from his body, the other was held up by his neck, his nervous sweat sizzling from the heat of the flaming spearhead pointed in a reverse grip at his face.

Kroma lashed backwards with a foot and hit the control panel, hitting it hard and causing the ship to tilt a bit. She laughed crazily, "You're too late, Schnee. once this damned thing hits the ground, the pressure and force of the crash will kill you."

I cried out in anger and disbelief, "You'll die as well!"

She shook her head, "No, we'll both live on. Your death will inspire hope in the faunus of the White Fang, and I'll be known as the brave soul who sacrificed herself to kill the Schnee Bitch."

I felt my aura flare up in anger, "You're fucking crazy! This isn't the way! My death won't collapse the SDC, and the faunus will only be hated and persecuted more! There are other ways of getting what you want, ways that don't involve this incessant war between humans and faunus!"

She let out a laugh, "Oh that's just HILARIOUS coming from YOU of all people. You know what I've learned tonight? Fuck this war, I just want you DEAD!"

I saw the pilot gesture in pleading, his eyes telling me that he was okay with dying if it meant I'd kill this bitch as well.

I nodded, "I've learned... that being a Huntress isn't about being fearless... courage isn't fearlessness, it's about action!" I felt my Aurora blaze around me, "It's about doing what's right, in spite of your fears! It's about not being controlled by them! It's about recognizing danger, and not letting it cow you into submission. It's about ENDING THIS NOW!" Aurora focused into my arms and into Myrtenaster.

Power Strike was a skill that focused your willpower or your Aura into an attack that dealt more damage than you normally would be able to dish out. It costed 30 AP, and increased the power of a physical attack from 100%, to about 160% as my level in it suggested.

Aurora poured through Myrtenaster's fine edge as I forced fifteen thousand AP into the maneuver.

* * *

 _(Meanwhile, John's POV)_

I stood up shakily, my hand holding my stomach closed and keeping my internal organs inside me as my semblance worked on restoring the positioning tissues they needed. I'd lost two quarts of blood, but I still had plenty more.

The ship tilted slightly, and shuddered, and I fell down again. Pushing myself up through the pain, I found my way backwards in the ship, and eventually stumbled upon the gathered group of surrendering faunus. I coughed painfully, and they all turned to me, "I'm fine, just holding my intestines in place." I chuckled, grinning as I felt said intestines shift slightly.

They all looked a bit horrified, but I smiled at them, "So... you're all willing to join the new kingdom, then?"

Nayro stepped forward and nodded, "Y-yes... you're John Arc, Jaune's father, yes?"

I smiled, "Last I checked, that is correct. Does that have anything to do with anything?"

Aeron glared at me, "Is he as truthful as he claims to be?" his eyes were cold and calculating, "I will know if you're lying."

I nodded, "Yeah, he's telling the truth. Jaune isn't the type to lie about something like he has. He hates seeing people get their hopes and dreams crushed, he's kind of an idealist like that." I smiled, sitting against the wall and loosening my grip slightly as I felt my stomach shift back into its proper place, "It's probably less glamorous than you're imagining, but it's a work in progress. You can't build a kingdom in a day... takes at least a week." I chuckled painfully, but was relieved to hear their laughter join my own, even if it was weak on everyone's account.

 **Weiss' level has increased by one!**

Well, it seems like that's one more Fang agent down. I tuned back in to hear Nai'Lon speaking, "Prasino hurt you pretty badly, didn't he?"

I winced as I felt my organs shift slightly, "Yeah, he did. I don't know how, my Aura was still pretty full, and I'd focused on its protective power."

Nai'Lon shook her head, "Prasino's tentacle blades are the only conduits he had for an ability of his semblance to slip past Auras briefly."

Slip past Auras? Well I was honestly glad he was dead, then. There were few who had such a power, and thankfully he was the only that I'd seen of them that also happened to be an enemy, "Well... thankfully I'm an excellent healer." I gave a slight, toothy smile, "So it shouldn't be TOO big of a deal."

Heavy footsteps came thudding down the hall. I could tell by the resonance that they were forced, made by someone who was walking with a heavy weight on their back, rather than on their gut.

I looked and saw Naranja approaching, weapon held in hand, staring directly at me.

A sniffle was heard, and we all looked towards Blake and a red, moist-eyed Xavia. Blake seemed to be whispering softly to the woman as she helped her walk, looking sympathetic. I wondered what it was about until she was greeted with the soft smiles of Nai'Lon and Nayro.

Naranja sighed, "So... that's six of us accounted for, then." he looked like his emotions were in a brutal, bloody, and brightly burning war within his head, his muted-orange aura flaring up in random small wisps around his body.

I sighed, "The other six are dead. They refused to even listen to our offer, much less consider it. Our situation forced us to kill them."

The man sighed, then raised his head towards the ceiling and let out what I could only describe as a strange squeaking roar of anger, like he was a pissed off dolphin.

Wait... oh yeah, he WAS a dolphin faunus, and funny enough, Prasino was his second in command and was a fish faunus.

I sighed again, then looked up to see Naranja staring at me, weapon in hand.

I just smiled. I might have been injured and low on Aura, but if he attacked me, I'd be able to defend myself easily.

We stared at each other, waiting for the other to act.

* * *

 _(Meanwhile, Jaune POV)_

I ran through the hall, following the Game's tracking function to find Marbel. She was losing Aura and HP at a steady rate.

I entered the dining room, seeing Romargust looking around, Marbel sitting against the wall, holding her shortsword above a hole in her leg. Grimacing, I ran over, getting Romargust's attention as his amethyst eyes focused on me, then looked away. Marbel lifted her head, "Jaune?"

I saw a small pool of blood under her, "Dammit, what happened?"

She grimaced, "My aura flared up, and I unlocked a new part of my semblance, but it ended up destabilizing my Aura and I had used a good amount of it... then I got shot in the fucking leg. My femur stopped the bone."

I groaned, and Crocea Mors pulled the bullet out of her leg, "You realize that leaving that thing in there possibly gave you lead poisoning? I'm going to have to heal you so much over the next week until it passes through your system." I saw her muscle fill in and sew itself back together as Soulforge pumped into her leg. After a while, her skin seemed to stretch out and cover the wound, no scarring left behind. I smiled lightly and pat her on the leg, "It might still sting, but you're all healed up."

She bit her lip, eyes closed as she winced, but she opened one and looked at me, "Th-thanks." I poured a Rain Burst over her, washing the blood off of her skin as I helped her up, "Heh, figures you'd find a way to get a girl wet with your hands and Aura."

I cringed, looking away, "Eugh, where have these sexual-based humor jabs come from?"

Marbel giggled, her voice a slight bit absentminded, "I don't know if I'm broken or reinforced, right now, but I'm grasping onto any form of familiarity I can, and us jabbing at each other is familiar." she pat me on the shoulder, "Come on, Weiss probably needs help."

I nodded and turned to head towards where The Game said she was, which if I wasn't mistaken, was in the cockpit.

* * *

 _(Meanwhile, Weiss' POV)_

I wiped blood from my face, looking at the pained face of the bisected pilot, the heftier of the two, and the shocked and horrified face of Kroma, I felt my knees shake. I looked down and saw that my overpowered attack had sprayed their blood at me, covering me head to toe.

I didn't even try to deny it, I threw up again, which was redoubled as the ship shuddered again. I barely had the strength to reach out and use Auto-Loot to pull Kroma's soul and weapon into the inventory, stepping forward and falling to my knees. A sixth wave of vomit cascaded from my lips like a waterfall of vileness, followed by a final seventh, before I was stuck retching, hardly able to breath in the middle of the thick scent of bile and iron.

The remaining pilot, a somewhat lanky man, got to his feet, staring at me in awe and horror. He helped me up, then corrected the ship's course.

Weakly calling to Aurora, it reacted and refilled my body with strength, and Eismeer grabbed a bottle of water from the cabinet at the side of the room. I practically tore it open and washed my mouth out, then guzzled it down, feeling a little more energy and strength fill my body.

Pulling my body along, I walked slowly to the door, "Keep the ship steady, please. I don't want to throw up again." I honestly didn't expect my body to be able to again, considering I could feel the slowly gnawing emptiness in my stomach.

He said something that sounded like an assurance, but my head was swimming. I guzzled down the rest of the water and grabbed another, downing that one too as I walked out into the hallway. Feeling the ability to walk fully return, I made my way back towards the others. I saw that Jaune and Marbel were approaching quickly, and nearly fell as the ship shuddered again. However, an invisible embrace of strength and warmth caught me. I looked up and saw concerned cyan eyes. I smiled weakly, "I beat Kroma."

Jaune sighed, "You did, but you're a mess. Just a second." I felt water pour over me, washing most of the blood away, then heat covered my body. I smiled softly, feeling my strength returning more as the comforting sensation of Soulforge filled me. It didn't dispel the new sensation of sickness in my stomach, but I felt invigorated as he stood me up again.

I clung to his warmth for a few extra moments before letting go, feeling my face grow warm, "Thank you, Jaune. We should go, Blake and you father seem to have regrouped." I tried to ignore the sweet sense of comfort in my stomach that had come with his embrace. Calling up my Aura, I felt the boost I needed to run alongside the other two, and Aurora seemed to be enough to keep my stomach settled.

Its effect seemed to lessen a little bit when Jaune surged ahead with a burst of air and aura.

* * *

 _(About twenty seconds later, Jaune's POV)_

I looked ahead, my left eye burning with power as I saw Naranja standing over my father, weapon in hand.

"NARANJA!" I shouted as I slowed to a halt, standing a mere six feet away from him, "Step away from my father."

He looked at me, then at my father, and I saw something in his eyes crack open, and he dropped his weapon, "Then how will I help him stand up?" he said simply, sighing, "It doesn't matter, I suppose. So... you claim Adam knows you? I remember him once mentioning he had a human friend, one who was trying to be a huntsman."

I was a little surprise, but didn't let it show, instead simply nodding, "Yeah. Being the leader of the White Fang didn't give him the most room to be open about a human friendship, but we stuck together. He had favor for me, I inspired him into believing that people will listen... sadly, he took that as meaning he should start screaming his cause... metaphorically speaking." I sighed.

Naranja sighed too, "So that's it, then? Five years of violence and now he's going soft?"

I bit my lip under an illusion, then crafted the story in my mind and went for it, "Not... exactly." I opened the inventory and switched the sheathed Crocea Mors out for Murasama and Sandrust, the upgraded forms of Wilt and Blush. I saw Naranja's eyes widen.

I took in a deep breath, and opened my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Heh... I've been busy, I'll tell you that."

He stared, "Is that..."

I ignored his words, "Naranja... I have a question for you... do you think that even the worst person can change...?"

Naranja blinked, "W-what? I mean... I..." he was lost for words.

I switched my pants, t-shirt, and hoodie out for Adam's pants, longcoat, and button-up, "That everybody can be a good person, if they just try?"

He stared, shocked beyond belief, "How are you...?"

I equipped Adam's gloves, "Eh, here's a better question... would you trust me, if you knew that I'd bent the truth?"

They all looked betrayed, "Bent the truth?" Nayro asked in disbelief.

I sighed, "What I show you next... I need you to understand why I did it." I removed my armor and equipped Adam's old mask, "Why I took over a friend's life."

Naranja picked his weapon up and aimed it at me, "You bastard, are you saying-"

I shook my head, hearing Marbel and Weiss catching up as I slipped into Adam's appearance with the activation of Beast's Blood, my hair turning red and brown. Just for effect, U used his voice, "Adam and I were training together, it was before my level of power really started to pick up and grow to what it is now. We were attacked by a Giant Nevermore, and struggling against it, suddenly, it surged down and ate him whole. Just... fucking sucked him up and swallowed him like he was a tasty little treat... it horrified me."

 **"Acting" level increased by 4!**

I ignored the notification, "I killed the thing, but Adam was already dead by the time I'd killed it and it dissolved. I took his clothes, mask, and weapon, and gave him a warrior's burial, on the battlefield he died in, with a sword as a grave marker. I knew the White Fang would be thrown into absolute chaos when they found their leader had been killed, so I took up his identity and acted in his place." I privately text-chat messaged Thomas about the change in story, just to make sure he'd be informed, "I've been acting for over a month now, it's difficult, but while Adam the man has passed, Adam Taurus the leader of the White Fang lives on, and he lives on in me."

 **"Acting" level increased by 6!**

Naranja looked shocked, "So... your plan, then... for the new kingdom-"

"-is still in effect, yes. The rest of the White Fang doesn't know about Adam's death, and I'd rather its reveal happen on my terms than by random chance." I sighed, "In a way that will be advantageous to the White Fang's goals. I think it would be beneficial if they stopped trying to reach their goals from the chaotic sea of outcast-status, and gained a foothold by having a kingdom's favor." I smiled, "So... knowing all of this, will you still follow me?" I switched everything back to my normal self, holding out my hand.

Naranja looked at it, then slowly reached out, his hand slightly trembling, and grabbed it, shaking it, "The Schnee, the Huntsman, and Ozpin are also on your side, right?"

I smiled and returned the handshake with a confident, affirming grip, "I can assure you of it."

He smiled back, returning the grip, "Then I can assure you that we'll follow your lead, Jaune Arc. To be honest, the routine was getting stale. 8 years of the same thing got tiring." he sighed, "But... we six refuse to be separated. We travel together, even if we might not act together, we will all remain within the same kingdom at the same time."

I nodded, "That's fine with me. You can't be seen with us while we're in Vacuo, though, but I'll arrange for you all to travel to what we have for the kingdom thus far. I assure you it'll be enough. I'll even make a new section just for you." I smiled at them, "Now then... if we're all in agreement, then we can start working on cleaning up this mes-"

The ship jolted, twitched, and began to tilt. I went wide-eyed, and looked at Aeron.

He looked horrified, "The engines... they must have been getting damaged by the stuttering pattern I put into the system... the ship... it's going to crash!"

I grimaced, then closed my eyes as I heard my father directing everyone towards the side we'd land on, so everyone wouldn't be thrown into a long fall. I lifted myself telekinetically, reaching out with the senses of my elementals and feeling at the entire ship all a once. My mind was nearly full of the sensations, but I focused on metal and lightning. Calling on them, I activated the transponder and sent out a distress signal, then focused every charge I could into Crocea Mors.

The ship tilted a bit more, descending towards the sands below.

I gathered my Aura together, feeding it into my metal elemental.

I expended it, pulling at the entire ship all at once.

* * *

 _(Below the ship, Third Person POV)_

Two figures rode on bikes towards the next town over, the one on the left sighing as the one on the right sang.

"And in the end, I'LL FLYYYYY~!" Nora grinned, repeating The White Songbird's latest song.

Ren sighed, "Nora, please." this trip wasn't an easy one, but he would do it to make Nora happy. That alone gave him the strength for this.

They were used to taking refuge in alleyways and on rooftops, it wasn't hard, and using Jaune's word had gotten them in for free. Apparently they had an equivalent to a 'season pass' for the entire tour.

Looking at Nora, he smiled at seeing her so happy. If you didn't know her that well, maybe if you only had a handful of experiences with her, you would think she'd despise classical music, but that just wasn't the truth. For an orphan and a street urchin, she had a surprising level of appreciation for refined tastes. She wanted to be a queen one day, by some means, no idea how it'd happen, but she was the type to make it happen just to laugh in the face of logic.

Queens had to be fancy, and classical music 'Is made of three Os, operas, orchestras, and ofancy.'

No matter what he argued, she refused to give up that spelling, and just insisted that the O was silent.

He had to admit, he loved the songs too. Recently, The White Songbird had been singing with much more passion than before, making her songs even more beautiful.

Nora had her eyes on the sky while Ren kept his gaze fixed on the road and the sparse land traffic. The roads connecting the cities were fairly safe at night, despite concerns, and even if they were attacked, the martial artist was sure their training would get them through it.

"Hey Ren? How high up does wind blow?" Nora suddenly asked, and Ren looked at her.

He didn't show any confusion at the sudden question, figuring she just got a random burst of curiosity, "Well, they can blow anywhere from ground level to all the way in the upper reaches of the atmosphere."

Nora nodded, "Huh, okay... how much wind does it take to move an airship?" Ren lightly rolled his eyes, smiling at Nora in a way that spoke of his exasperation and endearment in equal measures.

"Airships might have wings, but they don't fly like birds, Nora. They use dust-powered turbines and thrusters... which are like fans and rockets, but powerful enough to move an airship." a car passed by them, a bit of sand flying up at their faces.

Nora didn't notice, instead focused on the sky still, "Well if it's not the wind, then what's blowing that airship off its path?" she pointed up.

The pink-eyed boy looked up in surprise, and sure enough a fairly large, somewhat decorated ship above them had tilted and was on a steady, declining path that would lead to it crashing down in the sands.

His eyes went wide, "Nora, that's not the wind, that airship is damaged and it's going to crash!"

The ginger-haired girl gasped, jumping off her bike, "Ren we gotta help it! There's gotta be people on board, they might get hurt!" her bike was left in the road as she ran off across the crusty patch of sandstone leading towards the dunes.

Ren went wide-eyed, "Nora! Nora no!" he swung his body off of his bike and tossed it into the ditch, speeding off to catch up to his best friend.

The two ran out into the dunes, following the ship as it began tilting more, nearly falling on its side. Ren could swear he saw a faint cyan and purple glow surround the ship, its fall slowing greatly right before as a great hissing *CRASH* noise emanated from where its right wind landed in the dunes, the heavy joints cracking under the weight of its bulk. The rest of the ship followed, shaking and definitely sustaining damage even if its fall seemed to have been mysteriously slowed down by a great amount.

Nora gasped as the ground shook and sand leveled out from the quaking force of hundreds of tons of steel hitting the ground in rapid succession.

Silently, both of them prayed to whatever gods they could think of that the people inside weren't hurt.

* * *

 _(Meanwhile, Jaune's POV)_

I could sense some stress cracking, but overall most of the ship was completely undamaged. The interior would need a hell of a cleanup, but that could be handled later. I floated in midair, suspended by telekinesis. I spread my AD wings and flew to the cargo bay, opening it up and getting an eye on the sky, looking for the ships that would be sent. It would take a minute or two, but a couple of ships would fly out and send back a more detailed report of what happened. I sighed and waited while my AP regenerated, spending some points to increase my INT and WIS.

At this point, I didn't particularly care.

 **Intelligence: 143 -} 155 (+5) (+265%) (+50%) = 664  
** **Wisdom: 168 -} 195 (+5) (+265%) (+50%) = 830**

 **Stat Points: 135 -} 123 -} 96**

AP: 155,000 -} 162,000

 **By raising INT above 150, you have earned the skill "Biospiritual Integration"**

 **By raising INT above 150, you have earned the skill "The Fundamental Factor I"**

 **By raising INT above 150, you have earned the skill "Moral Fiber"**

 **By raising INT above 150, you have earned the skill "Flowing Mana"**

 **By raising INT above 150, you have earned the skill "Leading Edge Cognition"**

 **Raising your INT to incredible levels has unlocked the class "Mage v4"**

 **Increasing both your INT and WIS to incredible levels has unlocked the class "Wizard v4"**

I felt my mind, body, and soul all tremble at once, and fell to my knees.

I'd probably have to sleep again, to get the full effect of Fundamental Factor I. I checked the skills as I struggled to pull in breath.

Moral Fiber allowed me to extend my 'mind over matter' principal to my STR and VIT, referring to the discipline and temperance that formed as a part of enduring life's suffering. Flowing Mana allowed me to cast spells that normally had a casting or charge-up time up to 5.0 seconds faster, down to an instant cast. Leading Edge Cognition expanded my mental processes and faculties by the power of my INT, WIS, and any boosts to the two.

Already I figured I might be able to lead a shot using mathematics, perhaps even better than I might using my DEX.

Biospiritual Integration was... well, it was something else entirely.

 **-/\\-**

 **Biospiritual Integration (Passive & Active) Level: 1, Exp: 25.64%, Cost: 10,000 AP (achieved for raising Intelligence above 150)  
** **Transcending the limits of the normal body, those with this skill have integrated their physical self and spiritual self into a yet greater whole. Connecting the corporeal power and senses of the body with the ethereal energy and abilities of the soul, the synergy produced allows the user to become much more than just a man.**

 **The needs of the body may be fueled by the soul, including food, water, air, temperature, and sleep.  
** **Increases HP regeneration by 100%  
** **Increases SP regeneration by 300%  
** **Increases the effectiveness of buffs by 100%  
**

 **Passively increases Ease of Casting by a percentage based on DEX.  
** **DEX Modifier: 1.0x (Total: +78%)  
** **Ease of Casting can also be increased with certain somatic casting motions.  
**

 **When active, combines the totals of HP, AP, and SP regenerations and applies the sum to all.  
** **When active, can allow you to sense the world with the five bodily senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch) through Aura alone, at a range based on Skill Level and Max AP.  
** **Sense Range: 100+180 meters.  
** **Resistance to certain types of magic are increased based on physical stats.**

 **Costs an additional 15,000 AP per minute**

 **-/\\-**

I recovered after a moment, seeing two figures approaching quickly. I activated the skill, smelling a male and a female, as well as a combination of fear, concern, and anxiety. Hunters, no doubt, but young. I saw them without needing to use Schwarza, and recognized their faces immediately.

Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie. How were they here? I reached out further and sensed a couple of bikes, by the road, though one had been run over and broken, the other thrown into a ditch.

Thinking back, I vaguely recalled seeing them at some of the shows... were they following the tour?

Nora must have been insane to do such a thing.

I called out to them, "I need some help here!" and waved them over.

They got close and I saw Nora's speed increase as she caught sight of my glowing body. I braced myself, but was thrown backwards perhaps fifteen feet by a tackle-hug, extended to twenty five by the loose sand.

"Jaune! Oh my god this is YOUR ship?"

I nodded, "Not entirely, it's Weiss' ship. My ship is currently... oh shit." I looked up into the sky, catching sight of the security ship hovering. I sent a message over the radio that they needed to go inform the air control administration that we needed help. I looked at Nora and Ren once the order was confirmed, "Follow me, I could use a little help getting everyone out." I didn't _truly_ need it, but I'd let them feel useful. I turned and headed into the ship, "There are probably injured crew members, they'll need help first." I headed in another direction, calling back to them, "Just find anyone you can, literally anyone at all."

I went straight to my group. Naranja and his people were a little banged up, but a few heals fixed them up. Weiss, Blake, Marbel, and my dad were all fine. I looked at them all, "Okay, so a couple of people are currently helped. Dad, go help them. Weiss, Marbel, and Blake, we need to get you three out of here, and White Fang?" I looked at them all, "We need to get you much further than 'out of here', got it?"

They gave affirmation, and I let my dad exit sight before pulling us all into an I.D.

Calling up Telekinesis and Crocea Mors, I levitated us all out and peeled the ship open, bringing us all outside, then closing it and dropping the ID. I didn't need to be so complicated with it, but I needed to keep the White Fang out of suspicion mode so early, especially when I hadn't yet had the chance to explain more of my 'tale'

Speaking of which...

 **QUEST COMPLETE!**

 **You succeeded the quest "The Dead (or Polished) Skull in the Desert"!**

 **You gained 12,000,000 EXP!**

 **"Stealth" level increased by 25!**

 **"Acting" level increased by 30!**

 **Your Intelligence has increased by 2!**

 **Your Charisma has increased by 2!**

 **An objective in quest "Some much-needed Polish" has been completed.**

 **BONUS: Establishing yourself as a friend of the now-dead Adam Taurus and providing an illusion that grants you inconspicuousness has increased your CHA by 2 and given you the title "The Yellow Fang"**

 **BONUS: The collection of fallen enemies has (#)(%# & *)*# %# no effect present?**

That second bonus was pretty weird. I felt something shift inside of me, similar to the odd feeling I'd gotten when I increased LUK this past time, but deeper, like it was inside my bones.

I could only assume it had to do with gathering the dead White Fang's souls and weapons. I really hoped I wasn't on the way to unlocking some sort of necromancer class, THAT would ruin my reputation if even a small hint of such knowledge got out.

Ignoring it for now, and deciding to check my new title, I smiled.

It essentially 'confirmed' my story through the power of Charisma and granted significant fitting bonuses. I decided to switch to it for the time being, feeling my STR fall significantly. It didn't matter to me, because I had more important things to worry about than a significant increase in the power of my punches.

I turned to everyone, "Alright. Naranja, I want you and your friends to go back to Bai'Jian, okay? Weiss, Marbel, Blake, you three need to greet our assistance, while I go help my dad find and save people." we broke off into our three groups and I entered the now shadow-filled airship once more.

Outside, I heard it start to rain, and had Pluviteus make a glowing rain-cover for the girls. I knew it wouldn't last long, but it was going to get them wet.

I didn't want any of them getting hurt any more than they already were.

* * *

 _(?, ? POV)_

 _A brisk breeze rolled by, sending scents of food into my nostrils. I smiled, wrinkled hands reaching out and breaking the bread, initiating the banquet._

 _Friends, wonderful friends who'd pulled me out of solitude, I loved them so._

 _We parted and I assisted them with a bolstering of power, power far beyond their normal capabilities._

 _It would help them, as it had with friends before, push back the night._

* * *

 _(The next morning, Jaune POV)_

 **Blake's skill "Soulforge Restoration" level increased by 1!**

 **Blake's skill "Temperantia" level increased by 1!**

Hm? I opened my eyes to find my short rest interrupted by the familiar surge of healing energy. Blake looked down at me, surprised, "I was told you sleep for six hours."

"When did I fall asleep?" I hadn't recalled much. After we got everyone out of the airship and loaded onto medical ships, I went with the others back to Bai'Jian after the grav-anchor tuggers came and picked up the ship, aaaand~...

I vaguely recalled Marbel pushing me onto a bed and demanding I slept.

Turning, I saw her asleep in a chair. I tuned my hearing in and heard Weiss' voice and some people I didn't recognize talking in hushed tones.

Sitting up and carelessly ripping out the monitoring equipment, I turned the machines off and looked to see some stern men talking to an exasperated, yet relieved Weiss. I cleared my throat and stood up, noting that of the three, only one was taller than me.

Three names, all the same title, **A Black Blanket over the Snows**. Observing them further, I found that they were specialists of the SDC PR department.

"Miss Schnee, we understand, and we've already provided a cover story for you and your allies." a cover story? _Jaune W: How much did you tell them? :W_

To her credit, Weiss only looked a slight bit surprised by my whisper, but spoke while thinking something else, _Weiss W: I told them there was an error in the ship and one of the engines stalled. Blake told me that the White Fang are long gone, but will keep in touch with you. :W_

I checked my scroll as I equipped my clothing, "Gentlemen, as you can clearly see Miss Schnee is still shaken from the incident. She understands your message and I encourage you to return to your jobs." they looked at me, then the one who clearly seemed to be the leader spoke up.

"Ah, you're Jaune Arc. This incident has raised a bit of concern in Atlas with Mr. Schnee, and he has considered pulling the contract." he said, and I shook my head immediately.

"Four and a half weeks more of shows. Millions will be devastated if they find out the tour has been canceled halfway through. I'm the one who owns the contract and I paid 25 million for the damn thing. We're continuing." I crossed my arms and gave them a death glare.

The tallest one spoke up, showing me his scroll, "Mr. Schnee has expressed that he'll compensate you for your lost profits, sir. He simply wants his daughter to return home."

I shook my head again, "Weiss and I have had many conversations, and she does not wish to return home. Tell Mr. Schnee that Weiss is training to become a Huntress, and after her contract expires she has already arranged herself to train with me in preparation for Beacon Academy."

The shortest one grumbled something, and I glared daggers at him, "I suggest you all go back to working on covering this up, as you should be doing."

They all kept a professional air, but they simply weren't the type to respect my authority. I sighed as they left, looking around the room.

Ren was fast asleep, but Nora was watching the silenced TV. I looked at it right as she turned the volume up, "Our top story of this morning is the tale of the crashing of the SDC Songbird, caused by a fault in the engine after maintenance was run in Bai'Jian. The department of aeronautical affairs has already provided the statement that they have fired the engineers responsible. Weiss Schnee, AKA The White Songbird, is currently on tour throughout Remnant, but her next few shows might be cancelled while her ship is being repaired. Only a few staff members were injured during the crash, and there were thankfully no fatalities. We will provide a repeat of this announcement as well as an update when new information is available."

I checked the time to see it was just breaking daylight, then groaned and looked at Nora, "Thank you for helping us. I don't know what we'd have done without you two."

She giggled, "We didn't do much, just pulled out a few people." she waved it off, "Renny nearly got put on a ship himself because he worked so hard he passed out."

I smiled at them both, "You two are very skilled, helpful, and noble. Tell me, you're hoping to become Hunters, are you not?" _Blake W: Jaune, what are you doing? :W_

 _Jaune W: The more the merrier, Blake. :W_ "Well, I happen to have room on my team, so would you be willing to join me and my friends in our training?"

Nora shook Ren and grinned brightly, "Renny! Wake up! Jaune's up and he's gonna help us become super strong!"

Ren took in a deep, manual breath and let it release, opening his eyes and looking at me, "Well, I believe we left our master, and he said not to return, so we're in need of help."

I smiled, "Great! Don't worry, you're gonna love it at Celeste." I heard Blake give a small huff, but ignored it for the moment to send the party invites.

* * *

 _(One second later, Third Person POV)_

Nora and Ren both went wide-eyed as they both saw a floating blue square appear in front of them, filled with white text.

 **PARTY INVITE!**

 **You have been invited to Jaune Arc's party "Team Celeste"!**

 **You will be brought into The Game with this action.**

 **[Accept] [Decline]**

They shared a look, then looked at Jaune, who smiled, "Accept them, and you'll be a part of our group, and a part of The Game."

They looked at each other again, then came to a silent agreement. Whatever this was, it had helped Jaune and his friends improve, so it mustn't have been bad, plus they felt they could trust him about this.

They accepted at the same time, Nora 'boop'ing the button and Ren quietly poking it.

At the same time, they both felt a raging painful energy ignite in their chests, feeling like something was drilling into their souls, and liquid fire was poured into the hole. After a few more seconds, however, they felt a comfortable warmth and a massive wave of relief.

 **Lie Ren has joined The Game in the party "Team Celeste"**

 **Nora Valkyrie has joined The Game in the party "Team Celeste"**

Jaune smiled as they saw new blue windows filled with text pop up, the tutorial.

The room fell into a period of science as whispers were exchanged and text read.

* * *

 _(Second's later, Jaune POV)_

I let Ren and Nora read the tutorial while answering the burning questions on people's minds, silencing and deafening Ren and Nora to the chat with a few mental commands, and reading the skill level-ups I'd gained.

 **By raising "Acting" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Roleplaying"!**

 **"Sword Proficiency" level increased by 30!**

 **"Unarmed Proficiency" level increased by 59!**

 **"Shield Proficiency" level increased by 32!**

 **You unlocked the class "Ninja v2"!**

 **You unlocked the class "Assassin v2"!**

 **By raising "Flirtation" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Romancing"!**

 **All "Boxing Champion" skills' levels have increased by 40!**

 **By raising all "Boxing Champion" skills above 50, you have earned the title "All Star Boxer"!**

I cracked my neck, _Jaune C: Look, I've met them before. They're disciplined, noble, friendly, and nice. Their first response to seeing a ship crashing was to go to it and help the survivors. :C_

 _Ruby C: Jauney, I'm all for more friends but this is kinda sudden. I'd think you'd have had the courtesy to talk to us about it even just a little bit before you did this. :C_

 _Yang C: Yeah. I'm okay with it, we all are. We all respect that it's up to you who gets included or excluded from The Game, and that ultimately we can only hope to change your mind, but babe, we should talk these things over. How much do you know about them? :C_

 _Jaune C: I've read over their backstories. They'll be loyal, and if they won't... :C_

 _Skyler C: M-... Jaune, are you saying you would kill them? :C_

 _Jaune C: I COULD, it wouldn't really be particularly hard either, but my conscience and morals would never allow it. I'd never do something like that to someone if I could avoid it, that's actually how we got Thomas. :C_

 _Thomas C: I understand the sentiment, Jaune, and you probably took a far larger risk with me than anyone else you could think of, but communication is key. :C_

 _Jaune C: You all just keep repeating the same things with different wordings! I get it, I know, I should have talked it over with you all, and the results and my own sureness and the low risk level don't negate the ignorance of the principles of it. The principles demanded it and even with all my INT and WIS... no, no it wasn't an act that was despite my mental power, it was actually probably_ because _of it. I acted with a grossly unbalanced ratio of thoughts to emotions, because I was already so sure that it would be good and that you'd all agree and be okay with my decision that I forgot that it wasn't appropriate to act before actually_ confirming _my assumptions, and so I've just made an ass out of myself and out of all of you, and for that I'm deeply sorry. :C_

 _Weiss C: We forgive you, Jaune. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that. Next time, though, please tell us your intentions so there aren't any misunderstandings. :C_

 _Jaune C: Right, of course. So... just to confirm, everyone is in agreement, right? :C_

I received a small crowd of confirmations, with was adorably punctuated by Garnet meowing in response to all the noise. I comforted the tiny kitten, who I was surprised hadn't freaked out throughout all of this shit. Maybe it was the effect of having previously absorbed that hero's soul shard. She was insanely good at filtering out ambient chaos.

I hummed, then thought of something, and looked at the others with a smile.

With the issue put to rest, I had to deal with a few things before we could move on.

 _'Materials, then Garnet, then airship, then...'_ I growled lowly, petting Garnet as I let her explore Marbel's shirt while I carried the sleeping girl through the hospital, stopping by all the crew members' rooms and healing their injuries. Collecting them, I arranged transport and payed the hospital bills in full, with a Hunter's discount.

Once we were at the street below and I'd teased Marbel about being a cuddle-bug when she was asleep, we piled into the limousine, and I gave the driver a list of locations.

Well, it was time to get to work.

* * *

 _(About an hour later, Jaune POV)_

I sighed as I looked at the ship, suspended in midair by the gravity anchors in the repair. Of course it was going to be repaired, the SDC's personal ships were too expensive to simply scrap. I was pleased that not only was I able to get a significant amount of the various 'spectrum steels' from a local refinery, but there were a few hundred pounds of whitesteel in the ship that weren't needed with the skills I had.

I levitated up to the ship to enter it, having already paid the mechanics to step back and not interfere. Crocea Mors was already at work moving himself through the ship, encapsulating it with his power.

We worked together as I adjusted and fixed every dent, crack, and even the chips and scratches in the material, reinforcing it with Diamond Alloy and tempering it with some usage of Plastic Alloy. The ripped portions fixed themselves and metal that was missing, which I'd run out and collected into cubes and stored into my inventory, was being replaced with both internal metal that gained a reinforcing internal rebar lattice to make up for lost mass, as well as the old materials. I'd done my best, and in the end the ship was even better than it was when it was new, but weighed a few hundred pounds less.

Grinning, I walked out and, as a courtesy, fixed up the other stuff the engineers were working on. I re-entered the ship and focused with Juristimunja this time.

Slowly, my Aura reached out and suffused through the entire ship, and I activated Engineer's Aura.

The ship, still fueled up, turned on, all the lights and systems were online, as the onboard maintenance AI informed me. I grinned and contacted the team to spread the word that we were ready to head out soon.

First, though, I had something to do.

 _... (Fifteen minutes of searching later) ..._

I pounded my fist on the door, then simply teleported inside, already hitting the man with a slap to the face and one last Gamer's Sight.

 **Dillan Esior**  
 **Title: A Frosty Sentinel disgraced by Envy  
Level: 24**

I stood over his body and glared down at him with a challenging gaze, "Hello again, Dillan. Tell me, why did you tell the White Fang about our operation?"

He groaned, "Fuck you, asshole, what are you even talking about?" and got to his feet, but smartly kept his hands to himself.

I grit my teeth, "I have half a mind to tear your fucking throat out! Why'd you tell the White Fang about our operation?"

He looked at me funny, "Oh... oh don't tell me the fucking PR team got ahold of the story and changed it THAT fucking much... you fucking idiot kid, don't you know how the real world works?" he stormed over to the chair in his room, one that he'd soon have to give up or pay for out of his own pocket, "Of course you fucking don't. Let me tell you something... people have bad days, they go and get drunk, and they complain about their shitty fucking jobs or families or friends or whatever the fuck has got them pissed off at the time, and they bitch about it to anyone with two ears and who looks like they're paying even halfway attention. I did just that."

"To the White Fang." I added, crossing my arms.

He cracked open a beer, "Oh, there you go, crossing your arms in that 'badboy' stance, fuckwit. I didn't tell shit to the white fang, I told it to some guy who bought me a drink because he seemed like he felt bad for me. Did I question the free alcohol? Hell no, nor did I question who the fuck I was talking to. You see, in the REAL WORLD, things CAN just happen for no real intention. They got lucky, you got unlucky, because I got fired and did what most normal people would do: get drunked up and fucked up." his tone held no less venom than it did before, "I bitched about my boss and his lying ways and his cocky attitude and how full of himself he was and how he didn't listen, and just... you get the idea, ya pisshead."

I ground my teeth together. Oh I got the idea alright, but that didn't change the principle of it, "Still, people could have died because you went and got loose-lipped, AND didn't turn in your earpiece."

"You fuckin' want it, boy? Too bad, I don't have it. Probably wouldn't give it back if I still did, though, but then again you'd probably break my fucking arm to get it, wouldn't you?" he glared up at me with an amused smirk, as though he knew he was right, even though he wasn't.

My fists fell to my sides, clenched so tightly my fingernails began to cut into the surface of my skin, "I'm not nearly as bad as you think I am. You didn't give me a chance, instead just talking down on me like I was a child just out of fucking diapers. I might only be 17, but that makes me a teenager just into adulthood. I guess you thought me arrogant enough to take up my first task of true adult responsibility with something as massive as this?"

"Arrogant and fucking stupid. It's like you bought the contract just so you could be friends with Miss Schnee, not even minding the study of the procedures involved in what you signed yourself up for." he took a swig of his beer, his glare having softened a bit. Perhaps he saw maturity in my logic, patience, and even tone, "I had my reasons to disrespect you."

"And I had my reasons to fire you. You weren't entirely mature yourself, you let your emotions get the better of you and were blinded by your own pride. Ageism might be a small discrimination, but it's still a discrimination." I sat down on a reconstructed steel block turned into a chair, "You'll have to forgive me for being pissed off by it, because just about anyone would."

He looked me up and down, "You're a hell of a piece of work, kid... but I suppose I do appreciate the fact that you didn't just write me off as an insensitive asshole and move on your merry, ignorant way." he leaned forwards a little bit, a pleased grin on his face.

"Oh trust me, I've still written you down as an asshole, but I figured you had reasons, and so I allowed us both some time to cool off before I confronted you about it." I poured myself a small, neat glass of whiskey, slamming it back, "I suggest that now, you find yourself a decent job that can pay for this hotel room, or perhaps an apartment. If you've nothing to say, then I'll take my leave."

He leaned forward again, "I do." he looked at me and I swore I saw a familiar flash of humane concern enter his eyes, "How much of the story was true? Did the White Fang crash the ship, or was it the engine failing?"

I sighed, "There were a number of factors to it. We might not have needed to worry about the engine until well into Mistral, but the problems they posed accelerated its deformation. It's all fine now, and the White Fang won't be bothering us again." I changed my tone to imply that I'd killed them all, and in a way each of the members of the White Fang were dead, just not all of them were in the physical sense.

Dillan sighed, "Well, damn. How many injuries were there?"

"The worst damage anyone took in the crash was a now-healed broken ankle, which my dad handled. He's a healer. Other than that, no casualties on our side." it was the truth, but not the absolute full truth, or perhaps I was thinking with a little too much dedication to my insight, "For the record, I'd been tracking the White Fang's movements since we got to the kingdom. That was what my disappearances were all about. They were incredibly smart, and while not able to deal with them before we left, I knew of their attack and when it would take place, so the others and I were able to handle it swiftly and efficiently."

He sighed, "Well... that's good, then. I suppose I DID doubt you a little too much, and that explains what was going on, too." he leaned back in his chair, "Our whole situation was kind of fucked."

I let out a small chuckle at the understatement, "To be fair, yelling at a person isn't the most efficient way of teaching them, and you're nowhere near being a drill sergeant. In the future, I suggest asking people to explain their actions could save a lot of anger and headache."

He lowered his gaze to his beer, "And in the future, I suggest explaining your actions if someone is so radically questioning them."

I looked at the ceiling, "Well... I'll keep that in mind." I sighed, "I should get going, explain this shit to the PR agents." rubbing the side of my head, I stood up, reclaiming my chair, "Goodbye, Dillan. May our paths never cross again."

He let out a hum that I could tell meant 'I hope the same', and gestured for me to leave.

I didn't walk, merely teleported away.

 _... (One second later, on the streets below) ..._

Appearing in the alleyway, I stepped out to see my father standing next to the limousine, leaning against it. I could see he was causing it to tilt slightly, and called out to him, "Don't flip the thing over, dad. We kinda need it."

He chuckled, "We really don't, to be honest. We all could run faster than this thing can drive."

I shook my head, "Yeah, but appearances." I said simply, as if that explained it all.

He understood it, "Damn, right, appearances." he sighed, "Well anyways, your new friends are inside, waiting to talk to you." _John W: They finished the tutorial and want to talk to you about it. :W_

 _Jaune W: Figures, I already expected as such. :W_

I entered the limo, taking a moment to use my various elementals to reinforce the structure closer to my standards, as well as be able to handle the weight of everyone at once. I sat to Weiss' left on the rear-facing seat, while my dad got in on her right. Blake and Marbel were on either side of Ren and Nora on the front-facing seat, both looking wizened, but still questioning.

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Lie Ren  
** **Title: A Blossom of the Wind  
** **Level: 35  
** **Class: Monk  
** **Nickname: Renny**

 **Hit Points: 8000/8000  
** **Aura Points: 10,000 -} 12,000  
** **Stamina Points: 5000/5000**

 **Strength: 31 (+40%) = 43.4  
** **Dexterity: 68 (+40%) = 95.2  
** **Vitality: 40 (+25%) = 50  
** **Intelligence: 51 -} 64 (+25%) = 80  
** **Wisdom: 66-} 72 (+25%) = 90  
** **Luck: 30  
** **Charisma: 38**

 **Aura Level: 45 -} 48**

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Nora Valkyrie  
** **Title: A Warrior of the Hammer  
** **Level: 37  
** **Class: Berserker  
** **Nickname: Queen of the Castle.**

 **Hit Points: 7000/7000  
** **Aura Points: 7000 -} 9000  
** **Stamina Points: 9000/9000**

 **Strength: 62 (+104%) = 126.48  
** **Dexterity: 61 (+95%) = 118.95  
** **Vitality: 52 (+24%) = 64.48  
** **Intelligence: 20 -} 30 (+24%) = 37.2  
** **Wisdom: 26 -} 35 (+24%) = 43.4  
** **Luck: 30  
** **Charisma: 42**

 **Aura Level: 28 -} 36**

 **-/\\-**

I could see Nora had a trait called 'Storming Spirit Field', which translated to her not needing to increase her control over her Aura in order to level it up and prestige it into Aurora. On that note, I also saw that they both had quite powerful souls. I didn't have a reference point to go off of, but I felt like they'd end up extremely powerful with my help.

Giving my winning smile, I addressed them, "So, I guess you two have some questions, right?"

Ren nodded, "Certainly. The tutorial explained most of what we would be dealing with, but Nora skimmed over most of it." he sighed and I couldn't help but feel that he was used to Nora being too excitable to handle the task of reading through a long and explanatory tutorial.

"So we can kill Grimms and get better at fighting?" was Nora's first, excited question.

I smiled jokingly, "You could do that before, Nora, but it will be much easier now. I need to get you two up to par. The differences between the levels will shrink as we get further along, and I believe that, since you two are fresh, and need extra help, I'll be keeping you along for the trip 'round Mistral." I smiled and made a circle gesture with my finger.

Ren nodded, "I see. I can tell how this would be incredibly useful, having exact measurements of your physical and mental attributes. It's... certainly something beyond what I expected."

I put a hand over my heart, "Oh, Ren, you wound me so! Am I that unimpressive?"

He shook his head, clearly unamused by my teasing, "No, you're perhaps the most impressive of all of us. If this thing is correct, then a rough estimate would say that your stats are over twice as high as they should be at your level."

I checked my stats and did the math and, sure enough, he was right. I was level 73, which should have said that my total gain in stats would be, at base, 360. However, my stat total was 737, twice that plus another 17. Smiling I nodded, "Well, thank you. Any other questions?"

Nora made to speak, but Ren covered her mouth, "Nothing we shouldn't be able to figure out on our own. Thank you, and we look forward to training alongside you." he smiled at us all.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, and I for one hope that we may all become close friends soon eno-MPH." her hand flew to cover her mouth as the limo went over a bump in the road. She'd done this a couple of times already, but refused to give any answer.

If she wanted to tell anyone, she would have, but I had boundaries for myself and wouldn't pry further, letting her settle herself as we moved on.

I just hoped she'd be okay.

* * *

 _(Half an hour later, Weiss' POV)_

The airship, or should I say the FLYING METAL DEATHTRAP, moved under my feet.

*BLURGH*

I couldn't stand it anymore, I was going to go mad if I got sick like this every time we-

*BLARGH*

Fucking FUCK! I hated this, it was making me want to scream... scream AIR, and not BILE! I just-

*BLORGH*

 _Weiss W: Jaune/Marbel, please come to my room. :W_ I whispered to them both, feeling the agony of my churning stomach settle only a fraction when it was empty.

I felt the air in the room shift as the two entered, not in the way Jaune had described with his Air Elemental, but rather the comforting emotions filled my entire room and en-suite bathroom, helping return my strength. I groaned at the humiliation of my current position, head hung over the toilet bowl like a drunken party girl.

Why was my luck in life so terrible?

 **Traits:**

 **Chronic Motion Sickness (Psy): Your mind and body do not agree with most levels of turbulence while moving in a vehicle. This psychological problem makes you feel debilitatingly nauseous when riding in a vehicle, to the point of throwing up multiple times. Effects: When riding in any vehicle, disturbances in the smoothness of the ride make you feel very sick.**

Marbel's hand rubbed my back, and I felt Jaune's aura help alleviate the weakness and frail feeling that had sprung up in place of my breakfast. His hand came from the side and gently wiped my face clean, leaving behind a gentle scent of cucumbers. I sniffled a little, and blew my nose, cringing as I cleaned up with their assistance.

Things had changed, that was beyond obvious. Before, I might never have started getting motion sickness, but if I randomly did, I'd not have had friends to assist me, instead I'd be cleaning myself up in the solitude of my room before being able to see anyone else.

Finishing up, I looked in the mirror, seeing myself. I was different even after only a week's time, my face had relaxed and a gentle smile came naturally to my lips. I breathed more easily once the stench of vomit was pulled away, presumably by Jaune's air elemental. I sighed, "I have motion sickness..." it was best to get to the point as soon as possible, "The incident was traumatic, we all have changed from it, and among us, Blake got friends, Marbel got strength, your father got brevity, you got half of a dozen new allies... and I got motion sickness." I rubbed my face with a hand, "I must look pathetic."

Jaune sighed, shaking his head and pulling me into a small hug, "You look fine, Weiss. Everyone has their faults. Marbel's still getting into the mindset of a Hunter, I'm too proud for my own good sometimes, Blake's stubborn and I think she knows for a fact that we can all see those bags of erotica she stashed in her section of the inventory, my dad is still getting over his own self and I think all of this time together with people he can consider friends is helping improve his self-worth... it's hard to see, but I can tell it's lacking, a lot like you must feel right now... in fact I'd say that's another point of similarity we have, even if it's flipped." my face met his jacket and feelings of warmth, calmness, and security, among other things, wrapped around me, "A son with pride to spare of a father with his self-worth damaged by life's cruelty, and a daughter with her self-worth damaged by life's cruelty of a father with pride to spare."

I sighed, hugging him back, "I don't need to be reminded of my faults."

Marbel rubbed my back, and I nearly flinched from the contact. I had had to get used to embraces and affection, but the suddenness of the gesture threw me off, "Don't worry, Weiss. We'll make sure you feel better, every single day if we have to."

I smiled, "Thank you for that... thank you both."

Jaune smiled, "It's no problem at all, Weiss. We're happy to help. How're you feeling right now? Still nauseous?" the fool, he was too much sometimes.

I looked up at him, "Right now? I feel better already."

And I truly did.

I really, truly, honestly did.

* * *

 _(An hour later, Jaune's POV)_

At this rate, I might need to get some gel, scent, or even grease, for all the times I keep running my hands through my shaggy hair.

This shit was ridiculous. Weiss had informed me of her own feelings on the situation, but the fact of the matter remained.

These 'celebrity endorsements' were fucking stupid. If it weren't for the money I'd receive, which would be wired to my bank account from the SDC after the revenue rolled in, I wouldn't even bother with it.

We'd missed two of the meetings due to the time it took to prepare for everything, and I considered slipping into an ID and destroying the entire building with my spells, just to relieve some boredom and irritation that was gnawing at Gamer's Mind.

The worst part was the director, who I honestly think was operating with a stuffed nose. Vacuan people tended to have smaller noses, so I guess it made sense... GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

"Alright, Miss Schnee, we're so close, one more take." the woman said, and I could see the cracks in Weiss' professional mask widening. We were both tired of this shit, but it would be worth it later.

I stepped out of sight and went into an ID, which was then followed by me raising my foot and Power Stomping the ground, sending a massive web of thick cracks through the concrete. Collapsing the roof and melting the building to ash and molten stone, I sighed in satisfaction.

I might have had possibly one of the greatest minds in the world, but I was still human, I still got bored, and perhaps Gamer's Mind made that somewhat worse, despite its best efforts. The illusion fell and I was in the real world once more, gritting my teeth less than half as much as before.

 **"Barrier Breaker" level increased by 1!**

 **"I.D. Create" level increased by 1!**

 **Skill "I.D. Create" gained a new ability.**

I checked, and found that the ability in question was Time Dilation. I did the math in my head (and with my scroll) and found that my current Max AP and APR totaled out to letting even the steep cost of 10,000 AP per hour extend a day in an I.D. by nearly double the length if I dedicated all of my APR solely to running the Time Dilation, and that was only if I gave every spare bit I could and didn't draw out more than what came in. As it stood, I might extend a day by 50%, so that spending three hours in my I.D. would only take two hours in real-time.

I cracked my knuckles and brushed off an unfamiliar hand that came to my shoulder, "No touching." I said in a professional tone.

"Sorry dear, it's just that I had a lovely idea and I thought you might be interested." it was the director, and I looked at her.

"Okay, you've caught my interest for the moment, what is it?" at this point, to relieve the boredom, I'd do just about anything.

She smiled almost like plastic, and that's when I realized she'd also undergone some cosmetic surgeries, "Well, in addition to its class and grace, the SDC is a large, strong company who many rely on. We thought that maybe a similarly large, strong man like yourself might be able to best display such an image."

I raised my eyebrow, "You want ME to show up in a video?"

"Ah, no no no, Mr Arc, just a few photos." she smiled widely, showing perfectly white teeth, "We believe your rugged good looks will help show the SDC's strength."

I sighed, "I'm a bit bored, so I suppose I'll indulge you." she laughed in a way she must have thought was pleasant, but I certainly didn't agree with her misconception. I followed her and she pointed me to some people who rapidly began applying some makeup to my face. I endured it for the time being, but drew the line when I felt them try to take my clothing.

Following the rather simple directions, I was in my jacket, button-up, a pair of slacks, and my armor. For effect, they wanted me to hold up my sword while Fire dust burned along the blade. I did them one better and 'conjured' some fire directly around the blade, smiling confidently as I faced some invisible foe. The camera flashed and my image was captured for them to use. I sighed and dropped the pose, "That's not even a proper combat pose." I noted out loud, pretending to conjure my normal clothing back.

The director cheered, and I saw Weiss staring at the picture. I hummed curiously, walking over, "How'd it come out?"

"Perfect, absolutely perfect, darling!" she grinned brightly, "You look wonderful. Strong, confident, rugged, and after the edits you'll look even moreso. Oh I'm so pleased I had this idea!" she swooned and I sighed, shaking my head.

Standing by Weiss' side, I cleared my throat, "So, we're done here, are we not?"

The director looked at the time, "Ah, yes, yes we are, thank you both SO much. Miss Schnee, the money and fame will pour in at our feet!"

Weiss cleared her throat delicately, "I see. Well, we should be on our way. Our day is busy busy busy." she waved as we turned to leave.

I felt the director's eyes remain on us until we left the building.

* * *

 _(That night, Jaune's POV)_

"Your father must be disappointed, you're doing so well at something that he doesn't want you to do." I said in a congratulatory tone, and Weiss' moment of distraction was enough for me to cartwheel and deliver an axe kick combined with Far Strike to her face, sending her tumbling backwards to the ground.

She shot to her feet a second later, shaking her head to clear it after receiving the stunning magical force, "Stop talking!" and shot towards me, rapier pointed straight at my heart.

I activated Blade Mode and used Champion's Left High Guard to block the stab and deflect it to the side, feeling it slide off of my Golem's Flesh. My body jerked and twisted as we went into a pure battle of speed, her rapier versus my guards, which I broke after delivering a punch to her chest that pushed her back well over thirty feet, taking a chunk of her Aura with it, but also receiving a burst of scalding steam from her Aura's flare in protective power. I grinned a little, happy that she'd been able to keep up for so long.

We'd been fighting for nearly six hours, now, and talking during all that time. I extended our relative time to 150%, so outside of the ID, only 4 hours had passed.

She'd done very well right before we'd begun, which was moments after I brought her down to the hotel lobby. She'd caught what I meant by '3 seconds to ass kicking' and preparing in that time, switching to her combat outfit a the same time I pulled us into an I.D.

In fact, she'd done so well that my opening attack, right hook, had been blocked by a glyph. The fight after that had become a blur as time went by.

 **Weiss' status effect "Regeneration" has worn off!**

 **Weiss' status effect "Washing Steam" has worn off!**

 **Weiss' status effect "Reparative Claying" has worn off!**

 **Weiss' status effect "Arcane Polish" has worn off!**

 **Weiss' status effect "Storming Energy" has worn off!**

 **Weiss' status effect "Frozen Light" has worn off!**

I held up a hand and approached Weiss while forming Excalibur in my right hand. My left hand stretched out, and through my Magical Bombardment I renewed her buffs. I sensed her Aura fill her rapier as I swung Excalibur at her, and she blocked the slash as we slipped back into the rhythm of battle.

We exchanged several blows after I commanded her to switch to her weightsuit. I'd gone to a junkyard, and while it didn't have many metal objects due to the kingdom's policies on recycling, I'd found a few things and taken them for myself, putting it to use for Weiss' training.

So far, sharing this extended conversation and training Weiss with both some lessons from fencing books and my own growing style, we'd both come far.

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Weiss Schnee  
** **Title: The Frosty Princess looking in the Mirror -} The Frosty Princess looking at her Blade  
** **Level: 45  
** **Class: Regal Fencer  
** **Nickname: Ice Queen -} Vomit Girl**

 **Hit Points: 6400 -} 8000  
** **Aura Points: 27,000 -} 28,000  
** **Stamina Points: 9700 -} 11,700**

 **Strength: 27 -} 32 (+50%) = 48  
** **Dexterity: 70 -} 75 (+110%) = 157.5  
** **Vitality: 41 -} 50 (+60%) = 80  
** **Intelligence: 90 -} 92 (+200%) = 276  
** **Wisdom: 50 (+180%) = 140  
** **Luck: 32  
** **Charisma: 50 -} 57**

 **Stat Points: 32**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: January 15th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 4'11 -} 5'0  
** **Weight: 90 -} 99  
** **Build: Graceful Slender  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Snow White / Crystal Blue / Pale White  
** **Cup Size: A -} AA**

 **-/\\-**

 **"Sword Proficiency" level increased by 10!**

 **"Shield Proficiency" level increased by 10!**

I hummed softly. I hadn't been paying the most attention to refining my strikes, instead focusing on what I was going to do for the upcoming weeks.

"At least Marbel and Blake are putting Ren and Nora through their paces." I said casually, "They're both quite capable, they just lack vigor, I've figured. You know, I did the math, and we've a hundred and ten days to get everyone up to standards."

Weiss flicked a hand across her rapier, Eismeer's power wiping her sweaty forehead clean, "I'm sure we'd all be fine, Jaune."

I shook my head, "We might be 'fine', but 'fine' isn't good enough. I don't want anyone falling behind or getting hurt. We have from today, April 22nd, all the way to August 10th when Beacon starts, to get everyone up. Technically speaking, we can only truly start on May 23rd, when schools let out for the summer." I stated simply, "Because of the limits in place for Marbel, Yang, and Ruby." Juristimunja redirected a bolt of lightning away from me and into the sky.

Weiss hummed, "We'd think that was a lot of time, but our training is only moving as quickly as it is because you're able to push us as much as you are. You just got those double-element buffs yesterday, correct?" she deflected Crocea Mors and made to stab at me, nicking my side but receiving a heavy punch to the face in return.

I nodded, blocking her slashing glyph with Candidus Murus, then hummed as I got an idea, "I did, and at least the water ones are already between levels 6 and 9, hehehe." I chuckled, then turned my head to see Roimontagne form from a nearby broken building, rubble re-consolidating into his huge form.

Weiss ignored him, focusing on me and getting a slash into my shoulder thanks to my minor distraction and the fact I'd let her. I grabbed her wrist as Candidus Murus slipped into the inventory, then flipped her over my head and slammed her onto the ground, repeating the overhead smash a few times.

 **Weiss has endured great damage, raising her VIT by 1!**

I stopped at that point, hearing one of her bones crack and fixing it with several Soulforges. I called up Crocea Mors and a nearby car reformed around his metal-leaking core, letting him team up with Roimontagne. I chuckled, "You know, to someone so tall, a greatsword is regular sized."

Weiss glanced at Roimontagne, then went wide-eyed and dashed to the side, avoiding the relatively very slow attack that instead cleaved a car in half.

 **"Sunbeam Zweihander" level increased by 1!**

Roimontagne held the blade of solidified light in his right hand, following Weiss as I messaged her that she'll be moving on to dodging, while I doubled the weight of her weightsuit.

Turning to Crocea the elemental, I smiled, "Well, friend, looks like it's you and me once more."

He nodded, "Yes, it is indeed." he looked at me, and I swear as Summon Elemental v2 leveled up again, I saw a spark of wisdom and curiosity in his metallic eyes, "I am the Yellow Death Knight." he said simply, drawing his sword, "But death is the opposite of what I have come to represent. I am Metal, I am enduring, is that not to mean that I should not change?" he hacked my arm off with the diamond-sharp copy of the normal sword.

I backed up, my arm reforming in a second, and amped up Golem's Flesh, "You're not just Metal, Crocea. You're more than that, even if it may seem that it is entirely what your being is." I assured, smiling as we exchanged blows and my body rocked as he casually hit me with tons and tons of force, "You and the others and even myself, all parts of a yet greater whole, who we are and what we do is connected to each other. We're all distinct, of course, as my senses are what my flesh can detect, and the six of you are able to sense your elements... tell me, as far as you know, there are no other elementals to get, are there?"

He looked troubled, as though I'd given him a far too difficult problem, but his literal gear-filled brain ground out an answer as his core's purple light covered his body, balancing his speed and strength by tempering his body and softening his flesh slightly, "It... is not. From what I remember seeing, and what I see now, from all of my forms, there are six, and only six. Never more, never less, in a way like metal, unchanging even when repurposed or reinterpreted. You are the one with the soul that brings us all together, who allows us to mingle in ways we'd never be able to normally. In a way you've done the impossible already... you've changed metal, silenced fire, weakened earth, frozen water, choked air, and stilled lightning. I suppose then that it would make sense. We are not entirely pure, all mingling in your soul, we strengthen as your own strength rises, and we change as you change. Then, even as Metal, the element of endurance, I too would change, guided and made yet more powerful by your soul." he reattached his leg shortly before I hit him with a powerful kick to the stomach.

I grinned, "You're smarter than you look, Crocea, tell me something, what do you think about the others?"

He huffed slightly, "The others are our allies, growing friendships, something that will change, but in some ways stay the same. I suppose it is that part of humans that guide you, Metal, the element that represents your endurance, your innate nature and determination to live. Humans were made to love, it is what we've found Aura to be, is it not?"

I hummed curiously, "What's your take on the light of the soul?"

* * *

 _(The next night, Jaune POV)_

"I've thought of it." he finally answered as we clashed once more, "The human soul is as we've determined that it is."

"So it's exactly what we think it is, then? It's like Metal, enduring?" I asked in return as our swords clashed, noting that the sword Crocea the elemental had was not an exact copy of the Crocea Mors sword I held.

"It is. It remains as it is, made to house light and strength with its capacity for love and emotion. It is infinite in distance as it is able to stretch the body's capabilities beyond what is normally possible, even though it is in different amounts. Not just physical attributes and those that can be measured, but emotions as well."

I grinned, "You're a lot smarter than I anticipated, Crocea."

He smiled, "I've had a long life, seen many things. Mystral or Juristimunja might want you to think them the smartest, but it simply isn't true." he shot at Missile at me, which I dodged and heard the distant shout of complaint from Marbel as it nailed her in the side. I stopped for a second and threw some healing her way, feeling a massive surge of pain as Crocea's sword cut off everything from my left shoulder to my left hip in a shallow crescent-shaped slash. I spun around and punched him back, feeling my hand crack as my body reformed.

"So our friends are our friends and even if that changes, they'll still be our friends in a way because despite the Lightning that is change occurring, humans are made to be loving and compassionate?" I summed up his long, around-the-bush thought process, which I wasn't actually surprised must have taken him a full day to come up with.

"That is it, then. Though becoming freer, my mind still remains as it is, enhanced only by the increase of your power."

I raised an eyebrow, "Freer? So you're becoming wiser, but not smarter?"

He let out a sound of struggling, "It is... not so simple. I feel hidden restraints slowly falling away, it is hard to determine what they mean, but it assists me in using my power, the same as it assists you."

I mulled over that as we went back into the normal exchanging of blows. From his wording, I could tell that he was referring to something that increased the Ease of Casting for my elemental skills. That narrowed the field down greatly, only eight of my skills increased my Ease of Casting.

Storming Energy was rather small for 'freeing his mind', only currently providing a 57% increase.

Frozen Light was honestly more likely, because before, Crocea Mors wasn't able to cast metal spells so easily, so that might have been it, but it only increased the ease of casting for Ranged Magic Attacks, and only by 27%, so it didn't make sense either.

Ki Body didn't make much sense either, since it increased the ease of casting for Ki, not the elements.

Aura Channeling had been extremely slow with its creeping levels, and provided an extreme 1700% increase, but it was an older skill, not one that Crocea would have recently been able to manipulate, not with what had to be the answer.

Battlemage provided a much less extreme, but still very impressive 300% increase, so it seemed like one of the best bets here, definitely in the top three guesses.

Biospiritual Integration provided a boost to Ease of Casting equal to my DEX, as well as an additional boost based on 'somatic components', AKA casting motions. Crocea wouldn't be affected by that since due to the way it worked, it only affected spells *I* used.

Aura Suffusion increased by Ease of Casting by 74%, but that was mostly to increase the ability to utilize the 'cloud' of Aura that I projected, it wouldn't help like that.

Which left the most logical answer, Druidic Proficiency. It increased the Ease of Casting for all elemental skills by 200%, and had leveled up rapidly after my elementals prestiged, already at level 51. It had to be the answer, it was the one that made the most sense. Occam's razor, and all that.

Cracking my neck and blocking Crocea's sword from bisecting it, "Druidic Proficiency. It boosts the Ease of Casting, which is what fits best with what you're saying. I can only suppose that is what it is. Makes me curious about the prestiged form. It feels like it's the one that might prestige first, among my stat-benchmark skills, which makes me curious as to what it might become."

"I do not know. Juristimunja would be best suited to 'think' about that." he said the word with an instance of hesitance, as though he wasn't sure about it.

"What's so weird about thinking?" I asked, though I felt I already knew the answer.

He let out a sound of struggle, "Before, when we were Basic Elementals, we were limited to only our perceptions of the elements, and enough mental power to know what we were, to understand you and though tiny bits and pieces were added to our minds as you grew stronger, it wasn't until we evolved that our small minds bloomed outwards like flowers."

I raised an eyebrow, then smiled, "Do you like flowers, Crocea?" I figured the worst I'd get was a non-answer, so it seemed okay.

He let out another sound of struggle, "I suppose... it is change, yet perhaps only change in the form of repurposing, or reinterpreting, as they say 'swords into plowshares'. Your concern for Ruby's well-being, it may have been reinterpreted as an affection for flowers along the way. I do not know for sure, again Juristimunja would be better for this type of thought."

I tilted my head side to side as I stopped the spar to roll the thoughts around in my hand a bit, "I suppose that makes sense... so then what, your minds expanded to become more like mine? Will you eventually all have minds that are exactly the same as mine?"

He smiled, "Ah, this is more to my thoughts. No, we would not. The process was nearly perfect, yes, but some things grew unclear during the growth, it felt. Even if it were perfect, we all would still be ourselves, even despite having your mind entirely. We would have our own minds too, retaining ourselves even when so much had been added to us. We have our own experiences, our own thoughts and feelings even now growing within us. We relish how you've begun to summon us so often now, the feeling is impossible to describe. Our 'eyes', thought imitating yours, had never before seen the sun, or the ocean, or the sky, or the clouds... to see through the eyes of our master the world that we influence..."

I grunted, "I'm not your master, not truly anyways. I may command you, but the relationship is not a master and his servants, the closest to THAT would be 'a leader and his teammates', but I think of us all as friends. I might be at the center, as the glue to bring us and keep us together..." I smiled at him, placing a hand on his shoulder, "...But we're together on a level deeper than any master could hope to achieve."

He smiled back, "I... think that you'd be disappointed, that I am unable to feel the same."

I wasn't just disappointed, I was heartbroken. I knew it was a longshot, but the evolution had done more than just make them all massively more powerful. It had given them a handle that I could grab onto and lift them up in ways more bonding than simply being a guide and a battery for them.

I dismissed him with a pat on the shoulder, commanding him to head off to help Roimontagne bug Blake and Nora, who were sparring tonight. I laid on the ground and sighed.

My life had changed so much in so little time. I'd gone from pretty much a physical nobody too stupid and weak to make a difference, to a man on par with full Hunters. I was reaching a plateau, too. I could tell, since there were only so many Miraganger Stars out within a reasonable distance, and I'd need to kill hundreds to get a couple levels above them, and then what?

At that point, no more levels unless I took myself to further lands with bigger, stronger Grimm. I might eke out a level in a year if it took so long to find sufficiently powerful Grimm to defeat or complete sufficiently difficult quests.

I stood up, leaping to the top of a nearby short building where Garnet had been placed to keep her safe from the destruction. I smiled at the excited kitten that had been enjoying all the flashy displays across the nearby area, dazzled in her tiny mind. I nodded to Xiburichu, who floated nearby, keeping his pool of flames away from the fragile baby.

I opened my profile, humming in contemplation. I had my friends, granted technically eight of ten of them were girls, but they were still my friends and I loved all of them dearly. I had been pushing myself as hard as I safely could, to grow stronger and be able to protect them all better.

 **-/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Big Star Boxer -} All Star Boxer  
** **Level: 73  
** **Class: Magic Knight -} Magic Knight / Tank v2  
** **Nickname: Knightlight**

 **HP: 44,100 -} 46,000  
** **AP: 180,000/180,000  
** **SP: 65,500 -} 68,000**

 **Strength: 86 -} 88 (+295%) (+115%) (+80%) (+175%) (+125%) = 818.8  
** **Dexterity: 78 -} 80 (+295%) (+115%) (+80%) = 501.5  
** **Vitality: 90 -} 92 (+295%) (+115%) (+80%) (+175%) (+50%) = 782.4  
** **Intelligence: 157 (+5) (+295%) (+50%) = 712  
** **Wisdom: 195 (+5) (+295%) (+50%) = 890  
** **Luck: 116  
** **Charisma: 85 -} 90**

 **Stat Points: 96**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 6'1 -} 6'2  
** **Weight: 250 -} 260  
** **Build: Med-Heavy Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blonde / Brilliant Azure / Medium Tan**

 **-/\\-**

I sighed. I didn't want to spend my points, because what I had and maybe less than a hundred more were all I could see myself realistically getting. I especially didn't want to spend them right now when my physical stats were getting closer and closer to the next benchmark. The days had been busy, not allowing for much time with training, but Time Dilation helped balance it back out. I cracked my neck, and put three points into INT, just to get it to the next multiple of ten.

 **Intelligence: 157 -} 160 (+5) (+295%) (+50%) = 734.25**

 **AP: 180,000 -} 185,000**

 **"Aurora" level increased by 1!**

I smiled. I had gotten the notification that I received the status effect **Natural Growth** , which I'd also noticed Weiss and Marbel had gotten.

 **An objective of the quest "A Boy of his Word" has been completed!**

I smiled a little wider. The quest was a silly one, a promise of a boy who didn't understand a damned thing about life, and whose heart and ideals were bigger than he could even hope to manage. Still... it had a charm to it, a sentimental value tied to days gone by.

I sighed heavily. We were nearly done with Vacuo, two more days, then we'd fly all the way to Vale, stop for a while to fuel and resupply, then we'd be on our way to Mistral.

My smile grew twice as wide when I thought about the chance to see Yang again. Our relationship might not have seemed entirely normal from an outside point of view, but we'd made a connection, and that connection was reinforced, bit by bit, with pretty much every sentence we exchanged. She was my Sun Angel, I was her Knightlight, we'd be the light in each others' lives that would cast away the night.

I sighed, shaking my head. The thoughts were wonderful, yes, but I still had things to do at the moment.

My class, or rather, classes, were a result of Roleplaying, which I was a little surprised by.

 **Roleplaying (Passive) (prestiged from Acting) Level: 11, Exp: 0.00%  
** **The ability to take on a role not your own, honed with constant practice until the illusion becomes as convincing as reality. Going yet even further than that final step, this skill allows one to dedicate themselves to multiple roles in life without the need to actively switch between.**

 **+750% role immersion  
** **+400% character immersion  
** **+350% voice alteration  
** **+420% body language control  
** **+600% emotion fabrication  
** **+18% Master Convincingness  
**

 **Allows you to equip 2 classes at once.**

I had managed to power-level it by not only rapidly equipping different combinations of two classes, but also telling some somewhat complex jokes to the others.

Even now, I maintained the steady flow of EXP by rapidly switching my classes, but the most common combination was Magic Knight and Tank v2, since it was preferred due to the usefulness of both and the lack of necessity in terms of Tank. I could have gone for Wizard v4, but it came with an 80% reduction in physical damage, which I guess would actually help not hurt the others so much during our spars... shit.

Facepalming, I once again switched the classes out. If I could select three classes, then I would, and I assumed that I'd probably get that ability with a high level in the skill. I definitely wouldn't be able to get more than four, if not for the realism (because if it was mental, I could certainly handle five or more different roles at once), then for the balance the Game had. I'd also found that I couldn't equip two of the same class in order to increase the effects.

Cracking my neck again, I turned to look at Garnet, who was standing on the tips of my fingers trying to see all the cool stuff going on. I smiled and pet her head, "You're a sweet kitten. I know for a fact that the others love you." I chuckled softly, "But regardless of your strange level of curiosity, I don't want you to get mentally, or physically damaged."

She meows in response, and I brought her close to my face. She took it as an invitation to nuzzle me, and we both smiled.

"It's time to increase your stats." I instructed simply, opening her profile and observing the changes from before.

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Garnet Arc  
** **Title: Blanketed with Good Will and Fortune  
** **Level: 51 -} 61  
** **Class: Cat  
** **Nickname: Lil Furball.**

 **Hit Points: 350 -} 400  
** **Aura Points: 400 -} 480  
** **Stamina Points: 600 -} 660**

 **Strength: 1 -} 2  
** **Dexterity: 2  
** **Vitality: 2  
** **Intelligence: 1 -} 2  
** **Wisdom: 1 -} 2  
** **Luck: 25  
** **Charisma: 30 -} 33**

 **Stat Points: 250 -} 300**

 **-/\\-**

I smiled and scratched under her tiny chin, "Impressive for someone who would instantly lose in any fight."

I gently waved her in front of the shiny numbers and letters, then closed it. Sure enough, she was confused and wanted it back, thus bringing up her own profile, which I saw had the buttons for increasing her stats.

I chuckled softly and lifted her up to Vitality, "Go on, press it." I said softly and encouragingly, smiling.

She poked the button, which made the number go up, and the other button light up. She meows and poked the other button, and the number went back down. She poked them both back and forth, enjoying the sight of the number moving.

I moved her away and tilted her so her tiny paw was over INT's button. Sure enough, she poked it and meowed in delight as the number changed. I let her bat at some of the buttons for a little while, then stopped her, not wanting to make her receive damage from the sudden surges in power, especially not when she was so fragile to begin with.

Booping her tiny nose to the minus buttons, I settled her down and tricked her into confirming the changes.

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Garnet Arc  
** **Title: Blanketed with Good Will and Fortune  
** **Level: 61  
** **Class: Cat  
** **Nickname: Lil Furball.**

 **Hit Points: 400 -} 2000  
** **Aura Points: 480 -} 2400  
** **Stamina Points: 660 -} 3300**

 **Strength: 2 (+10%) = 2.2  
** **Dexterity: 2 (+25%) = 2.5  
** **Vitality: 2 -} 10 (+10%) = 11  
** **Intelligence: 2 -} 8 (+25%) = 10  
** **Wisdom: 2 -} 8 (+25%) = 10  
** **Luck: 25  
** **Charisma: 33**

 **Stat Points: 300 -} 280**

 **-/\\-**

I healed her with over a hundred Soulforges to ease her distress, which had caused her to start trying to wiggle out of my grasp. I wrapped her in an Auric Embrace, soothing her as she passed out in my hold with a strained meow.

I frowned, saddened by her pain, and gently set her down. I commanded Pluviteus to clean her and stood up, stepping off of the roof.

It hurt, a lot of things hurt my heart right now, but I wouldn't be discouraged so easily.

Not Yang's distance.

Not Crocea's ignorance.

Not Garnet's sufferance.

I would continue, no matter what. I would become strong enough to keep my friends safe, to fuel the fires of love, and to give my elementals the gift of emotions.

I once thought the world as a neverending void of darkness, and myself too weak to make a difference, but no longer.

No longer was I weak and filled with fear.

No longer was I blinded by the illusion that the darkness was impenetrable.

No longer was I going to stand still and let the forces of evil continue.

I'd uplifted warriors of light.

I'd redeemed people who were once villains.

I'd gathered the necessary power to trek ever onwards.

I chuckled softly, smiling as I watched the others training. They were good, and they'd get better. We all would.

I had my friends by my side, and I'd get more friends too.

I'd bravely walk into the darkness in order to guide others to the light.

My party... we would stand together and chase away the night.

I was The Gamer, I was chosen to play this game, I was given the tools to take on this task.

"Xiburichu... you are Fire, and so I too am fire, because we are one."

He grinned, "We are. Is there something you want to say?"

"Yes." I said simply, turning to look him in his face, with his azure eyes and ash-filled maw, "Fire is the willpower of nature, both to create and destroy. It's warmth and pain and healing and destruction and all sorts of things." I smirked confidently, "And that willpower is enhanced even more by my mind and my soul.

I am The Gamer, that's what I was born to be, is it not? Destiny chose me to take up this mantle, it chose me to play The Game, to ascend to the power of legends and to fight against the eternal darkness, to possibly put an end to it. Whether I fight for two months, two years, or two centuries, I will play this Game." I clenched my fist, raising it to my face, "I will play the Game for as long as it takes...

...and I will win it, because I'm the fucking Gamer..." I unclenched my fist and held my fingers open for him to long hands with me, "...and we're all in this together, are we not?"

He looked taken aback, but slowly reached out, his flaming fingers touching mine, but instead of burning heat, what I felt was an invigorating warmth, "We are, Jaune. We are one."

I grinned vigorously, "Then let's get back to training, shall we?"

He grinned back, then flowed into my hand like a surge of water down a drain. I felt invigorated, then looked towards Ren and Nora, smiling and closing my eyes as I summoned Mystral.

 **Meditating on the elements and reaching out to hear the echoes of lessons from long ago has granted you the skill "Zhu Que's Vermilion Bird Style"**

 **Casting away the calls of despair has sharpened your mind and increased your INT by 2!**

 **Realizing part of your destiny as you ride the chariot of righteousness has increased your WIS by 5!**

I felt the heavy surge of power flooding into my system, and grinned with excitement.

Time to start training.

* * *

 _(The next morning, Jaune POV)_

 **"Roleplaying" level increased by 10!**

 **"Gaster Blaster" level increased by 70!**

 **"Prismatic Spray" level increased by 6!**

 **Manipulation of aura into mannic patterns has created the skill "Energy Beam"!**

 **"Energy Beam" level increased by 30!**

 **"Excalibur" level increased by 8!**

 **All "Boxing Champion" skill levels increased by 10!**

 **By raising "Energy Shot" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Energy Bullet"!**

 **By raising "Mana Bullet" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Mana Shotgun"!**

 **By raising "Ash Sparks" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Cinder Sparks"!**

 **By raising "Rain Burst" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Rain Blast"!**

 **By raising "Gravel Blast" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Pebble Blast"!**

 **By raising "Razor Winds" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Razor Windbursts"!**

 **By raising "Zapping Arcs" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Shocking Arcs"!**

 **"Battlemage" level increased by 15!**

 **(Many more notifications...)**

I cracked my neck, closing the many notifications of skill level increases. I began walking towards an Ursa Gigantus. I remembered the pain it once caused me, a long time ago, when I spent the night at the Rose/Xiao Long household, and once came stalking out of the forest.

I sighed at the memory. We'd all been so shocked back then, but now?

It roared and made to swipe at me, but I simply jumped over its claws and into the air. My fist rocketed into its chin with a flying uppercut, snapping its head clean off.

 **"Champion's Right Uppercut" level increased by 1!**

 **"Azure Dragon's Shocking Steps" level increased by 1!**

I'd found that Shocking Steps could be seamlessly used alongside my Boxing skills without interrupting either of their experience gains, and as such I'd been using them together all night.

The others had all called it a night, and I'd used another I.D. based skill to remove them from my 'realm' without having to destroy it.

I stretched time out as far as I could willingly manage, taking 12 hours to pass by the last 8.

Taking a moment to stretch my limbs out, I ceased the summoning of the usual army of Beowolves, Ursas, and Boarbatusks. My Magical Bombardment filled with Cinder Sparks. Whereas Ash Sparks were a dull and dim orange and gray, Cinder Sparks were significantly brighter and had much smaller amounts of gray per 'spark'.

I launched thousands of sparks at the last wave, each one lingering in the air or on fur and flesh for a couple of seconds before fading, dealing a bit under half the normal damage over that course of time.

With flames thinning the crowd out as HP was pissed everywhere, I funneled the remaining Grimm down a corridor formed by Roimontagne, about five feet wide. I watched as Ursas awkwardly tried to move as Boarbatusks scurried under-foot and Beowolves were willing to climb over their brethren to get to me faster.

I widened my stance and summoned a single Gaster Blaster, which rose from nonexistence under my feet, lifting me into the air. I held out a hand with a wide grin.

A swirling vortex formed in its mouth as it drew in an extremely long, ethereal breath, growing in size as I beefed it up with Aurora. Chuckling, I heard the hateful roars of the Ursas, and had only one response.

"'Roar' to you too, motherfuckers." and I snapped my fingers.

The air screamed in pain from the beam of plasma energy tearing through it, but its weeps of agony didn't compare to that of the remaining squadron of Grimm, which all cried out in unison as they were obliterated.

The skull disintegrated rapidly, and I landed on another that formed under me. I laid down on it and let Rain Blast pour over me, thousands of droplets soaking me and washing away sweat as I burned more Aura for calories, filling my Hunger bar fully. I exited the I.D. and cast an illusion of invisibility over the Gaster Blaster, using the actual buff on myself, and flew back to the hotel. I dismissed the GB without it firing, mostly thanks to my Ease of Casting being so high that I could 'reverse' the spell quite easily.

Teleporting to Weiss' suite, I smiled softly as I reached down and shook her gently, "Wakey wakey, sleep-head." we'd grown a lot closer over the past couple of days, mostly because it seemed like my presence was the only thing preventing her from getting her Motion Sickness symptoms, poor girl.

She was humiliated beyond belief at her condition, and though I'd made the White Fang apologize to her eight times, it still happened and there wasn't any changing that. She simply had a deep-set, trauma-based mental condition involving airships that resulted in her vomiting.

Groaning, she opened her eyes and looked up at me. I grabbed her hand and flipped her up out of the bed and into a tangle of covers, then pulled the blanket off of her with an auto-looting hand and deposited it back onto the bed, "You have 30 minutes to get ready for another stupid fucking advert recording."

She groaned again, though this time in a much more specific agony. I turned and walked out to give her some privacy, _Jaune W: I'm glad, at least, for these small things, because it can just be the two of us and not any other guards who don't know us like we do. :W  
_

 _Weiss W: Yeah, I suppose that's a positive point. The others still worry, though. They're not speaking against you or taking any steps against you, from what I've gathered, but it's definitely something they talk about. I hardly ever hear it, though, because they keep quiet around me, but I HAVE heard it. :W_

 _Jaune W: Well, as long as we don't have to deal with any more mutiny, I'm fine with them just talking. Workplace banter, and all. :W_

I heard her giggle a little, and sensed a smile. Rolling my shoulders, I focused on a different conversation, since she seemed to want to focus on her shower.

 _Jaune W: You there, babe? :W_

 _Yang W: Yeah, I am. What's up? :W_

 _Jaune W: Not much, just waiting for Weiss to get ready so we can go deal with lame advert recordings. It's going to net me and the SDC fucking millions, but all the people are so obnoxious. :W_

 _Yang W: Yikes. I had a test today, and I'm like 90% sure I passed. Studying was a breeze. I love having such high INT and WIS. :W_

 _Jaune W: Hehe, yeah, it's especially good as The Gamer, because I get benchmark skills. 9 for INT and WIS each so far, and all of them very useful. :W_

 _Yang W: Oh yeah right~. Say, when you get back to Vale, do you want to... I dunno, just... go out? :W_

 _Jaune W: On a date? Yes, I'd love that. I've missed my Sun Angel for quite a while now. :W_

 _Yang W: You've only been gone for 6 days! Then again, I guess that's a long time when we DON'T have the option to see each other at our leisure. :W_

 _Jaune W: Yeah... true. I've been tempted to chase the night and just put in my all to run all the way back to Vale. Given my boosts all together, I have a maximum speed of over Mach 2.5 :W_

 _Yang W: Wow... that's fast... so fast I don't even know how fast it is. :W_

 _Jaune W: Let's just say I could run from here to Vale in under 3 hours, barring any distractions. :W_

 _Yang W: Oh! Shit, that's awesome! Why don't you do that? :W_

 _Jaune W: Because then people will wonder where I am and I can't get back within a reasonable time. Any time that I would get there would be while you're in Signal or while you're asleep. Neither would work well :W_

 _Yang W: Damn. Alright, alright, I'll just wait, then. Waiting sucks ass, though. :W_

 _Jaune W: I know, baby girl, I know. I know it must be harder for you, too, since you don't have a Gamer's Mind to fight off these feelings. :W_

 _Yang W: I know, so you'll just have to make up for it with an even nicer date, then, Knightlight. :W_

I smiled softly at the use of my nickname, _Jaune W: I'll take you out for the best date you've ever had. :W_

 _Yang W: Well, the bar hasn't exactly been set very high in the past, but hopefully my dad and uncle will keep their distance. :W_

 _Jaune W: I doubt they can get into my Illusion Dimensions. We'll be safe and sound, don't worry. :W_

 _Yang W: I'll hold you to that. Arcs and words, what was the saying again? :W_

 _Jaune W: An Arc never goes back on his word. :W_

 _Yang W: Hehe, yeah, we'll see about that. :W_

I couldn't help but frown internally. Was she starting to doubt me? _Jaune W: Don't worry, babygirl, I won't let you down. :W_

I smiled and we shared another camera kiss, her eyes twinkling with happiness as we shared a heartfelt gaze.

Goddammit I loved her so much.

Turning off our cameras, I took a few glances around, my eyes honing in on exits and whatnot.

 **"Snapping Glance" level increased by 1!**

 **By raising "Snapping Glance" level to 99, you have earned the skill "Snapshot Glance"!**

Humming, I checked the skill, and found that as the name implied, I could capture images into my memory with greater ease and clarity now. Smiling, I tapped my foot as I combined Crocea, Mystral, and Jurist into Shimfan, playing music into my ears.

After a few more minutes, I checked the time, a quarter till ten, _Jaune W: Weiss, you nearly finished? :W_

 _Weiss W: Almost. While the ability to manipulate water certainly hastens my showers, I still need to use my soap. I'll be ready in four minutes maximum :W_

 _Jaune W: Alright. Six minutes is enough time to destroy a city block. :W_

 _Weiss W: Wait what? :W_

I grinned and coiled my legs in a crouch, charging a few Buffs up, mostly all of my Earth ones, plus Thunderous Motions. I.D. shimmered into existence and I broke through the ceiling, soaring over a thousand feet into the sky. I pulled my focus into **Superweight Field** , pouring over ten thousand AP into it and rocketing back towards the ground like... a rocket, basically.

My body struck the roof fist-first, and I plummeted through sheet after sheet of hard stone, feeling the shards rake at my skin, clothes, and armor.

 **"Shining Armor" level increased by 1!**

I smiled viciously as I sent out Razor Windbursts at the random Grimm that spawned inside the hotel, sensing how they worked similar to how their new name implied.

Energy Bullet flew at speeds faster than sound and presumably would go supersonic. Mana Shotgun had a larger amount of bullets fired, and that amount was increasing much like Energy Shot's amount had. Cinder Sparks were brighter, deadlier, and lingered in the air to deal some more damage to any who touched them. Rain Blast delivered over twice as much rain as before, but not much else. Pebble Blast had larger shots than before, but not much else. Razor Windbursts, as the name implied, burst on contact and sent out a small explosion of wind, meant to do a bit of damage and stumble/disorient the target. Shocking Arcs gained the iconic Lightning spell 'DEX Debuff' ability, but reduced the target's DEX by only 1 per 'arc', which meant a maximum of what I could guess would be 25 DEX. I doubted it would stack much higher as well, so it was little more effective than the far more damaging Shock Orb and Lightning Bolt.

Reaching the basement, I let Roimontagne and Crocea Mors send the debris at my now unarmored body like bullets.

I grit my teeth as I took the pain of being assaulted by thousands and thousands of sharpened shards of stone and metal, chewing through my HP and AP as I used Ki Body to combine the two regenerations together.

To illustrate how utterly _powerful_ my combined regeneration was now, due to all of my soul-enhancing abilities... I could regenerate from 1 HP to my maximum of 46k HP in just over six and one-thirds seconds.

 **"Physical Resistance" level increased by 1!**

Grinning, I let it all run through, then jumped back into the air well over a thousand feet, slipped back into the real world, redressing, and teleporting back into Weiss' room.

Shining Armor was one of the skills that I hardly remembered where it came from, but it was useful, since it allowed me to 'enchant' my armor and clothing to be protected by my Aura's effects, and allowed it to regenerate much like my body did. Given that leather was just treated skin, I could guess it was only slightly harder to regenerate.

Rolling my shoulders, I turned my head to see Weiss, now clean and fully dressed, walk out of her room, "You ready?"

She sighed, "As I'll ever be." she rolled her eyes, "Let's get this over with. A courier delivered some books to study yesterday and I've yet to look over them."

I nodded, "Alrighty then." I put my finger to my microphone on the communicators, "I'm coming down with Miss Schnee, heading to her 10 o'clock. Have a car ready when we get down there." I got a confirmation that my orders had been received, and walked with Weiss to the elevator.

We shared a smile, and entered the elevator.

* * *

 _(That night, Jaune POV)_

We collapsed out of the elevator when the doors opened, breaking our stalemate. Excalibur streaked through the air as I grabbed Weiss and spun us so I'd land on bottom.

Weiss pushed off of me, stumbling away and getting her balance. She was grinning, as was I, at the simple joy of relieving stress by hitting stuff.

"You're a disappointment to your entire family, and you love that. Admit it." I smiled jokingly. It had become something of a joke, since she wasn't very fond of her father or sister, and actually enjoyed being awash with the possibility of their disapproval.

She laughed, "The ones that are alive at least! The angels smile upon me, Arc, can you say the same?" she cast a glyph on me, throwing me into the air, before another glyph shot a flurry of energy arrows at me.

Regaining control of my body and flipping myself over with telekinesis and landing on my feet, I used Aurora and Elemental Aura to dispel the icy rods of energy and get rid of the brief status effect **Chilling Weakness** , then used the VB skill **Incandescent Glow** to start burning Weiss, forcing her to use her Aura to protect her.

Zhu Que's style was actually a lot more magical than I anticipated. More magic-based than even Qing Long, who I now decided was more of a magic swordsman than strictly a mage. The skill I was currently using was actually the _defensive_ technique of all things, emanating a field of burning heat and flames made to prevent the enemy from getting close, rather than directly protect from the attacks they'd make.

I reared my arm back, casting VB Feather Storm, forming nine feathers on the underside of my arm and swinging them at Weiss, watching them fly through the air and explode on a glyph shield.

I was suddenly assaulted by dozens of cuts from behind, but merely swung my elbow back and broke the glyph. We'd found that even if they appeared nearly entirely 2D, they were still made of Aurons and therefore could be 'broken' as with other 'hard' aura constructs, much like 'soft' constructs like Ren's pulses of force could be 'disrupted'.

Cracking my neck, I grinned, "I'd say yes, actually. Blake and Yang are angels blessed with virtue, and they smile at me." I chuckled and surged forwards, only to plow through the wall when Weiss expertly sidestepped, jabbing me maybe four times before I was out of range.

The thing about a person like me, though, was that even when falling from a thirty story building, the world was so small for me that I didn't panic in the slightest.

Tanking the fall, I surged Aura into my legs with Power Jump and surged straight back upwards, mentally counting down the distance. When I got within range of Weiss, pushed off of a square of solidified air, went through the wall, and impaled Weiss through the stomach with Excalibur, dismissing it seconds later as we hit the ground, "I win again, Weisscream." I began healing the wound with Soulforge. It was getting extremely close, but its EXP gain wasn't getting higher from the Fundamental Factors... I guess that's because I couldn't quite understand exactly how it worked?

"I told you not to call me that, or I'll call you... Goldstein."

I raised an eyebrow in confusion, then we shared a laugh as I knelt by her side. Observing the wound while it was healing wasn't getting me anywhere, and it was healed before too long, so I lost the opportunity there. Sighing, I stood up and helped Weiss to her feet, "At least be a tiny bit more creative, like... Arcrocious, like Atrocious but... y'know... _my name_."

She rolled her jaw, both to settle it after a few brutal punches there, and as if tasting the word, "I can accept that. Arcrocious it is, then, even if you're really quite excellent."

"And you're really quite... not food." we shared a laugh at the stupidity of my statement, "And I guess warm too." I ruffled her hair, which was tied back in a low ponytail to keep it out of the way.

"You're the warm one." she sighed and leaned into my side. We'd established that she had a thermal disability and I helped greatly, and I'd already been helping her since my aura nearby (read: within touching distance) seemed to prevent her from getting airsick, "And your jokes are Arcrocious."

 **You have gained the nickname "Arcrocious" from Weiss!**

I chuckled supercharged Roimontagne and he brought the building into a controlled collapse, my agile feet carrying Weiss all the way down without either of us getting hurt. The random odd chip of stone just bounced off her Aura's shielding, and we ended up in the basement. Dismissing the ID, we were greeted with the sight of the others training, and I set Weiss on her feet, "Alright!" I raised my hand and my voice to get everyone's attention, "I think that's enough for tonight!" Crocea's power came to bear and turned the equipment back into unshaped steel, "Tomorrow is our last day in Vacuo, so let's all get rested up. We leave in the morning."

With a curious eye, I looked at everyone with Gamer's Sight.

 **Marbel Mayston  
** **Title: The White Rook of the Flowering Kingdom -} The Brave White Rook of the Flowering Kingdom  
** **Level: 53**

 **Blake Belladonna  
** **Title: The Nighttime Beauty -} The Deadly Midnight Beauty  
** **Level: 55**

 **Weiss Schnee  
** **Title: The Frosty Princess looking at her Blade -} The Cold Princess holding her Blade  
** **Level: 45 -} 47**

 **Johnathan Arc  
** **Title: The Ninth Moon to Illuminate the Night  
** **Level: 110**

 **Lie Ren  
** **Title: A Blossom of the Wind -} A Monk of the Wind Blossom  
** **Level: 35 -} 46**

 **Nora Valkyrie  
** **Title: A Warrior of the Hammer -} A Warrior of the Storm Hammer  
** **Level: 37 -} 49**

I'd taken Ren and Nora out grinding on Grimm, happening upon a dungeon that was a ruined castle populated with hundreds of Lizalgrunts and dozens of Lizalwarts, with a 'boss' Lizaleneral.

 **You gained the item "Dash Potion (x1)"**

 **You gained the armor "Cresilerk"!**

 **You gained the weapon "** **Graunsclarush"!**

Nora was actually wearing Cresilerk, since it was a massive step up from Sphinreber and even the other armors, made from aluminum brass plates (which I'd coated with titanium for a silver sheen like she wanted) and having a silicon carbide lining, presumably from combining lightning magic like the sword conducted, and fire magic to electrolyse the sand into its component silicon and oxygen particles.

All in all, it was clever, and Ren was thankful that Nora was better protected, even if he'd been embarrassed to admit it. I also noticed him talking to her and, shortly after, her INT increased by 10 through usage of points, plus 5 more points used to balance out her physical stats a little.

Overall, it seemed like their training under Hoshi had at least conditioned them to be disciplined and vigorous when it came to all training. It seemed, though, that while Hoshi had dedicated himself to one art, the Vermilion Bird, Ren had grabbed bits and pieces of the four arts and brought them together, using his own ingenuity and cleverness to make them work.

I think Weiss might have been a little upset about being the lowest leveled person in the party, but most of her training was conditioning and skill development, not necessarily leveling up. Despite that, I answered her silent request and taken her out to fight some shit. With just the two of us, the EXP was split halfway, instead of five ways, meaning we got a LOT more.

Cracking my neck, I watched everyone finish going to their rooms. Ren and Nora clearly weren't opposed to sharing a room, which was good because we only had one spare. I went to my own room, which I rarely used, and sat on the bed.

I sighed as I laid down, staring at the ceiling and meditating with my eyes open. I closed them and began willing myself to sleep.

Sleep was important for people, not only did it give them a period of time to recover while the rest of the body rested, it helped their minds organize and process their thoughts during a time of no other input.

The Fundamental Factors of Intelligence and Wisdom were telling me to sleep, to let Gamer's Mind organize everything, and I was willing to comply... but not at the moment.

Sitting up, I sighed and rubbed my face, looking around the little room. I decided that nothing here was worth looking at and stood up again, equipping my traveling clothes and teleporting up to the street.

Looking out over the horizon, I cracked my knuckles, equipped every single thing I had that could increase my speed, slipped into ID, and blasted off.

 **For achieving incredible speeds, you've earned the title "Twice Pacing a Bullet"!**

I smiled, equipping it and getting a bit more speed. At the current limit of my speed, I was going over two-thousand miles per hour, a bit over Mach 2.7.

I had places to be, and so I sent a message ahead.

* * *

 _(Ten minutes later, Jaune POV)_

"I'm glad that you were willing to have this little midnight chat, Sayon."

The man smiled politely, "It is no problem, Arc-san. Every moment of my waking life is dedicated to everything the world may require of me. I do believe sleep insignificant for men like us, no?"

I nodded, "My semblance lets me ignore just about any mental status effect besides an eternal state of calm rationale... it can be overtaxed, but sleep is incapable of doing that."

He hummed, gently blowing at his tea, "So you came for a simple chat, or for a purpose?"

"I did, I simply decided we could wait until our second cups of tea before we could get down to business." I smiled, "So how's Shade been?"

"It has been Shade. No different than it has been before or what it may continue to be. We hide the people in the shadow of a guardian as the guardian stands in the light, fights away forces of evil that wish to take our safe place." he hummed softly, taking another sip of tea.

I nodded, "And that's why the giant statue is out front?" a winged, robe-concealed man with hands holding a sword outwards, statues of innocents standing in his shadow.

He smiled, "Precisely, and why school was built into the ruins of a long-gone city."

I hummed, "And why, if I may ask, was the actual city not built here?"

He sighed, "Its current location has much greater closeness to water. The desalinization plant there is also great source of jobs for people, as are the others."

I nodded, "Well that's good." I set down my empty teacup.

Sayon took one last sip of his cup, then set it down across from mine and filled them both back up, "So... to business, then? What you request of me?"

"I give help, I get help in return, that's how this deal works does it not?" I received an affirmative nod, "I've turned the White Fang to my side, and they're under the impression that my semblance is conjuring, as does my security team. I need you to forward to Ozpin that he needs to vouch for me when I bring up the proposition of the Kingdom of Celeste. I'm currently working on it, but when the time comes I need him to be ready to give the go-ahead. I've made the image that I am conjuring the place from the ground itself. I'm going to need an assload of Earth Dust crystals, which I've been made to believe are relatively rare for Hunters to use?"

"Not as much as fire, air, water, energy, ice, or lightning. I believe only gravity is rarer, if only for the price."

I nodded, "Right, and I'm going to need an assload of Earth Dust crystals to help me get more earth to manipulate and turn into buildings. I'm not keen on trying to turn the entire damn mountain into a city, I have plans for it. I also plan to reclaim Friar and Glenn as well, if it's worth mentioning."

He hummed, "If you may write this down, I could inform him of it more easi-" he stopped when a stack of papers nearly slammed down onto the table, "Notes?"

"I suggest getting photocopies of all that. They'll only last 38 hours before the ink fades. That's a rough sketch of all my plans for the next few months."

He hummed, then went wide-eyed, "Is the 'beach vacation' necessary?"

I shrugged, "People go crazy without fun in their lives, the beach is fun."

He sighed, "You are correct, then. I suppose this is fine, then." he set the papers down, then called for someone to come collect them, "I assume you don't have permanent copies?"

"Nope, so send them to me too. I'll need to review them." I smiled, "Anyways, I gave something, and I requested something back, that's nearly all I came for." I drank the rest of the tea, "To process a transfer of knowledge. I'm going to need copies of some books from your library, mostly ones about weapon proficiency, as well as maybe one or two advanced books written by master swordsmen?"

He nodded, "I'll have copies provided, at least. I do not plan on letting my unique books get burnt up as your semblance absorbs the power."

I nodded, "Right, right, of course. Don't worry, I wouldn't do something so cruel." I would, but chose not to, since I didn't want to piss off the Illuminati.

"You've done very well, Arc-san. A few books to a student is hardly a price under normal circumstances, the relief you've provided us... doubtless." he smiled at me, sending a quick message on his scroll, "You will be compensated. You're good man, Arc-san, no need for money from us, only knowledge. The path towards enlightenment."

I deadpanned, "Is it just a habit that you all make light-based puns?"

He shook his head, "No, not truly." he looked over his tea and at the fireplace, then his eyes lit up with realization, "Ah, take this. Ozpin felt you might make some sort of accomplishment in Vacuo, and sent this for you to receive after completion." he produced a small amulet from inside his robe, holding it out towards me, "Take it. It has no tie back to us, but we will know what it means." I took it and examined it as I turned it over in my hands. A white crystal with a leather string wrapped expertly around it, "He suggested an item of power would be of more value to you than one merely of symbolism. It still symbolic, but more to your liking."

 _ **Luminescent Amulet  
**_ _ **Description: A small crystal of Light dust tied with a leather strap treated with natural oils to make it strong, yet comfortable to wear. It gleams with power.**_

 _ **Effects: +5% resistance to all Elemental magics. +60% Ease of Casting to all Elemental spells.**_

I smiled and equipped it, "Thank you."

"Ah, it is bribery, I wish to rely more on trust. You are an honest soul, I knew you would do well for us." he smiled pleasantly at me, "Let this good faith continue, and we will provide for each other as allies."

I smiled and nodded, "Of course. I wasn't going to stop just because I got a cool amulet. I should get back to the others, make sure they're alright. I'm a lot more tired than before, so perhaps I'll take some time to sleep."

He yawned as well, "Yes, it been many moons since I last slept. I will rest as well. Goodnight, Arc-san." he bowed.

I bowed too, looking in his eyes, "Goodnight, Miyagito-san." we nodded, and I walked out of the room.

On the way out, I was flagged down by a woman carrying a stack of books. Graciously accepting them, I stowed them into my inventory, gave the brief explanation of 'conjuring semblance', and left.

I had dreams to go have.

* * *

 _(?, Jaune POV)_

 _I blinked as I found myself standing in the streets of Vale. I had Crocea Mors in my hand, and could see my friends all fighting against a horde of Grimm._

 _I saw, in the far distance, obscured by fog and the crimson sky, a stampede of massive elephant-shaped Grimm heading straight for us. I ran towards them, intending to intercept them._

 _They trumpeted thunder at me, sending my backwards, but Mystimunja countered them, and I pushed through. Gaster Blasters roared to life and vaporized the legs of the Goliaths, sending them into a crashing, rolling stop. My blade struck true, cutting massive furrows into flesh and rending bone plates apart. One of them seemed to gather energy together, then blasted me with a massive jet of water, sending me through several buildings._

 _Not content to let them get away with that, I teleported to it and lashed out with Sunbeam Zweihander, severing the beast's head and disintegrating its body with Gaster Blasters. Casting it several more times softened the whole lot up again. The fog, which had cleared just from the sheer forces they'd been exerting, burnt away as one of them opened its mouth, drawing in flames and what seemed like sunlight itself. I wasn't keen on finding out what it planned to do, so I launched myself forwards and doused its flames with Crashing Wave, followed by peppering it with Water Pulses._

 _Unfortunately, I was grabbed out of the air and slammed into the ground by another trunk, which I then cut off. I was surrounded, and so I decided to do what I did best._

 _Spray and pray._

 _I floated up, far beyond their trunks reaches, and began simply spamming every single ranged magic attack I had, occasionally throwing in a dozen Far Strikes for good measure._

 _I gradually ground them all into paste, annihilating them with all the spells I could muster. With a heaving sigh, I landed on the ground._

 _And then I found myself lifted from behind, a clawed hand thrust through my chest. I looked down and saw blood streaking the white bone claws. Pushing myself away with telekinesis, I spun and landed on my feet, heaving as the damage healed._

 _ **Grimm Zombie**_  
 _ **Title: Damned into Darkness and Anonymity**_  
 _ **Level: 84**_

 _It looked like... Jade, if half his flesh was torn off and his throat torn out, the meat shredded, and then put back together and painted black. Bone plates formed over his hands and feet where his weapons previously were, and he let out an inhuman roaring sound, disharmony in his tone as his roar was laden with cracks of higher pitches, grating on my ears. I stood up and cast my buffs, feeling the energy, and swung my sword..._

 _Only to have it suddenly fall into two pieces, shorn in half by extreme flames._

 _Another Grimm Zombie was at my side, and shot me with a blast of dark energy, knocking me back several feet. I grit my teeth as I glared at it... it was Kroma._

 _"Wait... is this some kind of 'facing my demons' dream? Hell no! I summoned Gaster Blaster and immediately shot the two, immediately destroying a weak layer of black energy with splotches of color splattered throughout it, followed by the two of them._

 _I was..._ lucid dreaming, I realized, and found it... oddly boring. I snapped my fingers and immediately Vale was restored to its whole self and the sky had turned to that of a bright and sunny day.

I smiled, walking back to where my friends all were, and gave Yang a hug. Chuckling softly, I took her on a date, letting the others go do whatever it was they desired.

It was... nice...

* * *

 _(?, ? POV)_

 _I awoke in bed, feeling light, with a pair of arms around me. I slid them off and got out of bed and onto my feet, standing up and stretching, letting out an inhuman sigh as I did. Rubbing my eyes, I very unstably walked into the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and threw some water into my face. Rubbing it around, I blearily looked into the mirror, closing my eyes after confirming my blond hair was as it was. My skin felt oddly smooth this morning, and I paused and felt at it a slight bit more._

 _A sudden draft blew across my chest, and I shivered lightly at the sensitivity of my skin. As more of my body woke up, I became aware of my hair tickling at my shoulders..._

 _Huh?_

 _I opened my eyes and stared at the woman in the mirror. Brilliant cyan eyes, golden blonde hair reaching several inches down her back, a slender and very fit figure with medium-sized, perky breasts capped with light pink nipples. I blushed at the sight, and saw her blush too._

 _My mind was still turning on, and I realized I should use Gamer's Sight on her, seeing the information pop up above her head._

 ** _Jane Arc  
Title: All Star Boxer  
Level: 73_**

 _Lightning filled my head as I realized what I was seeing, and I let out a shriek._

 _"Zzz-zhuh? Babe? Are you alright?" I heard a male voice call out groggily, and cautiously walked to the bathroom door, staring at my bedmate._

 ** _Yang Xiao Long  
Title: Hotter than the Sun in the middle of July  
Level: 60_**

 _A man with shoulder-length blonde hair who... honestly looked like a Vacuan-blooded Thor with a slightly slimmer build that owed more to speed, sat up, propping his body up on one hand and staring at me, his cheeks reddening, "I uh... m'I still dreaming?" he asked with a yawn, staring at my... breasts._

 _I opened my mouth to speak, but just sort of ended up fainting like a little bitch._

* * *

 _(?, ? POV)_

 _I smiled as I frolicked in the meadow, my legs moving freely to carry my body past grass and flowers. It was a wonderful time to be alive._

 _I looked at the woman who had led me onto this path, our smiling eyes locking for a few moments._

 ** _#* &((*#%*& #&  
Title: A Lady of Strength, Vigor, and Passion  
Level: 41_**

 _We shared a laugh, stopping in a meadow of flowers and picking a few. A gust of wind blew by, twirling the petals of a spin-blossom I held out to her. She smiled and took it, giving a sniff of its light and airy scent._

 _An aged hand snuck over and placed a trio of large, healthy daisy blossom in her hair, the yellow contrasting the bright red. She smiled at me, and I returned it._

 _A weight slammed into my shoulders, but I was stronger than I looked, " **# %Y# (* &!#**, it's nearly time, I can feel it~." I turned and smiled at the cheerful woman who'd helped revitalize my long-forgotten garden, which now teemed with life thanks to my influence over nature._

 ** _#*( &%*&(# %& #  
Title: A Lady of Vitality, Love, and Nurturing  
Level: 34_**

 _I ruffled her hair, "Time for what, young lady?"_

 _"Time for dinner, of course!"_

 _Dinner? When was the last time I'd eaten? I could hardly remember. Probably explained my frailty. My head hurt just thinking of it all._

 ** _Name: (#! &*#  
Title: (#*#!#&) Nature  
Level: (##_**

Nickname: Mr. # (* #*face

 ** _# (*% &# *(&# %_**

 ** _INT: 400  
WIS: 400_**

 ** _#% &*# *&(%# #_**

 ** _Age: 962_**

 ** _# *( &%# %(!#)&^_**

 _I groaned, "Ah, well could you help me back, then? These old bones aren't the sturdiest." I stretched out an arm, taking in the sight of the tattered sleeve of my dirty grass-green shirt, one I'd probably worn for months straight. I sighed and felt the two sisters help me walk, which was surprising. I was sure after seeing me practically run a marathon and only get a little winded, they'd assume I was faking it. I suppose they were truly kind after all, which said a lot._

 _We walked back to my home, the ruins of a once great city, reduced all the way down to a single shabby house. Lilian watched in awe as my magic came to bear... # &* !#)&#% & the pattern of power flowed and plants grew into the foundations and walls, but rather than tear them down, the vines and ivy and flowers built it back up, reinforcing it with nature's will itself._

 _"Tired already? You should rest, it's only right." a third voice spoke up, and I looked at the stoic woman with pale blue hair smiling softly at me._

 ** _* &( #*&%#&)%!# #  
Title: A Lady of Wisdom, Calm, and Temperament  
Level: 37_**

 _She laughed as I glared at her, "I'm not young like you girls." I said with a sigh, plopping down into my seat at a table I could only assume **# )(%# * &** had either found or provided. Very resourceful, that girl. She'd go far in life._

 _Sighing in malcontent, I snapped my fingers and dozens of leaves fell down on her all at once, getting into her hair and making her react as I'd expect any woman to: with panic followed by rebuke._

 _ **( #$* &%) #& **went over and quickly helped her sister with the leaves, while another figure came up over the horizon._

 ** _# &*(%(# * *) #*  
Title: A Lady of Intelligence, Poise, and Grace  
Level: 43_**

 _I hummed curiously. While she definitely wasn't as much of a fighter as **# )(^ #^ &* **, she definitely was a lot smarter and more capable of thinking on her feet._

 _She regarded me with kind eyes, "Hello, great wise man." she smiled, "I am **# (*% $ &%#** and I'm-" her words were drowned out by a ringing in my ears. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, taking in the scents of the food._

 _"I wish I could repay you, but... I'm a lowly hermit, I have nothing." my inventory was barren but for several essentials, "You're all so kind."_

 _I sighed, thinking about the failure that was my life. I had no friends, in fact if it weren't for my perfect memory, then four centuries of no human contact would have led me to completely forget how to even speak. Talking to myself kept me sane most days, as I meditated without end, stopping only to keep my home from collapsing or the roof from leaking._

 _I smiled, catching the brown-haired woman's words even without truly listening. I could feel the kindness in their hearts and souls, something I could simply sense._

 _I realized that... their kindness, their pure hearts and the power they had the potential to wield... it wasn't ideal, not at all._

 _Compressing seven into four, it already made my head ache at the necessary work. I'd become rather lazy and lethargic over the past three centuries, but conjuring the powers of the light were rather easy._

 _The ground shook slightly, "You all are such kind, perfectly virtuous individuals." I didn't even listen to my own words as I allowed them to witness my power without fear, and the light of my soul first glowed around me, then shone outwards with a corona of light._

 _I began to glow like a star, then the brilliant white light split the night sky apart, and finally the very sky itself turned bright white as my light penetrated far into the atmosphere. All at once, it disappeared, and compressed into seven orbs of energy floated around my body. I smiled, melding them into four and **#(*% &* #&*%(# ) #^&# &*%(*#&^%&***_

 ** _#*() # &*(^ #^) #&*()# *&(#! ^&*) #^&(* #$^%)!#!)!&#*% &^# #$#$^#^#^#!#!#%)*%# %_**

 _The four women smiled at me, in awe over their new powers, while I myself felt quite drained._

 ** _AP: 461,343/49,000,000_**

 _My very soul had been weakened, three years of progress with my meditation instantly reversed. At the very least, they'd all been massively empowered, enough to push back the threats that face this world. I was far too frail and out of practice to do it all, and my light... **# (% &*&*%!# %&* #**_

 ** _# %*# *% & #&*%&*_**

 _About a mile back, I followed them, my **#^% &* #$*&^)** and observed how they helped others... it brought joy to my heart._

 _I was glad I made the right choice._

* * *

 _(The next morning, Jaune POV)_

I awoke with a soft smile, feeling warm inside. It was honestly a nice ending, despite what The Game said.

 **You suffered from an "Ominous Nightmare"! What could it mean?**

 **You did not recover any HP, AP, or SP.**

 **(glitchy eye-fucking text)**

 **SYSTEM UPDATE: The Fundamental Factor of Intelligence has caused many updates!**

 **SYSTEM UPDATE: Some previously unresolved numbers have been resolved.**

 **Many skills have received many levels!**

 **"Sword Proficiency" level increased by 20!**

 **"Ki Breathing" level has increased by 20!**

 **"Soul of the World" level increased by 15!**

 **"Green Thumb" level increased by 10!**

 **"Nature's Bond" level increased by 20!**

 **"Power Burst" level increased by 40!**

 **"Cyclone Strike" level increased by 30!**

 **By raising "Far Strike" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Far Slayer"!**

 **By raising "Bullrush" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Bulldoze"!**

 **"Rushing Strike" level increased by 30!**

 **Your high level of WIS has granted the class "Monk v5"**

 **SYSTEM UPDATE: All classes have gained special attributes!**

 **Etc.**

I filed the rest of the notifications away for later, humming as I felt at Far Slayer and Bulldoze. While Far Strike projected an attack, like a punch or a sword strike, Far Slayer projected much more. Instead of an amorphous projection of force, it was shaped much more like my fist or my sword.

Slipping into ID, I brought Crocea Mors into my hand and cut a furrow through the wall about the length of the blade. It actually had a modifier for 'Attack Size', which pretty much said that I'd get a larger 'slayer' as the skill leveled up.

Launching dozens of the strikes and effectively destroying the wall and most of the furniture, I could level it up until I saw what could be reasonably assumed to be every attribute of the skill change. At level 6, the range finally increased, and I was satisfied. I switched to my gear, sheathed Crocea the sword, and dropped ID, appearing in the middle of the room in a spot that Realm Summon helped tell me was clear of anybody else.

I snapped my fingers as I appeared, getting everyone's attention, "Good morning everyone." I smiled at them all, "We've got a pretty full day, all things considered, so I need you all to be ready ASAP."

Most of them didn't speak, just gave a small, inarticulate sound and moved with noticeably more speed and urgency, and I made sure that they all got what they needed.

It felt nice to help them out.

* * *

 _(Later that night, Jaune POV)_

"Thank you everyone~! I've loved just about every single minute I've been in Vacuo, this kingdom is beautiful, and I'll have to return in the future. Thank all of you for coming out here tonight, you all are so wonderful, I think I might just do an encore!" there were cheers and claps from the crowd, and Weiss smiled, before diving into one last song.

I knew the joy wasn't from the singing, but rather the massively improved time she's had thanks to being able to have friends, real and true friends that didn't see her as a bank or a princess, just as Weiss Schnee.

To be honest, she'd had the barest modicum of receiving my respect when we first met, and that's only because she was able to hold what seemed like half her bodyweight in liquor. Respect from me wasn't just given, it was _earned_ , and I'd be damned if Weiss hadn't earned my respect by turning a new leaf and proving she could keep up with the training, even if she may have felt inferior.

I'd been purposefully increasing the difficulty of her training as she went along, so while she might have felt improvements, her progress wouldn't _look_ as quick as it actually _was_.

Ren and Nora were something else, and that wasn't a joke. Ren, despite what he might have seemed with his low SP, was a fucking machine, and seemed to be able to draw on his AP to pay for SP costs at an extremely high efficiency. Just yesterday, he actually worked until he passed out from exhaustion. Of course, I'd made sure to bring him back up with Soulforge, which I'd found that if I used I.D. duplicated Dust Crystals, the effect actually still worked, surprisingly, as long as it was used in the I.D. and not outside. As long as the effect was performed fully inside the I.D., I could save money and resources and just use the duped crystals.

It probably had something to do with Metal, I honestly didn't really know. The Game tended to come up with rules with no rhyme or reason for them, leaving me to guess what would be effective and what wouldn't.

I cracked my neck, something I'd noticed I'd begun to do a lot of recently. I sighed... another thing I'd begun to do a lot. My fingers curled and uncurled, and as expected nobody attempted to do anything. Luck probably had something to do with that.

Weiss finished her encore and there was more cheering, but she decided to end it there. I left the monitoring room and met her in her room. I smiled, "Well. That's all I can say about your show, you did very well. I loved it, and you really grabbed their hearts with that encore. I think tonight we should all take a break, whaddya say?" I walked up to stand behind her, smiling a little as I began braiding her powder-soft, smooth, snow-white hair, "Have a few drinks to celebrate getting through Vacuo and making eight new friends along the way." I smiled at her, finishing the braid with expert ease... why did I do that again? I just sort of felt like, really. Weiss looked really cute with a braid, and I smiled, patting her shoulder.

She smiled up at me, "That sounds wonderful. I should probably disguise myself, though."

I nodded, "No need, my I.D. can get us into any bar we want."

She tilted her head, "The drinks in an I.D.'d bar are actually viable?"

I nodded with a broad smile, "I'm pretty sure if I can use I.D. duplicated Dust Crystals to use Soulforge Restoration with all of its normal function, we can drink I.D. duplicated alcohol." chuckling, I lifted her to her feet, "Cooooome on, we're going to pubs and taverns, and it's gonna be great."

Weiss kicking her legs briefly, then calmed as I set her on her feet, "D-don't pick me up like that." I saw her blush, and chuckled, "Don't laugh at me! Come on, you dunce, we should collect the others."

"Already covered." I heard Blake say as she opened the door, "Come on, Miss Schnee." she said professionally, to keep up appearances, "We've only a few hours until it's time to leave Vacuo."

Marbel came in moments later, "From there, as you know, we'll be stopping in Vale to refuel and restock the ship, then we'll be flying to Mistral to continue the tour."

Weiss nodded, "Of course, just as scheduled." _Weiss C: We're going out to get drinks. :C_

 _Marbel C: Yeah, that's the plan. :C_ "Alright, we should make our way back to the hotel."

 _Blake C: It would be best to make them think we're all there, meanwhile Jaune can make sure we don't take too long by extending the time we're in the I.D. :C_ "Right this way, everyone."

 _John C: I shouldn't be condoning this type of behavior, but honestly the booze here is too good to keep all to myself, I'd feel disgustingly selfish. :C_

 _Jaune C: So it's settled then, we leave immediately. :C_

All smiles, we headed out, past the crowd outside (which took an extra ten minutes as Weiss generously signed most things people were requesting, but a couple of 'dragons' made the bolder people back up), we got into the limos and began making our way back to the hotel.

* * *

 _(Hours later, Jaune POV)_

I sighed as I sat on the side of Weiss' bed. I wasn't going to sleep tonight, because Weiss needed me, but I still had limits.

Even if she'd looked adorably pitiful when she drunkenly requested that I stay near her while she slept, I refused to lay down beside her, instead feeling the faint warmth and pressure of her back mere inches from mine as I stared at the mirror.

I'd already grown what looked like a short beard, and my hair had grown out to be a few inches long. My very high VIT was probably the cause, accelerating my body's growth.

I sighed again, still focusing most-all my attention to my meditation, lest I break it. I breathed in and out, slowly and steadily.

I felt the elements outside of my body, the wind outside, the electricity running through the ship, the metal body of the ship which I'd reinforced entirely, the warmth of my body and the warmth I was focusing onto Weiss because of her thermal fragility, the earth let me feel a little at the plastics in the ship, but just barely. I felt the teeny tiny amount of moisture in the air, but Pluviteus let me enjoy sailing on the ocean within my thoughts. I was able to reach out much further, and feel significantly more than before.

I sighed for the third time, mentally jotting down everything I needed to do tomorrow, followed by preparing some plans for all of that. It would be a bit of a rush, but I'd do everything I could.

Vale... I'm coming home!

... for a little while, at least.

* * *

 **Well, that's that, then! End of chapter, FINALLY! It only took me over 50k words, a new record.**

 **About a whole third of the the chapter's entire length (omake included) is just the White Fang stuff.**

 **Ren and Nora join the party, because Jaune sees in them a great potential and the essence of true Hunters.**

 **Even big corporations run ads, just look at McDonald's and Walmart.**

 **I lost a lot of ending explanation stuff because Chrome randomly crashed, and I don't feel like explaining it all again, so let me sum up the rest:**

 **A large theme in this story is "Knowledge and passive power can only take you so far, it's up to you to take the final step", and a damn good example is how Jaune prestiged both Aura into Aurora, and Summon Elemental into Summon Elemental V2.**

 **Weiss pushed forward and embraced the positivity of her new friendships, as well as the light within herself, allowing her to prestige Aura.**

 **Blake's method was a little different, she held back her negative emotions and helped the VcWF (VaCuan White Fang) to get regrouped, AND helped Jaune place himself as the person currently pulling the strings in the WF as a whole. This ability to do what's right despite what she feels allowed her to embrace the strength of her soul and prestige Aura.**

 **Marbel may not be prestiging Aura for a little while, but she's taken her first major steps into becoming a true Huntress, washing her civilian mindset with a major dose of courage, which The Game helped her do by assisting her in unlocking a new facet of her semblance. Now the Rook(ie) has officially been Knighted. One day she may become a full chessboard!**

 **Next chapter will have Vale City, Beacon, VaWF (Valean White Fang), the Rose/Xiao-Long sisters, Celeste, and more before they head off to Mistral.**

 **Now that that's all out of the way, you know what time it is!**

* * *

 _Omake: Bending Rules, Acting like Fools_

* * *

 _(Summertime, Jaune POV)_

As the smoke from the massive magical explosion cleared, I found myself staring down at Yang, humming curiously. This was...

"Ohmigosh you're so CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTE~!" Ruby squealed as she picked her sister up, hugging her tightly as I observed her.

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Name: Yang Xiao Long  
** **Title: Hotter than the Sun in the middle of July -} The Little Sun-Candle Hatchling  
** **Level: 60  
** **Class: Fiery Martial Artist  
** **Nickname: Sunflower**

 **Hit Points: 25,000 (-90%) = 2500/2500  
** **Aura Points: 15,000/15,000  
** **Stamina Points: 35,000 (-90%) = 3500/3500**

 **Strength: 90 (+310%) = 369 (-85%) = 55.35  
** **Dexterity: 70 (+50%) = 105 (-80%) = 21  
** **Vitality: 90 (+120%) = 198 (-90%) = 19.8  
** **Intelligence: 60 (+50%) = 90 (-20%) = 72  
** **Wisdom: 60 (+50%) = 90 (-20%) = 72  
** **Luck: 32  
** **Charisma: 100 (+20%) = 120**

 **Age: 17 -} 7  
** **Birthday: December 12th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 5'9 -} 3'10  
** **Weight: 200 -} 50  
** **Build: Med-Heavy Athletic -} Healthy Young Girl  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blonde / Brilliant Lilac Purple / Light Tan -} Youthful Pallor  
** **Cup Size: E -} N/A**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

"Ruby let gyoooooooo~." the de-aged Yang whined childishly, pushing against her sister, but even with her aura-enhanced strength, her smaller body just wasn't strong enough to break free.

"I'm gonna dress you up all cute and you can't stop me!" Ruby giggled evilly, retribution burning bright in her eyes.

Yang seemed to realize she couldn't fight back, and instead opted to simply whimper.

I put a hand on Ruby's shoulder, "Ruby, please, don't. Just don't. She doesn't deserve that."

"She tried to dress me up as a stripper. I'll help you with any sort of bibs or diapers or anything else you want to humiliate her with, Ruby." I heard a very familiar, but oddly smooth voice say, and turned to its source.

 **Name: Blake Belladonna**  
 **Title: The Deadly Midnight Beauty -} The Angelic Midnight Beauty**  
 **Level: 65**

 **Age: 17 -} 21**

She had... well, she had developed pretty well, I might dare say she was ridiculously gorgeous. She filled out and stood at a respectable 6'0.

I turned to the others, observing them all.

 **Name: Ruby Rose  
Age: 15 -} 25**

 **Name: Marbel Mayston  
Age: 15 -} 25**

 **Name: Weiss Schnee  
Age: 17 -} 22**

 **Name: Nora Valkyrie**  
 **Age: 17 -} 8  
**

 **Name: Lie Ren  
Age: 17 -} 21**

 **Name: Pyrrha Nikos  
Age: 17 -} 14**

I blinked, he blinked back, and it took me a few seconds to realize I wasn't staring at a mirror.

 **Name: John Arc**  
 **Age: 45 -} 17**

As my dad stepped closer, I realized I towered over him, and checked myself.

 **Name: Jaune Arc**

 **Age: 17 -} 34  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 6'2 -} 6'9  
** **Weight: 260 -} 350  
** **Build: Med-Heavy Athletic -} Heavy Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blonde / Brilliant Azure / Medium Tan**

I blinked, then looked at everyone again, counting it all out. Fifty years, fifty total years were taken and redistributed among ourselves.

Nora was whining too, but about wanting candy rather than not wanting to get dressed up. Ren, I noticed, was still bare-faced, but his hair had grown out and he'd become 5'9.

Marbel looked fantastic, time being very generous to her as she cut a beautiful figure, well-built and well-rounded, standing at 5'8.

Ruby looked... like a thinner, less busty version of how Yang had looked, with thinner hair. She stood at 5'10 and looked swift and powerful.

Weiss... was busy playing with a pair of impressively sized breasts she'd apparently grown, stars gleaming in her eyes as she marveled at the development. She stood at 5'6, with quite a curvy figure, and was currently too preoccupied with her own body to take notice of what was around her.

Pyrrha had a fairly small amount of change, she was just shorter and less developed both in muscle and womanly figure.

I rolled my neck as I looked down at my father, now young enough to, if you could push aside the disbelief in the difference between our ages, be my own son. He looked basically almost exactly like I had a few minutes ago, but his beard stayed put, though it was a little thinner and shorter.

"Well... I guess I shouldn't be playing around with spells with this many people involved." I said simply, shrugging, "It seems that the effect is counting down, we'll be like this for another four hours as long as we all stay within a certain range of each other. If we move out of range, it'll stop counting, but luckily it won't reset. So we all just need to keep calm, and-"

"GET CANDY!" Nora managed to wriggle her way out of Ren's grasp and, with her semblance and Aurora boosting her, sped out of the seaside home we'd rented for this vacation.

I opened my mouth, closed it, then opened it again, "We should go catch her."

Ruby still seemed too distracted holding the now defeated Yang in her arms, cooing and fussing over how cute she was, but luckily Blake nodded and ran out after the little pink lightning-infused warhead.

My dad sighed, "Son, I need your I.D. and your clothes. Luckily we should be able to pass for each other."

I nodded, handing over the appropriate items as we "Right, maybe, except I'm 3 inches taller than you were... then again, with especially tall people, it's hard for most people to tell their exact height." I noted with minor dismay that he kept most of his stats, getting at most a 15% decrease to his STR because he didn't have as much muscle mass when he was my age.

Then again, mass didn't matter as much as density did. Even as a 7-year-old, with the changes The Game brought on, Yang was still over eight times stronger than the average young adult non aura-user, given how STR scaled.

I smiled, then my smile took a quick trip southward as I noticed both Magnhild and a few hundred Lien leave the Inventory. It wasn't but six seconds later that we heard a distant explosion, "We're going to be in some big legal trouble."

Ren went wide-eyed as he seemed to recover from all of the reeling in shock, and he realized he let a candy-desiring Nora run away without even trying to go catch her.

I pulled us into an I.D. as we charged towards the city with such momentum we broke down the front door and a lot of the wall surrounding it, exiting our seaside house AND the I.D., using the Party Tracker to locate Nora and Blake.

We split up, aiming to make a pincer move. It wasn't but 20 seconds later, after I'd forcibly removed Magnhild and all the grenades from Nora's person with my privileges as The Gamer Himself, that we found a panicking Blake, a screaming Nora, and a broken storefront. I quickly had my Elementals working together to repair the store and everything in it (luckily Nora's grenade was only concussive and didn't have any fire in it), throwing about fifty thousand lien onto it to make them kindly forget all about what happened, and I pulled us all into I.D.

Ren looked furious, and picked Nora up, making her pause briefly in her screaming, then she cried into Ren's shirt, "I just wanted caaaaaandyyyyyyyyy~!" goddamn, she whined like a fucking thunderstorm.

Ren gave her no quarter, "Nora, stop crying. Just because you're... eight years old for a time now, doesn't mean you're allowed to go running off and exploding stores just to get candy."

I leaned over towards Blake, "I think that's the most he's said all week." she giggled in response, and Ren looked up at me.

"Jaune, Gamer or not I will tear you a new anus if you don't fix this." damn he was angry, which honestly surprised me.

"Ren, I can't just DO that. It's a status effect we've never experienced before and has a lot of variables included in it. We can minimize our chances of shit going badly with a few methods: Firstly, Nora, you're grounded and not allowed to leave the house until this status effect is resolved. Ren, Blake, and Pyrrha will be overseeing your containment, and if you're good, then you _might_ not receive one _hell_ of a whoopin'." I glared at her, "You did a VERY bad thing, and you'll be punished for it."

Ren's eyes blazed, and he gently set Nora down, and in a flash projected what felt like a train hitting me, sending me flying back through a couple of buildings. I used telekinesis to bleed off momentum, and stood up, wiping my mouth of the bit of blood that escaped a cut that healed in a second. Day Breaker formed in my hand as white mist billowed off of it. I chuckled, "BLAKE! TAKE NORA BACK THE HOUSE! SEEMS LIKE I GOTTA BEAT SOME SENSE BACK INTO REN!" I used Realm Banish to send her and Nora away after she'd grabbed the now rather quiet.

Ren shot forward like a bullet, "You ASSHOLE!" he was swatted aside like a baseball with one heavy swing of the hammer-shaped solidified aura.

"WHAT CRAWLED UP YOUR ASS AND DIED?!" I called out to him, only to get a fist to jaw as he uppercut me, his semblance sending my skyward.

He jumped up and landed ten punches to my chest, "Nora had a terrible childhood and you've probably reminded her of those times."

My expression softened as I grabbed Ren by the face, "I'm terribly sorry to hear that, but trying to tear my throat out isn't going to help, nor is it an equal punishment. Yeah Nora had a shitty time, but she also blew up a candy store, so I'd say she damn well deserves a whoopin'." I threw him to the ground, his body breaking through the street and sending him into the sewer below, "SO CALM YOUR TITS, BRO! YOUR ARGUMENT IS VERY ONE-DIMENSIONAL!"

He stood up, only to immediately meet a Wrecking Ball to the face, sending him stumbling back. He stood up once more, but held his hands up in surrender, "Alright, alright, stop! I realize it's futile to try to fight you."

I lowered to the ground, "Good man." I pointed at him, "Thank you for seeing reason, I didn't want to delay this shit any more than needed. Look, it'd be best if instead of fighting over whether I triggered childhood flashbacks in Nora, how about instead we make sure we she has a nice time this time around, huh? A big brother and two big sisters, maybe three if Ruby wants to extend that hand. I think it'd be nice." I smiled and held out a hand, "Come on, let's not lose our minds in less than ten minutes, okay?"

He sighed, then grabbed my hand, "I can agree with that, I guess the weight of the situation struck a little too hard. To be fair, threatening 'one hell of a whoopin' on Nora... that sort of pissed me off." he sighed, "Come on, let's get back home."

"Yeah, hopefully the others haven't started acting weird either." I took us out of the sewer and led the way back, taking the rogue's highway back and slipping out of I.D. as we got inside.

...

We were greeted with the sight of Yang blushing bright red as she wore an adorable little outfit of brown overalls and a cute yellow t-shirt that read 'Don't make me pout', which made me confused on how quickly Ruby had acquired it. Shaking the thought from my head, I looked at Ruby, and the now quiet Nora being held in Blake's lap.

"Hey, Nora... you're not getting a whoopin', but you WILL be staying here for the day... with your new big sisters!" I said as I knelt down to be eye-level with her, smiling brightly.

She looked at me confused, sniffling, "W-what?"

I smiled at her, "Ren is like a brother to you, right?" she nodded, "Yeah, and now Blake, Ruby, Pyrrha, and Weiss will be acting as your big sisters, and you five will be playing and stuff while we wait for this all to wear off."

She wiped her nose, looking at me shocked, "You're not mad?"

"I was more worried than mad, to be honest. Ren was too. We care about you, Nora, in fact I'm completely sure that it's safe to say that we all care about you as much as you care about all of us, and I know THAT'S a lot." she nodded, smiling lightly, "So chill out, okay? There are other ways to be a kid besides a rabid desire for candy."

She smiled at me, and I smiled back, and we shared a brief hug, and I found that she was a lot weaker than even her younger age might have implied, which I chalked up to genetics. I cemented the gesture with a small kiss on her forehead, "Now then, thanks to our celebratory feast for your birthday a few days ago, I and a couple of the others need to go get groceries, okay? You be good while we're out, okay?"

She nodded, smiling, "I promise not to blow up more stuff."

I chuckled, "I hope. I'm trusting the others to keep an eye on you while we're gone." I looked at Ruby, Blake, and Weiss, who seemed to have gotten over her new chest and was nodding happily.

I stood up, only to feel a tugging on my pants leg. I looked down to see Yang pouting lightly, staring up at me with begging eyes, "I wanna go with you~." she pleaded.

I chuckled, then knelt down and scooped her up into my arms, "D'aaaawwwww, of course you can come with us, Sunny. I'm thinking Marbel, dad, you, and I will all be best at navigating a grocery store and getting what we need." I smiled, noticing her hair was in pigtails, which was adorable.

She smiled, then looked at Ruby, who rolled her eyes and nodded, "Yes!" she quickly switched from that outfit to... well she tried to switch to her normal outfit, but it ended up hanging off of her small body and nearly all falling off before I quickly threw one of Weiss' dress/combat skirt things over her, which suddenly switched to fit her body.

I blinked, quickly collecting the fallen clothes and looking at her, "I... honestly don't know what to think. I think the game considers 'toddler up to nearly-medium' as a small size. Well... that makes it easier." I put one of Ruby's blouses over her, giving her a very cute look in the black and white, "Ruby, Weiss, Yang doesn't have any tiny kid clothing, so we need these for the time being." they didn't mind, but it was just plain courteous to make sure they knew what was going on.

I lifted Yang up to sit on my shoulders, "Marbs, John, come on." I said as I began walking to the door.

It was still a little weird, referring to my dad by his actual name. I think it had something to do with how my perception of him shifted after he'd made up with Juniper. The two had at least spoken and made an honest effort to clear the air, which was better. It wasn't perfect, but I guess that helped, really. I truly had seen how my father had failed, cementing in my mind the fact that he too was a normal person, and it would be best if I allowed myself to treat him like that, rather than some ideal figure that did no wrong.

Had I already forgiven him for his wrongs? Yes, long ago, but he'd still done them. He was a person and he _made mistakes,_ and that was _okay_ , because human beings might have incredible ability to improve, but they aren't perfect. It was stupid to stay obsessed over something like that when he'd proven he had my best interests at heart. Sometimes, emotions get in the way of logic, and neither of us were particularly good at hiding our pride.

But... even though perfection is unobtainable, is no excuse not to strive for it.

We found ourselves walking the streets, Marbel to my left, John to my right, and Yang sitting on my shoulders, hugging my head for stability as her legs rested on my chest. I smiled and held her steady by her shins, "I just figure we should be able to get stuff, then head back home. I don't wanna have to stay out for longer than needed."

Marbel giggled, "You can't just throw yourself into your work and ignore the world, Jaune."

John nodded, "Yeah s-..." he cleared his throat to cover his near-mistake, "-dad." he corrected himself, "It's not healthy to work all the time."

I sighed, "I know, I just worry about all of you, is all." I reached up and gently ruffled Yang's hair, receiving a little squeal and a halfhearted punch in response.

Despite what one might have thought, she enjoyed it, even if she was protective of her hair. I think it had to do with how it made her less like her mother, which while sad, was one of those quirks that was just a part of who she was.

I smiled, feeling... oddly comfortable with all of this. I guess it was just Gamer's Mind, really, but it was still part of me. I was already getting used to this, which was to be expected. I sighed, and we soon found ourselves at the local grocery store.

Well... best to get this over with. I quickly Aura Stained a piece of paper and cut it into three pieces with Gleaming Dagger, handing one third to John and another to Marbel, "We'll finish this faster if we split up. Come on, Yang, we're gonna go get _cereal_ ~." I said the word in a funny voice, and as I'd guessed, she giggled at the silliness. I smiled and grabbed a cart.

We split up into three groups, and I let Yang continue sitting on my shoulders, since it seemed to make her happy. I walked down the aisle, "What kind should we get? We'll still be here for a couple of days, so we should get a big box."

Yang looked through them all, bending down to look at them, "Get the one with Pyrrha on it~."

I chuckled, "She looked at me funny when I told her it was my favorite cereal." I picked it up and telekinetically put it into the cart, "I think she's into me."

Yang giggled, "Yeah, it's pretty obvious. Too bad you're taken~."

I smiled, "You're awfully giggly today." I raised my head back to look at her, even if it was upside down.

She smiled back, "I dunno, I guess." she giggled more, then leaned down and kissed my cheek, "I love you."

I took her hand and gave it a little kiss, "I love you too, princess." she liked the nickname, surprisingly. I didn't question it, I simply gave her what she wanted.

I heard someone nearby giggle, and saw a woman looking at us. I ignored her, looking for a second box of cereal. I bent down and let Yang grab it, watching her smile and hold it up. I held a hand out and she dropped it into my grasp, and I slapped it into the cart, hearing Yang let out a little cheer, "Goal~."

The woman giggled again, walking past us. As she left, though, I heard her say something after she assumed she'd left earshot, "What a lovely father."

I blinked, the blinked again, "..." _Jaune W: Yang, that woman thought we were a father and daughter. :W_

 _Yang W: What? No, no way! :W_

 _Jaune W: Yang you're currently 7 years old and I'm 34. It's entirely logical that she'd come to such a conclusion. :W_

 _Yang W: That's... a fair point... I feel all awkward now. :W_

 _Jaune W: I don't, not fully. I know it's not the truth, it's just a little mistake. Honestly, I think I'd be a great dad. My kids would be awesome. :W_

I heard Yang let out a squeak, then it hit me what I'd just said, and the images I probably had just put into her head, _Jaune W: And THAT was a mistake, too. Don't worry, okay? That's as far off as we decide it is. :W_

 _Yang W: That doesn't make it any less embarrassing! :W_

 _Jaune W: Yeah, so then let's not talk about the having of kids, especially when you yourself are a kid. :W_

 _Yang W: Agreed! :W_

I felt myself blushing a little too, "Let's just move on with the stuff. A house of ten hunters consumes a TON of food in a couple of days." I grabbed a third box of cereal, just in case. We could just eat whatever was left either on the trip back to Celeste, or at Celeste, just stuffing it into my Inventory. I had nearly a thousand inventory slots, I could handle some leftover groceries. I cracked my neck, rolling my shoulders. Yang giggled, and I smiled.

I began to do a little dance, shaking her around and making her feel like she was on a rollercoaster. We both broke down laughing, smiling. I plucked her from my shoulders, gently placing her inside the cart, and taking us to another aisle, making a little race of it.

Despite her desire to stay as she was, she couldn't deny the excitement of the little cart ride, and we stopped at the back of the store, "Hey, sunshine?"

She turned and looked at me, smiling, "Yeah?"

I reached down, "Tomorrow's breakfast will be... egg-celent." I chuckled and lifted the carton of eggs into view, triggering a deluge of sweet little giggles.

She opened one of the fridge doors and picked up a gallon of milk, "Well, at least milk makes the dai-ry-lly start good."

I gave a so-so gesture, "Eehhhh~, that one was a bit of a stretch." I chuckled and smiled, "You're pretty strong." _Jaune W: A lot stronger than I'd have expected with the sudden de-aging, but I guess a lot of it is your Aura's enhancements. :W_

 _Yang W: Yeah, it pretty much is. I can confirm that my arms are kinda flabby without my aura helping me. :W_

I chuckled, smiling at her, and she smiled right back.

It was a nice time.

...

I heard more mumbled coos at me and Yang as time went by, mostly of us being an adorable father-daughter pair, enough that the sheer volume of it started to annoy me, even if the words themselves didn't.

I sighed, stowing our stuff into the inventory as John and Marbel caught up with us, "Alright, let head home. The others are probably waiting."

John paused mid-step, "Actually, I think I'm gonna walk around town for a bit, see if we missed anything, maybe take a few pictures and stuff."

I looked at him, "Eh, alright. Don't be out late though." _Jaune W: Remember, we still need to make sure we all get re-aged properly. :W_

 _John W: I know, I know. I won't be too long. :W_

He split off from the three of us, heading in a different direction.

Marbel sighed, "He keeps just going off on his own. I get he has the right to, but it concerns me."

I chuckled, smiling at her, "You realize you already sound like you're his mother, right?"

She blinked, then blushed, "But I only got aged-"

"But nobody knows that." I pointed out, "Nobody knows our ages, just that we look like adults and a kid." I looked up at Yang, "Let's keep it that way."

As we walked through the streets, a young woman approached us, a stack of flyers in her hand, "Hello~." she greeted cheerfully.

I hummed, "Well hello there." I held up a hand and stopped the others.

She offered me a flyer, "I'm handing out flyers to get everyone aware of the Summer's Evening festival starting in just _two_ days now." I wasn't sure if he was faking it or if she was honestly THAT excited over the festival

I held up a hand, "So, SO sorry, ma'am, but our flight home is tomorrow, and will be missing the festival. I apologize, it DOES sound very interesting though."

She nodded, "Right, that's okay. Thank you for stopping and listening, at least." she smiled and held up the flyer again, "But, in case you end up staying, families are allowed to attend for free, and for families of five or more, each member gets five free festival tokens." she smiled even wider, "Trust me, it's a wonderful festival, lasts a whole week too!"

I nodded, "Thank you, but I don't think that will be necessary. Have a good day now." we walked past her, and I idly tossed the flyers she'd handed us into the inventory.

I sighed, then hummed a tune as we walked back to the house.

...

Opening the front door and stepping inside, bending low to make sure Yang didn't get bumped on the frame, I heard familiar cheers of joy and sounds of video games. Smiling, I shifted Yang to sit in my arms as I found my way to the games room, seeing all of the other girls (and Ren) playing a game together, letting out the usual gamer sounds and having a great time, Nora was even snuggled up to Ruby's side in a really cute way.

I smiled, "Well, looks like you've all been having fun." I leaned against the door frame, "We might be having a few lil' problems, but it'll be over in... 8.45 hours?"

I stared at the status duration, rubbing my eyes, "What the fuck?" I tapped it several times.

It jittered and glitched out for a few seconds, then seemed to correct itself.

 **Font glitch resolved!**

 **Status: Bodial Year Disposition [Med]  
** **Description: You are a total of 10 people that have been affected by the spell "Bodial Year Disposition", shifting the distribution of a total of 50 years of physical age among yourselves.  
**

 **Effect: Alters your age to 34 years old.  
Duration: 8.95 d**

I blinked, then tapped on the duration again, which made it read **8 days, 22 hours, 44 minutes**

"... well shit." I said frankly, "So... do you want the good news first, or bad news?"

They all turned to me, "What's the bad news?" Blake spoke up first.

I sighed, "So uh... there was a font glitch, it wasn't 4.00 'h' as it 'hours', it was 9.00 'd' as in 'days'. We won't be able to leave for basically a week and a quarter."

Weiss deadpanned at me, "So... what? What exactly are we supposed to do, then? Stay in the house for a week? We can't do that, we'll go insane trying."

I blew air and ran my hand down my face, "I know, I know... but we can't make a reputation for ourselves like this either. We can leave the house as needed, but we need to keep a low profile. People don't _really_ know us here, but we're known back in Vale. Well... sorry, Pyrrha, but I think just a little bit of manipulation of perception will keep your changes from getting discovered."

She nodded, smiling politely, "That will be fine."

I looked at the others, "So... yeah. That's all I know to say. Ruby, you get to enjoy having not just one, but TWO little sisters, Marbel too. Blake, you can... I dunno. Weiss you can enjoy your womanly figure like I saw you do earlier. Ren and Nora, you two can just be a lot like you were before, but I guess with a larger age difference." I shrugged, then looked at the shrunken Yang held in my arms, "Yang, I guess you can reclaim a few precious days of childhood, and I'll be helping you the whole way." I booped her nose, making her giggle and cover it.

She hugged me as best she could with her shortened arms, "I'll have to get used to it, but I think I could handle this... but um..." _Yang W: I know people think I'm your daughter, but that makes me feel really, REALLY weird... I know it might not seem much better, but could you correct them by saying I'm actually your baby sister? :W_

 _Jaune W: Of course, baby girl. I might or might not be a great dad, but all my sisters agreed that I'm a very good brother. :W_ I smiled, kissing her forehead, "Alright, we have a plan, and we have room to compensate for backups. I think we'll be fine." I hugged my 'baby sister' to my chest, smiling and feeling her give me a little nuzzle, "So... you all need two more to make a proper tournament." I chuckled and pulled out my scroll, connecting it and prompting Marbel to do the same.

I sat with Yang on my knee, and settled in for a little Smash Bros.

Even if we were all fools for having gotten into this situation, we'd all make it through this.

Together.

...

John sighed as he just took to walking through town, like he usually did.

He never really explained it to Jaune, but he took these walks to clear his head, calm himself down, and escape his regrets for a little while.

It certainly said something that he took walks every single day. That he and his wife would never truly recover from what happened years ago... it weighed on him very heavily.

The resurfacing teenage hormones certainly weren't helping. He forced his breathing to be slow and even.

He stopped by a cafe, one of the all-day kinds, and ordered a black coffee and some blueberry scones. He had downed the entire mug of coffee before he even sat down, letting out a heated sigh.

After flagging down a waitress and getting a refill, he opened his scroll and read some recent news.

The air shifted and the chair across from him scraped on the ground. He looked up to see a bright-red-haired teenage girl with curious blue eyes looking at him.

He cleared his throat, "Can I help you?"

The girl smiled, "Actually, I was wondering if I could help YOU, man." she smiled, "I felt like a really cute guy like you didn't deserve to eat alone, even for just a snack."

John looked the girl over, noting the naivete apparent in her tone. Just a hopeful civilian. He sighed, "I'd honestly prefer it."

She pouted, "Well that's pretty rude, dude. I come over here to give you some company, and you just-"

He looked up from his scroll to stare directly into her eyes, "I'm only here on vacation, and have a woman back home, thank you very much."

She stared at him for a few seconds, then cleared her throat and spoke up, "You look like the kind of guy who could use two~." she blew a kiss at him.

John glared at the girl, and returned her blown kiss with a thrown scone, which bounced off her forehead, "Not interested." he stood up, downed his coffee, grabbed the last of his three scones, and walked away, leaving the shocked girl behind.

He sighed, stewing over the surge of emotions the girl made him feel, even if she'd fallen rather flat with her delivery. Seriously, what kind of line was 'You look like you could use two?' So he looked like a harem guy? He wasn't that much of a man, he couldn't do that.

Still... the words had struck several chords within him, making him realize what could fix his long-standing problem. Something seemingly so simple, but emotionally very, VERY difficult.

He had to... to _let go_ of Juniper, because it _just wasn't going to happen_. He had to let the wound close instead of waiting for the torn-away piece of his heart to be put back into place.

He had to _move on_.

He swore he began to hallucinate as the thoughts tore at his mind. It hurt him in indescribable ways, but he reached deep inside himself, and gathered the courage to take off that broken ring.

It was nothing but a few mental words, but the thought of actually doing it, while at first scary, was oddly relieving, like one of the many chains holding his heart in place had been shrugged off or outright snapped.

He sighed heavily, his hands falling to his sides as his wandering became even more aimless for several minutes, in fact he could have sworn at one point he circled the same block three times.

He just... followed a path his heart slowly marked out before his very eyes... and ears?

He hummed softly, focusing on an odd tune he could hear playing in the distance. He found the song pleasant, and approached its source, finding a bit of peace in what sounded like a resonating violin.

He happened upon the sight of a young woman standing on the sidewalk, playing a violin that was hooked up to a small, portable amplifier, playing a simple, soft, pleasant tune, her violin case open and showing a few scattered lien thrown into it. She played with her eyes closed, ears covered by headphones. She wore a white hoodie with a red line across the chest, and three more red lines, one curling around each sleeve and coming into a ring around the cuffs of her sleeves, the tail of the hoodie, and the mouth of the hood. Her short, brownish-black hair was loose and blew in the breeze that carried her music towards him, and she wore black cargo pants held around her slender waist by a tight belt. He could tell, even without seeing her move, that she must have been a huntress. The black undershirt she wore was made of armorweave cloth, the pants were a tactical design, the belt had a combat pouch on it, and the red lines on her hoodie were dust-infused stitching. She appeared rather slender at first glance, but dense, compact muscles covered what he could see of her body, hinting that she was far tougher than she appeared.

He focused on the permissions Jaune had granted to him, and used a very nerfed version of Gamer's Sight.

 **Celia Harmonia**  
 **Title: A True Diamond among Golden Masks**  
 **Level: 77**

That's all it gave, but it was enough. She looked lonely, too... damn him and his bleeding heart, he had to go over and talk to her! He'd never find something to fill the hole left in his heart if he never even _looked_.

He just hoped he wasn't making a mistake.

The woman didn't skip a single beat as he approached her, getting a little closer than most would, "Hello there, miss." he smiled at her, his best winning smile.

She played a few more notes, which glided to a stop in the song as she sighed blissfully, opening her eyes, "Well, hello there, Mr Handsome." she giggled softly, her voice like a tinkling bell.

He chuckled softly, "Well, I feel like I should upgrade my greeting. Hello Miss Beautiful."

Celia smiled, "Well, my oh my, what a charmer. What brings you to my little corner of the street system?"

He smiled back, "I heard your music, got curious, saw you, and became very, VERY interested." he shrugged lightly, "So... do you have a name, or do you actually prefer Miss Beautiful?"

She giggled, "Well, I could get used to being called Miss Beautiful, but my name is... well, you can call me Octavia."

John nodded, noting that she'd given him what was obviously a stage name, "Well, you can call me Crocea, Miss Octavia. Mind if I join you? I think a pair of artists make for better profits than someone by their lonesome."

She hummed, "Well... that sounds lovely, but there's a problem." she pointed at her violin, "I only have the one violin, and it's not like a milkshake where we can put in two straws and both drink at the same time. We can try, but I'm fairly certain if we both tried to play it at the same time, we'd probably lose in a music quality contest versus a dying cat."

"We-hehehe-ll, fair enough, but that's good, because I don't play the violin." John chuckled, then smiled and reached behind himself, pulling a guitar out from the inventory. He brought it forward, "I play guitar."

Celia gasped lightly, then smiles, "Well, you're full of surprises, then. Alright, let's play."

John smiled, positioning himself next to her, "Alrighty. Any tips for playing on the street?"

She nodded, "Play with your eyes closed, it makes you look cooler." she brought her violin up to bear, smiling.

John smiled back, "Alright. Well, can you at least look me in the eyes one more time before we play blindly?" he asked with a hint of playfulness towards the musician

Celia giggled, smirking at the blonde, "You don't play blindly, you play the song you hear in your heart."

John nodded, "Well, alright then." finally, they looked directly at each other.

Royal blue met sterling silver, and the two smiled at each other, closed their eyes, and began to play a duet of guitar and violin.

It was pretty awkward at first, but it settled out in the end.

Just like John had hoped.

* * *

 **BOOM! That makes 3 'serial omakes' set up.**

 **In chapters ending with 4 or 9, it will be Celestia Arc's Story.**

 **In chapters ending with 3 or 8 (including next chapter), it will be Jade Hex's story (the one with Gamer Jaune ending up in canon RWBY world)**

 **In chapters ending with 7 and 2 now, will be this story of the age-shifted group on a Mistrali vacation.**

 **Also, before assumptions are made, Celia is not the person from the vision Jaune got long ago, assuming anyone actually remembers that. That person is a different person, Celia is an OC that will probably exist solely within this omake series. I just decided to spice up the de-aged John's prospective girlfriend.**

 **Alright, well that's pretty much it for now. This chapter too a lot longer than normal, but then again, it was forced to contain a certain span of time no matter how high its word count, so that explains it.**

 **I hope the size of it makes up for spending days on end doing nothing, even though I'm like 90% sure that most of you don't care how long it takes, as long as it comes out finished and good.**

 **And so, this chapter is now nearly finished, just gotta do the stat dump.**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: All Star Boxer  
** **Level: 73  
** **Class: Magic Knight / Tank v2  
** **Nickname: Knightlight**

 **HP: 46,000/46,000  
** **AP: 185,000/185,000  
** **SP: 68,000/68,000**

 **Strength: 88 (+325%) (+115%) (+80%) (+175%) (+125%) = 809.6  
** **Dexterity: 80 (+325%) (+115%) (+80%) = 496  
** **Vitality: 92 (+325%) (+115%) (+80%) (+175%) (+50%) = 777.4  
** **Intelligence: 162 (+5) (+325%) (+50%) = 793.25  
** **Wisdom: 200 (+5) (+325%) (+50%) = 973.75  
** **Luck: 116  
** **Charisma: 85**

 **Stat Points: 93**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 6'2  
** **Weight: 260  
** **Build: Med-Heavy Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blonde / Brilliant Azure / Medium Tan**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Alright, NOW it's finally fully finished, and I hope it was good for all of you, and wasn't poorly written in the parts with the White Fang and what-not.**

 **With that said, I bid you all adieu.**

 **See you next time ^w^**

 **This is Player1, signing off.**


	18. The Noontime before the Fog

**4/4/2017 at 9:35 AM: Just posted the new chapter a minute ago, cleared my email notifications about the previous chapter, so now I'm gonna at least throw some stuff down on this new document so I can at least say I started on it.**

 **4/4/2017 at 5:38 PM: Well, I just spent like the last hour writing up all the reviewer responses and some stuff in the chapter. Currently wordcount: 1.9k**

 **4/5/2017 at 6:17 PM: I'm really damn late for class, but I have 5.9k words done, so that's something at least!**

 **4/8/2017 at 8:07 AM: The last few days have been... odd, to say the least... I think... I don't even know, but I DO have nearly 13.1k words completed, so that's cool. At this rate I should be done by the 12th. Fingers crossed!**

 **4/9/2017 at 12:05 AM: I just woke up from a random nap and the dream in it was that Jaune went and did, like, a really boring training thing, then came home to find everyone naked and a note with everyone apologizing for being unable to wait for him, so they just had a big ol' orgy. He just kinda screamed in frustration and then the dream ended. When I woke up, I felt... angry. That is all I have to say at this time.**

 **4/10/2017 at 5:09 PM: Well, it's been nearly a week, and I'm like... 5/8ths done with the chapter I'd say, about 17.6k words in the chapter as of this moment**

 **4/11/2017 at 8:15 AM: It's been a week, I have 19.5k words written, and honestly I don't really have too too much left of the planned amount of chapter content left to go. Unfortunately, I am tired and it is late/early, so I will be stopping for now and going to sleep.**

 **4/12/2017 at 1:36 AM: I REALLY should rearrange my sleeping schedule so I can stop writing in the wee hours of the AM. Oh well, can't do much for that right now, as I am most definitely not going back to sleep after a brief pass-out, so let's get back to work.**

 **4/12/2017 at 9:25 AM: I just saved my progress and had EXACTLY 22k words written. It was pretty cool for me. I'm going to do my best to finish this thing within the next couple of days. However, I'm going to sleep as I just had a sizable mindfuck moment and got confused/scared for a minute.**

 **4/12/2017 at 3:01 PM: Well, I'm awakened, and ready to type more stuff. Here's to hoping the next two hours will not go to waste!**

 **4/14/2017 at 4:57 AM: Earlier I had a bit of a scare in that I was 85% convinced I was sick and running a fever, which is why I was sweating like a running pig and roasting like a dead pig. I am now 95% sure I'm not, but it can't hurt to be safe. I think it probably was just a combination of my abysmal overweightedness and some environmental factors like "the women in this household don't like to turn the A/C on unless it's like 80 degrees out". I'm going to try to write even a paltry amount of words before I'm so tired I pass out, so... anything more than 23.3k is good!**

 **4/15/2017 at 5:06 AM: Well, I'm typing stuff. I spent a good amount of today just chilling out and I even hung out with some friends for a couple of hours, eating wood-grilled meats and shootin' the shit (though, while there WERE a couple of guns there, no shots were fired, obvsly, because we were in a neighborhood and also like 1-2 blocks away from a church, luckily none of them were THAT stupid). Point is, I justifiably did not type much today, but I put this note here to signify that I am acknowledging this and also getting into typing fully.**

 **4/17/2017 at 3:44 PM: Well, the last day or so have been quite busy all around, so that's why I haven't been able to type much more of the story. My dad is home, and his presence is very loud and distracting sometimes, and he makes his exits take like 15x longer than an exit should. Overall, though, I've had a good time, I guess. Been trying to get better sleeping patterns to zero, perhaps even a negative avail. I don't know, really, but I think I can either walk around this brick wall, or bash my head against it enough to break it down. Either or, I'll win... in other news, currently at 28.4k words, and soon will be done with the chapter. This one's been a little rough, and I could have posted it like a week ago if shit didn't pop up randomly, but hey, what can you do? I also just realized that the story is over a year old now! Granted, about 6.5 of those 13 months were hiatus, but there will not be hiatus in the future, only the time between chapters.**

 **4/18/2017 at 5:35 AM: Well, my dad will be leaving in like 5 hours. I'm currently stuck awake at the moment, sadly, but eh, what can I do? Go to sleep? I can't. I literally can't right now. I'm gonna type more stuff, because I'm pretty close to the end.**

 **4/19/2017 at 3:00 AM: I have had the realization, like full-blown realization, just HOW MUCH faster I'd be writing these chapters if I didn't dick around so much. I'm currently on 30.8k words, but I could have been here like 5 days ago. Like, yeah, okay, I know, people should take time to go hang with friends, I know, but that was only like 2 days. Like... look at the start of these little updates, I wrote like 4k words in 1 hour. Hell, I could probably, if I focused more fully, go full-on Ryuugi-tier typing bullshit and get out like 20-30k words EVERY FEW DAYS if I could actually manage my time enough. Nonetheless, I know the true fans don't care about the time between uploads, so long as I don't slip into an "indefinite hiatus" like so many stories that were probably good, but I wouldn't know because I haven't seen them.**

 **4/21/2017 at 6:13 PM: Goddammit, I'm nearly done, saved, and found out I have 38.1k words written? I wanted this to be relatively SHORT, only about 20-30k words. Just... ugh, dammit. That's also probably part of the delay too, besides my dicking around.**

 **4/23/2017 at 12:20 AM: The past couple of days have just kinda... gone. I need to do a LOT of work tomorrow, so I'm going to see about getting this chapter up tonight. The omake is almost done, and after that is just a stat dump and then I'll probably just go to sleep. Let's hope that's the actual case!**

 **4/23/2017 at 2:45 AM: Well, I'm finished with the chapter now, time to upload it! Final wordcount: about 39.7k words, over ten thousand more than I wanted it to be. I need to get better at making shorter, more concise chapters. Oh well, just gonna post this and hope for the best!**

* * *

 _ **Reviewer Responses:**_

 **ExternalDark (on chapter 16):** Well! You, sir/madam, did not have to wait very long! XDDDDD

 **Jack905:** yep, only Pyrrha left. Also Velvet, Velvet was scheduled to join at the end of Beacon... on your second review: sassy answer= right after you make a profile and comment like a REAL person, brutha/sista!... serious answer= it won't be for a few more chapters.

 **Zhalo Shadowcell and Guest (That guy):** Yep, skyrim and undertale... and also Smash Mouth. I do like abridged series, I just haven't yet mustered the courage to tackle the gigantic beast that I assume DBZ abridged is.

 **Wentley:** _*_ _ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED*_ New Fan Magnet... Description: Bring a new fan in despite them not liking something your story is about... Gamer Score: 100g

 **Flametusk:** Classes have new effects unlocked, is what it means. Each class provides bonuses, and now most classes have more bonuses the higher version you use... Cinder will play a sizable role but I can't be spoiling stuff like that, now can I? Gaster Blaster, I think I had Jaune mention, isn't really being affected by his Fundamental Factors of Intelligence and Wisdom. It is at a pretty high level, though.

 **XerzoLotCN:** I see you have written an even longer review, as though in defiance. Well sadly for your enjoyment, I don't think I'll be making even close to an equally lengthy reply... possibly, IDFK right now. Let's begin:

Okay, zanpakuto, cool cool. Soul Blade idea, that is a pretty valid idea I can get behind... you know what, I'm gonna have that omake be next chapter's omake! Congratulations, man, you've received a promotion!... Yep on the armor, yep on the fight, yep on the souls and weapons, yep on the peace, yep on the vomit, yep yep yep.

Marbel. MARBEL. M-A-R-B-E-L.

... I'm sorry I don't want to harp on people for their grammar/spelling, but also there's a stark lack of proper periods, or even commas in your last paragraph, which renders it nearly unreadable to me. I have to go through and break it down myself. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be a bully or whatever, I just... I ask that you at least put some commas in there...

Back to this part: Marbel also is a little stronger but more unstable than the others in some ways with that new courage, but she'll get used to it. It's the thing Paarthurnax was talking about, "What is better: to be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?", except replace 'good' with 'strong' and 'evil' with 'weak'... Marbel's semblance, yep. Rook, Knight, what will Bishop be, or whatever the other two things are? King is not one of them, because Marbel is a girl. 'Nuff said... Blake's clones just might be, beeyotch (sorry I just had the urge to say "Bitch I might be", I vaguely recalled that meme).

That's not exactly my logic on why Nora wants to be with Jaune and why not with Ren. I said they are LIKE brother and sister. Kinfolk is my personally perferred term. Siblings in all but blood. To them, pursuing romance between themselves wouldn't feel right. Though yes Nora might jump at the chance to be the "queen of the castle", there'd have to be feelings established before that first. Feelings that Jaune will, naturally, cultivate without realizing or wanting to, because he is the nice, protective guy.

Blake also, she's trying to ignore her feelings for Jaune, to let familiarity breed contempt, but all it's breeding is more emotion. It's clear that she's into him, at least to her, and she's trying not to be, but the matters of the heart are confusing as hell... Yep, metal elemental FTW... Your spelling of his name just makes me think of a dumb joke: How many assholes does it take to incite a White Fang attack? A dillion!... Yep that's an inception dream, alright. And I can't really tell you, but he might have had a dream based on the fairytale.

Sadly the only fundamental factors are of INT and WIS, because they refer to the concept of "mind over matter" and while LUK is technically classed as a mental stat, it doesn't work like THAT. I already have plans for 150 LUK, when he eventually reaches it... yeah, the Dual-Classing is pretty good. He won't be going for all of THAT, necessarily, but he'll be going for some good combos.

Alright, the meat of this... which I now realize, after breaking it down and reading it all, is just a suggestion for an EXP boosting skill. I mean, okay, to be fair, he hasn't reached the plateau that his enhanced mind allows just yet, mostly because I haven't gotten the most chance to focus on what skills he's been focusing on just yet. He'll definitely be getting more levels and stuffs, he's just not focusing on character levels right now, mostly skills.

Yeah, that part of the omake, now that I think about it, is probably why less people are mentioning it. It's not a very pleasant thought, but that's also why it's strictly non-canon to the story, because Jaune will stop at NOTHING to get his parents back together, when he gets the chance to focus on that... quest progression is basically "focusing solely on the quest to get Weiss up to snuff, and the now-completed quest to defeat the VcWF", he'll do more when he gets the time to.

 **JOOP-ROLL:** I have, currently, 5 different google documents with 26+21+21+65+17 = 150 pages total content, encompassing the following:

Doc1= Profile, Bars and Regen, Classes, Nicknames, Titles, Friends, Quest Log, Elementals (with updated stuffs), Ki Costs, Elemental Combinations (both Dual and Intermediate), Movement Speed, Ease of Casting, and the theme song for this story arc  
Doc2= all of the party member's profiles and details like appearance and Aura (the skill) levels, the Vacuan White Fang's meager profiles (recently added), the party member's semblances, and a special thing I can't tell you about.  
Doc3= inventory, with special sections for regular items, normal weapons and armor, and Grimm weapons and armor.  
Doc4= all of his skills that are Tier 1  
Doc5= (recently split because Doc4 is 65 pages long) all of his skills that are Tiers 2 and 3.

the numbers I gave are the respective numbers of pages each of these documents have. Also, I'm 100% sure that he has more than 50 skills. I don't have a count of how many, but it's more than 50.

 **CrimsonSylvan:** well, he won't be getting "desterity", but he WILL be getting "dexterity", XDDD sorry, I couldn't resist. But yeah he'll be balancing himself out on that stuffs.

 **uriil:** Yeah, maybe, IDK, history repeats itself? The "seven" thing is intentional, actually. It's peculiar, yes, but it has a reasoning... Jaune plans on using Navio's weapon because it was fucking cool, he plans on either extracting the semblances from the souls, or finding a way to bind them to something. He could always just eat it, but given that he hasn't even eaten the soul of the one guy he killed to get the outfit to sneak into the VaWF base and end up assassinating Adam, it shall be stated that he is not comfortable at all simply "eating"/"absorbing" the soul. It's both, technically, but at the same time neither, I guess "assimilating" might be a better verb.

There were a lot of upgraded skills and stuff, but prestiging stuff is a little hard and I'd already written so much and... well this is mostly an excuse for why I haven't yet done it. It'll happen in this chapter, don't you worry. A LOT will happen in this chapter, as I just now realize how much will be prestiging and leveling.

 **Scribble novice:** No, Neo is Neo. Marbel is Marbel. Marbel is also like over half a foot taller than Neo.

 **zen-aku spirit of the wolf:** Truce agreed. Now hopefully we can move onto better things than needless arguing, like possibly chapter-related reviews. ^w^

 **A Guest with some info:** I was aware of the non-disclosure clause... the reason Dillan said anything was that he was manipulated by Naranja and was drunk as fuck at the time. People say shit and spill secrets when they're drunk. Also, to be fair, Jaune was, for the entire duration, seconds from literally just tearing the man's head off, but he wouldn't have even given the man a chance if he also knew of the non-disclosure clause. Unfortunately, that's all said and done now, let's move onto new things and carry with us the knowledge we've acquired through this experience.

 **Avret:** You know, sir/madam, you sting, but certainly in a helpful way, like cutting open a boil that will let me drain the pus. You're very right that I need to increase the risks and bad stuff that happens to the characters. I am also glad that your review was rather fair and balanced in its assessment and I'm happy that you enjoy the characters.

 **:** and this is an example of a review that is not fair and balanced. Thinking of all the examples where "might makes right" seems like the MO: In the omake, to be fair, I was kinda more focusing on the stuff related to some people reacting the age-changed Jaune, Marbel, Yang, and John (which I mean, it barely showed Marbel or John, but I'm not fucking perfect, I spent pretty much all of my creative energy on the chapter itself). The brief bout with Ren was more "slap some sense into a guy who flew off the handle because he didn't like what Jaune said". In addition, when Jaune was talking about Nora's punishment, keep in mind that it was stated that Jaune is not opposed to giving a kid a spanking to discipline them. Ren got pissed because Nora is his bestest friend (use of the word "bestest" is intentional) and Jaune just said that he would MAKE SURE she got a whooping. To a Hunter, a threat against your best friend is grounds for a fight.

On the matter of Dillan's dickatry, I ask that you note the fair point that Jaune was getting pestered and bugged by the guy being a huge dick _every day_ over the smallest things, and I'm pretty sure if someone was being a huge dick to you every day for the smallest of reasons, you'd want to punch their lights out too. The section with Jaune approaching Dillan afterwards was intended to plant the seed and show Jaune starting to move past "roided-up teenage anger and violence" as his argumentative MO. Even barring that, in the world of Remnant, the Hunters DO have a more violent mindset than civilians, but it's usually tempered by control. Even though he's The Gamer, Jaune is still a human and still a teenage boy, when he's verbally jabbed at a thousand times, he gets pissed, and when he gets pissed, he gets punchy. Dillan deserved to get fired for letting his opinions get in the way of his and everyone else's work, and I would say he deserved to get smacked around a bit. SHOULD he have been? No, but he deserved it.

Jaune still has growing up to do, and if the random notifications about "honing his mind" were to give progress bars on cleaning his mind of sins, he'd have the least progress in Wrath and Pride.

And as an addendum over two weeks later... In terms of him basically enforcing his correctness by beating the shit out of the WF... let me explain to you my logic: The Vacuan White Fang are, logically, from Vacuo. Vacuo is Asia, in a very warrior-oriented world, in Asia there is there code of _Bushido: The Way of the Warrior_ , about honor and combat and the spirit of combat, and it's mixed with some other laws because I'm fucking allowed to make whatever I damn well please because I'm the author here!... and basically the social psychology of the country would lead to "battle them into submission" being a valid method of argument he could use. Does he like having to do that? No, but he's willing to if he has to, and he kinda wanted to avoid killing the VcWF because they were interesting, cool, and useful people to him. Was it the best outcome for the situation? No, definitely not. Was it the best outcome Jaune could manage to pull off for the situation, with the known and easily observed factors all provided to him? Yes, yes it was.

Long story short, Jaune is not waving his dick around, it's just his pride issues becoming a bit more problematic as increasing levels of power affect his unbalanced teenage mind. He may have Gamer's Mind but it's not nearly perfect enough to prevent innate pride, teenage hormonal unbalanced mind filled with rage-boosting testosterone and a whole cocktail of other hormones. He is not following "might makes right", he is using that as a tool that the VcWF will be affected by in order to avoid having to kill them all so he can try to redeem them. He made a mistake in his judgement. Despite what some people might think, I haven't made him perfect, because (and this is true for everything) perfection is impossible. Finally... bringing up some "minimal amount and form of attack needed to kill a person" as a point for your argument makes you out as "that guy", and nobody should want to be "that guy". It might have

 **thebebb:** Wow. That's... impressive, I suppose. I do wish you'd came back after reading the whole chapter and commented on more than just the first few lines.

 **MysticSpider:** Ew, you made me have to look up a Bleach character. XDDD jk but in all seriousness my lack of knowing who that character is should be evidence enough that THAT is not a plan of mine.

 **Alex2909:** Oh just you wait until later on in this chapter, the plans get... significantly more real, the plans do, at least. Jaune STILL has to get stuff for internal structures, but as far as building buildings go, he can literally consolidate granite walls from the ground itself, upwards, and he does that for some stuff.

 **Colin:** Oh boy! I love reviews like yours, nicely structured and allows me to answer your questions easily. Let's get started.

1) I have planned to make a supplementary log of stuff, maybe I'll put it in a forum. I'll have to see how to make one of those.

2) during the summer, he's going to be mostly focusing on the magics within him. Right now he's on the cusp of prestiging a few skills that he will be getting in this chapter, so just read on to see THAT. If I do make a forum, most of my posts will probably be either info, small notifications, or some casual posts with a few words and a picture.

3) I don't have a specific system, I suppose I mostly use the pictures I have as references. I did mention how tall they were when they evolved, but I'm not the kind of dick that tells you to just go find them on your own, so I'll tell you here as well: Crocea Mors went from 6'1 to 6'6, Xiburichu went from about 5'2 to 6'8, Mystral went from about 3 feet long to about 8 feet long (she's a quadruped, so it's length), Roimontagne went from 6'8 to about 12'4 (earth elementals are notably the largest of the six types), Pluviteus went from about 5'4 to about 9'5, and Juristimunja went from about 6'7 to about 10'8.

4) Jaune will observe some first-year Beacon students in this chapter, so I'll answer that fairly early in this chapter. However, be assured that he and his Party will be ahead of the curve, if not in levels then at least in stats and skills, since as Party Members, their Character Levels advance independently of their stats and skills.

5) I won't be warning you guys when I abandon this story, because I will NOT be abandoning this story. I'm far too invested in it to quit. Delayed? Yes. Delayed as all hell? Yes. Abandoned? No. My dedication is as undying as a Paladin's.

 **Fetterega:** A not-so-ideal review, but hey, they can't all be all-positives, and personally I find myself proud that I've attracted a diverse enough audience that someone among you has taken the time to voice their concerns. I do have to answer peoples comments, questions, AND concerns. I WILL precede this entire thing, however, by saying that I DO surrender that you've made very good, valid points, and will admit I am wrong where I am wrong, but I will voicing what counters I have, as valid or invalid as they are/will-be-accepted-as... Let's begin then, shall we?.

1) Honestly, the last chapter was an exception, not the norm. I will mostly be trying to corral myself back to writing 20k-30k chapters, because I ended up taking much longer than intended to write out all the WF stuff, and there was a definite ending point I wanted to reach. If I were to go back and edit everything around in the last chapter, though, I'd probably take out the parts after he dealt with Dillan and put them into this chapter, but I wanted to start this chapter as fresh as possible when the group got to Vale.

2) This pattern hasn't been the best, admittedly, and I could probably remove a lot of little bits that don't matter and the story be just as good, but I'm just going to have to ask you to trust me when I say that I will stay dedicated to this story until the end, mainly because I too have seen many stories that have been seemingly abandoned. God have mercy that I don't die either, that'd suck all kinds of ass. I'm also probably not going to be writing THAT much. I'm going to focus as much as I can on getting the important stuff done and leaving some room for extra bits that marble the chapters with juicy fat, like a fancy steak.

3) I'm not going to be abandoning this story because it would kill me inside. I'm going to make all effort possible to avoid getting into long hiatuses as well, because that shit sucks all kinds of ass. As for bookkeeping, my ultimate goal is that Jaune doesn't go so much for quantity (multiple skills that are elemental variants on the same skill don't count) as he does quality. If I went for purely quantity, then the 66 pages of T1 skills would probably be 100 pages! He'll be advancing his skills rather than just getting new ones. I'm going to do my absolute best to make sure that happens. Party size will (spoilers) be staying at Jaune, RWBY and (J)NPR, his dad, Marbel, Thomas (Banesaw, for those who've forgotten), and Skyler. The most I'd add to this already substantial group of 12 people would MAYBE be _temporarily_ a couple of his sisters, a pitied kid or two, and a couple of plot-important people. The ONLY permanent additions would probably be Velvet and Coco... as for series plot, I'm already planning on going through the entirety of V1-3 (40 episodes, 40 chapters.)

4) For the viability of canon, I personally believe that it's more affected by the changes in psychological, emotional, and social values of the group, rather than their power levels. Think about One Punch Man. Invincible super hero, but they managed 12 episodes of stuff because they managed a series that had that kind of powerful person in it well, and I'll be doing my best to manage this story. Things will hurt Jaune, I will FIND ways of hurting and breaking him. For obvious reasons, he won't just DIE, but it's like a Turing Test, how well will I be able to convince you that he WILL?... Also, to correct you on your allegations of his powers:

-4a) Dozens of Semblances? I will meticulously go through his skill list and FIND all skills I've made that are/could be semblances: Prismatic Spray (derived from Almaz), Engineer's Aura (derived from Ironwood), Charging Shine (derived from Adam), Blade Mode (derived from Ozpin), Signal (derived from a past person's semblance), Superweight Field, some abilities of Stealth could be part of a semblance, Teleportation (derived from Qrow), Telekinesis (Glynda), Alchemical Aura, Runecraft, his six single-element buffs could be the result of 1 semblance used to enhance the body with Dust, as could his dual-element ones, Guardian's Vigor could be a single full semblance, same with Invisibility, and Blinking (Enhanced Weight would be a part of Superweight Field so it doesn't count). Beast Tamer+Green Thumb+Nature's Bond would most-likely all be parts of one semblance, Stone Skin, Metal Skin, Beast's Blood, Illusion, Lifeforce Regeneration (derived form Sayon), I.D. create would be one, but also would be possible by very powerful people with either lucky elemental affinities or access to the right kinds of Dust, so it's like 0.5. Photolocation could be one, and Magic Eyes counts as like 3 I'll admit, but Pathfinder is 1 semblance. Druidic Proficiency counts as 0.5 as well. Fate Coin and Stay True... This is a total of 29... okay, yeah, I'll give you this point, but I'll take away that it's likely less than you assumed it was (it was twice what I assumed it was, to be fair).

-4b) He could scan a crowd for people of interest at the very beginning. The only change is that he's gotten better at doing that as time went on, as he became able to see better and read faster.

-4c) He can't break illusions, he can see through them, but not break them. He can challenge them, but he can't make them _go away_. Doing so would be very, VERY difficult at the moment. I cannot currently conceive how he'd do this.

-4d) Okay yeah, the insane AP regeneration, I'll give you that point too, so overall you get 2/4 points.

5) Here's a rough chart of Jaune's current goals, since you said it's getting increasingly important. I've listed the items in order of descending priority (dated to "as of the beginning of this chapter): Top priority = Deal with Weiss' stuff, keep the White Fang from fucking up Game Group (GG)'s shit, keep GG safe and sound, reform/exterminate White Fang... Priority = Figure out what's up with his own Game shit and dreams and stuff, Deal with Cinder and her shit, construct enough of Celeste to live in permanently... Back Burner = Deal with Juniper's shit, reconnect with his sisters... they might seem a little skewed, but know that they're all very important to him, but he has to have an order to this stuff. As he finishes some objectives, he'll shift his priorities considerably.

Alright... that's everything I have to say. As I said before, I do agree that you make very good points, I just have to say that I'm going to need all of my reader's trust that I will deliver ASAP every time.

 **anonreader47:** No. To quote Ser Integra from Hellsing Abridged, "That would be retarded." XDDDDDD, but anyways no that's not going to happen.

 **A Guest with... ambitions:** Sooooo... Sword Mastery, Sword Ascendant, Sword Transcendent, Sword Epic, Sword Legend, Sword Cosmic, Sword Myth, Sword God... none of those have any rings to them (except maybe Sword Legend and Sword God, but that's stretching it a liiiittle far, and when I put THAT many i's into liiiiiittle, it does NOT mean little)... Nope... wait hold on, I had to reread that part of your review like 4 times, but now I get it. Maybe, Jaune would consider letting them in on the secret after they're also well-established in Celeste, which requires Celeste itself be well-established, so it's gonna be a long time away... a tutor skill would help a lot, actually, now that I think about it. Usage of skill books will probably be reserved for perhaps a high-level bonus to the tutor skill... haha, hahaha, Hahahaha, HAHAHAHA, AHAHAHAHAHAHAH, HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHhAHhahHAhahahahahahAHHAHAHAHhahahahahahah *heavy coughing*... *ahem* I've read TGWP in its entirety, hell I actually have (sorry for those who think I'm a beacon of virtuous uniqueness and originality) a tab open with a bookmark specifically pointing me to the final tally of all of that story's skills (and some more stuff, but the skills are the most useful). I've been greatly inspired by TGWP, as well as The Name of the Game by literalsin, and a few bits and pieces of Multiplayer by NeoShadows. Other than those three, I've done my absolute best to keep all my ideas and plot points being my own designs. Now that I've clarified that, I'll cut this response off here.

 **A Guest dealing with Omakes:** Let me explain it a little better. I will update a "serial omake" every 5 chapters (one that goes on for more than one "omake chapter"), and those that are not the serial omakes will be other stuff, like the ideas for omakes that will be shown in the next couple of chapters. You have given a fourth planned, so that's good, thank you for that... overall, probably the Yamcha of the group depends on what sort of parameters you're looking for. Nobody here is "pure Yamcha". However, the most like him would probably be Weiss, because she has the lowest level of skill in the group, AND has the weakness of motion sickness on airships (unless Jaune is there). The close 2nd place runner-up is actually Skyler, because she has a similar low level of skill, and no aura (since she's a grimm). Third place is a hot competition between Nora with the increasingly apparent "glass cannon" level of health, Ren with the increasingly apparent "can't keep it up" level of stamina, Blake with the "negligible defense" ninja-ism, and finally Ruby's soul's aversion to growing up into a big strong Aurora. The closest to being the Vegeta to Jaune's Goku would be Yang, as her only weakness is disappearing faster than the others'. Still, though, in this group, the distribution of power levels is not as skewed as in Dragon Ball, so DO keep in mind that even Weisamcha can kick your ass twelve ways to next Easter Sunday... hmmm, I think that's a joke from, uhhhhhh~, what were there names? The Five Sun Squad? Yeah, them... XDDDDDDDDD

 **Tailturner (in chapter 4):** Yes, it was based entirely on that. "It's just a flesh wound." and such... yeah, the reference wasn't meant to be super duper well-hidden, thinking back on it, XDDD... yeah, I sometimes find it hard to limit myself so that I'm behind the line that marks the difference between "inspired by X" and "masked copy of X", but I'm glad I've seemed to keep behind that line. Jaune also likes keeping his numbers even... what was he doing? Why, regrowing pieces of skull and brain, my dear boy/girl! He 'blacked out' because he was shot through the head (which was briefly blown out like a watermelon would be), only for that wound to just seal back up like nothing happened at all and him to just smile. They were too shocked to fire again... also that chapter was a long time ago, before I improved a lot.

* * *

 **Still at this current moment looking for a cover image or something. IDK.**

 **Last chapter was fucking huge! This chapter shouldn't be too long, though, it doesn't have as much faff to go through. Yes I'm american, Texan even, and I said faff. Fucking sue me, british readers, :P ...** **JK, JK, I just don't see this chapter lasting all too long, if I keep it to just "the stop in Vale and all Jaune does with that"...** **The only reason why I foresee like, 6 hours worth of stuff able to fill a whole chapter is because for Jaune, the world is getting smaller and smaller as he gets more mobile, and so he's able to do things across town from each other in less than an hour.**

 **Alright, furthermore on the things having to do with the levels of skills and stats: Prepare for a significant amount of prestiging skills (by that I've found that I only mean "more than two"), because Jaune has more than a few skills ready to prestige.**

 **Also, I just had a thought on another omake. Right now I have 4 lined up: Sequel to Jade Hex, Jaune pulling a Sans, and the just-thought-of idea of Gemline VS Spraymist. Just you WAIT to see what THAT one entails, hehehe. Fourth is one I just got from that one Anon review response, which is an omake on Jaune going Dragonball and wrecking shit with all those crazy boosts. Also, I've decided (and this may sadden some of you) to not update the Celestia Arc serial omake until chapter 24, purely just to make room for other stuff.**

 **Anyways, let's get to it!**

 **Story Arc 2: Playing Prometheus**

 **Chapter 18: The Noontime before the Fog**

* * *

 _(Patch Island, Ruby POV)_

I yawned softly as I woke up slowly, my bed pooling the sun's warmth, as well as my own, into itself, leading to a soft, warm, comfortable waking up.

I shifted, rolling over in bed. I'd been sleeping better recently, if only a little. I didn't know if it was a side effect or just a coincidence, though, but...

I'd been waking up with 'urges', ones that brought a blush to my face despite my attempts to resist it. I knew what it was, and what it meant, I just didn't know what caused it.

I doubt I was getting wet from amorphous nightmares, that just didn't seem possible.

I got the urge to just lay in bed, too, or just have a lazy day, eating cookies and relaxing. I'd been working really hard lately, which included thousands of lien in fare for airship rides to other towns, in order to get closer to some big Grimm.

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Name: Ruby Rose  
** **Title: Little Red Fighting Hood  
** **Level: 64 -} 68  
** **Class: Reaper  
** **Nickname: Rosie**

 **HP: 9100 -} 11,000  
** **AP: 21,000 -} 23,000  
** **SP: 13,000 -} 16,000**

 **Strength: 42 -} 45 (+12%) = 50.4  
** **Dexterity: 92 -} 95 (+217%) = 301.15  
** **Vitality: 51 -} 55 (+12%) = 61.6  
** **Intelligence: 100 (+88%) = 188  
** **Wisdom: 40 -} 42 (+65%) = 69.3  
** **Luck: 25  
** **Charisma: 82 -} 85**

 **Stat Points: 30 -} 50**

 **You have been afflicted with the status effect "Natural Growth"**

 **Height: 5'2 -} 5'3  
** **Weight: 113 -} 120  
** **Build: Svelte Graceful-} Svelte Athletic Graceful  
Hair/Eyes/Skin: Black with Crimson Highlights / Silver / Pale -} Light  
** **Cup Size: BB**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

I sighed softly, recalling the game sarcastically congratulating me on getting some sun and ceasing to be a vampier. I rejected both the minor pissed-off-ness, as well as the sexual urges, finding it... oddly easy. I sat up, rubbing my eyes and thinking about what Yang _wouldn't_ do, since she'd probably give into the urges.

I took in a deep breath, then let it out slowly, my Aura glowing softly around my body.

 **"Castitas" level increased by 1!**

"EEP!" the sudden notification popping up sent me sprawling backwards. I rubbed my eyes and sat up again, groaning lightly.

Not the best way to start the day.

I looked around for the notification I had in mind, and found it sliding into view.

 **You have been blessed with the power of "Castitas"!**

I stared at it for a few seconds. Blessing? What? I checked the skill in question.

 **-/\\-**

 **Castitas (Passive & Active) Level: 2, Exp: 25.34%  
** **The rejection of the impure that shields one from corruption... the eternal love that remains when ephemeral Lusts are washed away. The Aura of living beings naturally shields them from many threats and passively prevents malicious effects from being formed within the body, washing away the Aura of others as it tries to take shape. Against outside forces, however, Aura may stand only as a shield to prevent invasion. With this skill, however, one's purity may spread outward and become a shield of its own, protecting the user from all harm.**

 **For 298% the cost of a magic-based attack targeting the user, the attack may be dissipated in a burst of aura. Some types of additional effects are also dismissed.  
** **Against magic-based attacks with a physical component, only the magical part of the attack is negated.  
** **Against attacks with an area of effect, only the user is protected.  
** **Only applicable to attacks targeting the user in some way.  
** **Increases Ease of Casting for self-targeting skills by 102%**

 **-/\\-**

I got... a defensive skill? It seemed to be based on purity of person, or something... I guess I was a pure person? I could feel its effects in my head, though. Something inside my mind, almost like what I'd imagine a piece of Gamer's Mind to be, helping me reject unwanted emotions.

That was how I found it oddly easy to reject those urges, especially after that dream...

 _'Yang guiding me... Jaune k-kissing me... and then we started to undres-'_

"EEEEEEEP!" I covered my face with my arms, trying to push the thoughts out of my head. Stupid brain! Stupid hormones rising up! I blame VIT for this!

Being tougher sucks when it comes with the side-effect of lewd dreams and urges! I knew it was part of growing up, but hearing about them and actually experiencing them were two highly different things!

I rushed from my room, grabbing a towel on the way out, and made my way to the bathroom.

The skill wasn't working, I needed a cold shower!

* * *

 _(earlier, aboard Weiss' airship, Jaune POV)_

 **By raising "Ki Breathing" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Ki Ventilation"!**

 **By raising all "Boxing Champion" skills to level 75, you have achieved the title "Rising Champion Boxer"!**

I let out a grunt, denting solid steel with another punch, then another, then another. Sixteen punches in total flew forward and dented a foot-thick wall of steel.

I felt a prickling at my mind that felt connected to my muscles and now to my internal organs.

I had been boxing for a while now, and I felt insight trying to enter my mind as I cut the combo and began anew, guarding against four rapid swings from Crocea Mors swinging iron rods attached to hinge joints on the wall. Mystral, during all of this, kept the sound from reaching the sleeping Weiss' ears.

It may have seemed like just punches and blocks, but there was something more to it. It was a style, and like any style it had masters. It had legends.

A master knew all about his weapon of choice, whether that be his fists, his sword, or even his gun. He had honed his skills into an art form, and after learning all there was to learn about what his weapon knew, it would be time for him to teach his weapon something new.

I punched Crocea the elemental out of the wall, shattering the unbelievably hard, but brittle steel, and followed up with a powerful slash, swinging Crocea the sword and cut the golden knight in two.

Silvery 'blood' gushed from his chest, drawing towards his feet after hitting the ground and soaking back in as I accepted a few truths all at once.

Swordplay was an art form, and I was to become a master. I would cut my way towards even the unobtainable perfection, to reach a point where there was nothing left to learn.

Boxing didn't just make you stronger and tougher as a _fighter_... it made you stronger and tougher as a _person_. I would not only be a bigger fighter, but a bigger _man_.

Ki... it was the essence of my breath and my body. As I breathed in and it ventilated throughout me, I felt it soak throughout my lungs, across to my heart and down to my stomach, infuse into my liver and pancreas, my kidneys and my intestines, reinforcing my functions. I even felt the poison I'd injected myself with already breaking down as my Ki flowed through my internal organs. My experience with games taught me that poison was fucking annoying.

I felt chains in my mind and soul break as the truths came free.

 **Honing your mind against the calls of Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Greed, and Pride, has increased your INT by 4!**

 **By raising "Boxing Champion" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Boxing Legend"!**

 **By raising all "Boxing Champion" skills to level 99, you have achieved the title "Champion Boxer"!**

 **By raising "Sword Proficiency" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Sword Mastery"!**

 **"Poison Resistance" level increased by 1!**

 **"Ki Ventilation" level increased by 2!**

I cracked my neck, letting out a long breath, and making Crocea drop the wall and remove the hundred or so steel spikes stabbed into my body.

 **"Physical Resistance" level increased by 1!**

 **Enduring extreme physical damage has increased your VIT by 1!**

 **Overcoming extreme weight and struggle has increased your STR by 1!**

 **Working around very awkward ranges of motion and increasing your flexibility and reflexes has increased your DEX by 1!**

 **Increasing your level of fitness and physique has enhanced your physical attractiveness and increased your CHA by 2!**

I'd snuck out with a combination of several powers and gathered up tens of tons of steel from scrap, drawing from cars that could use some reinforcement, and other various sources, all of which wouldn't be missed. I stowed away my now twenty-ton weightsuit back into the inventory. Sighing, I rolled my shoulders.

Weiss was... well, she was still asleep, but besides that, I could tell she was damaged. We all were a little damaged from the incident.

I sighed and clenched my fist, then took in a deep breath, letting it go and letting my hand relax. I thought back to Dillan. He was an asshole, but he'd made a good point, even if his delivery of it made me want to wring his fucking neck. I had to take my job seriously, or more people would speak up like he did. I couldn't count on Charisma and Luck to always cover for when I looked like a clueless schmuck. I had to be a big man, suck it up, let go of my pride, and do better.

Not just for Weiss, or for money, but for the sake of this whole fucking tour, and all the fans that would be disappointed to see it crash and burn because I was a little too prideful and violent, punched a guy in the face, and he used his one good eye to find some dangerous people and point them at us for target practice.

I sighed again, then put four points into my INT to help me 'hone' my mind and help me reject these feelings.

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: All Star Boxer -} Champion Boxer  
** **Level: 73  
** **Class: Magic Knight / Tank v2  
** **Nickname: Knightlight**

 **HP: 46,000 -} 46,300  
** **AP: 187,000 -} 190,000  
** **SP: 68,000 -} 68,600**

 **Strength: 88 -} 89 (+325%) (+115%) (+80%) (+220%) (+175%) = 903.35  
** **Dexterity: 80 -} 81 (+325%) (+115%) (+80%) = 502.2  
** **Vitality: 92 -} 93 (+325%) (+115%) (+80%) (+220%) (+50%) = 827.7  
** **Intelligence: 166 -} 170 (+5) (+325%) (+50%) = 831.25  
** **Wisdom: 200 (+5) (+325%) (+50%) = 973.75  
** **Luck: 116  
** **Charisma: 85 -} 87**

 **Stat Points: 93 -} 89**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

I sighed, it didn't help all that much. I had to condition myself to be better. I just... had to learn to be better, and act on that learning. I was still a human being, I still had flaws and those flaws were okay sometimes, but needed to be kept in check or else they'd end up fucking me and everyone else over.

Just the threat of being the reason why my friends got hurt was enough to make me suck in a tense breath and mentally say a prayer that I'd be able to do better.

Letting out the breath, I looked through my skills, noting several that were within a reasonable range of getting prestiged. I smiled, as this was a day I looked forward to.

The day I'd hone the more normal and mundane skills into something more. Something beyond their limits.

And then I saw a spell in the Misc folder that made me deadpan.

 **-/\\-**

 **Gender Bender (Active) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00%, Cost: 46,000 AP.  
An ability oft theorized on, but rarely extrapolated. Manipulating certain life energies in certain ways allows the caster to switch themselves or another to the opposite gender. Be warned, though, for it is often that people will not be as fully formed in the opposite gender as they are in their natural gender.**

 **Changes you to the opposite of your current gender.  
Recipients may not be as developed in the opposite gender as they are in their natural gender.**

 **-/\\-**

I stared at it, "I must be going fucking insane." I shook my head, rubbed my eyes, and stared the skill again, "This... this is a real spell."

I facepalmed, then sighed. I'd probably gotten it from that weird bit of dream where I was a woman and Yang was a man. Honestly, it was just... weird as hell.

I let out a long sigh, "Haaaaaaahhhhh... fuck, man." I didn't feel like testing it out, even if I could cast it twice without hesitation. I looked over and saw that Weiss was still asleep. It was hardly dawn, and I'd been keeping my 'banging fists against steel wall' sounds down to nothing, so it made sense.

However, besides resuming 'banging fists against steel wall', I had other things to do today. A lot of things, actually.

I sighed, rubbing my face. I had to get out and actually do some work on my physical stats, as managing the others has left me beginning to lag behind. Gamer's Body prevented any sort of decay of physical conditioning, and it wasn't like I was sitting on my ass meditating, reading, or just thinking about shit all day, but it wasn't something I wanted to leave sitting.

I rolled my shoulders, then checked my scroll, searching online for any good dancing music. I hadn't danced in so long, and I'd been leaving an old skill sitting for far too long.

Hmmm... adding _that_ to the plans.

I burned a few thousand Aura to fill up my Hunger meter, which I found out long ago that it didn't require any sort of balanced nutrition, only calories. It was one of the common fairness factors of survival games that it didn't matter _what_ you ate, so long as you ate at all. Maintaining a balanced diet when the most you probably had was 'berries, cooked meat, and fuck-all' was pretty much impossible.

I shoved the thought aside and began plotting ideas out on the mental map of Eagle Mountain in my head. Roimontagne would certainly be showing his stuff with this project.

I nearly left the room, but the second I stepped across the threshold, I heard Weiss let out a small whimper, needing my presence to stave off the airsickness.

I sighed... we were all damaged from the incident.

Some of us just hid it better than others.

* * *

 _(an hour later, ship landing, Jaune POV)_

I cracked my neck, "Alright, everyone, we've got about... six to eight hours before we have to leave for Mistral. We have time to do plenty of things, which is what I'll be starting on in a moment." I looked at Blake and Marbel, "You two already know what you'll be doing."

They both nodded, smiling at me. Marbel stepped forward and hugged me, "Thank you, Jaune. We'll be looking forward to seeing you again." she smiled up at me.

I patted her on the back and smiled back, "Don't worry, Pebbles, it'll only be a month. Sorry about the bad stuff that happened, but hey! We're all much stronger for having gone through it." I took her dagger in hand, the blade being juuuust short enough to class as a dagger (rather than a shortsword) in her hands, and Crocea Mors began to work his magic, "Consider this a reward for making it this far."

The dagger was rather simple, a dirt-brown handle, lightly curved silver crossguard and silver spherical pommel. The edge was a very faint pink, the core a pinkish magenta, her favorite color. I was set to change that.

The double-edged blade compressed into a single-edged blade, as about twenty pounds of magenta-recolored redsteel was added, to increase its striking force. The handle wrapping changed from dirt-brown to a grassy green with Alchemical Aura's application. She'd told me about how she partially stopped Kroma during the incident, and I decided to add a greensteel revolver into the hilt, framed by a slightly wider green crossguard than before. It was sized to fit eight rounds of .360 magnum ammunition, fired from a barrel sitting on the back of the blade. The trigger was positioned right above the handle, well within easy reach. The pommel changed from silver to magenta, the blade's edge was replaced with whitesteel, and petal-like shapes of both color and actual metal formed. The line marking the transition from core to edge, or the 'hamon' as the Vacuans called it, shifted to look like a chain of dahlia petals, a few petals wrapping around the barrel of the revolver for more stability, overall looking like several dahlia blossoms had been stamped onto the weapon.

I smiled, then bowed and held the weapon out to her, laid across both hands, "Your sword, my young knight. As you grow stronger, so should not only your aura, semblance, and skills, but your equipment as well. I'll let you name it."

Marbel stared at the invigorated weapon with wide eyes, "That... I..." she let out a choked gasping sound, "I don't... I don't know what to say... thank you." she took the (very long) dagger in hand and tested its weight, swinging it a couple of times, "I... I don't know what to call it. I have to think on that."

I chuckled, smiling and ruffling her hair, "That's perfectly fine, Marbs. Now go on, you should run on home when we split up. Your parents have probably missed you a lot." she nodded, stepping back as I turned to look at Blake, "Well, Blake, looks like you'll be back at the castle then. You know the drill, try to keep the place clean while I'm gone, okay? And that means MORE than just the library."

Blake sighed, "So Marbel gets a new weapon, and I get cleaning duty? Hardly fair."

I smiled, "You'll be living at the castle, it's common practice to clean your own home. As for your reward for being awesome, I'll be acquiring a lot more books you can read, including a book on fishing. I'll also be working on setting up some environmental systems better than just 'some fans' working in the castle, so you won't be sweating all over your books. Home, food, water, entertainment, comfort, I'd say it's a helluva reward." I held out Gambol Shroud, and Crocea did his thing, adding material to increase the heft, reinforcing the weapon, and making the gun a little stronger by refining the shape so more force would be retained by the bullets, "And of course, here's your weapon upgraded."

She smiled, "Thank you, Jaune. For everything, really." she looked a little shy, and I made the move for her, drawing her into a hug, "You've done so much for me, for all of us really, I feel like I should repay you somehow."

I chuckled, "Just keep on being my awesome friends and be happy and smiling, and that's payment enough." I patted her on the back and let go of her, finding her reddened face adorable. I turned to look at Weiss.

"We already hugged earlier." she said simply, "You all go do as you wish, I'll be here, waiting for the ship to be ready."

I looked at Nora and Ren, "Why don't you two explore the town, hm? It won't be nearly enough time to explore everything, but you'll at least get a bit of experience being in Vale City." Nora nodded happily, and immediately dragged Ren off to go... wherever it was she wanted to go. I turned to Weiss again and smiled at her, "Well, Weiss, as a gift, how about I take you to go greet Yang and Ruby later? I know you three have been wanting to see each other for a good while now."

She hummed, thinking it over, then smiled at me, "I suppose that could work. Standing around waiting is just going to invite boredom and trouble. Let's go, then."

My dad cleared his throat, "I should probably head to the house and, I dunno, mow the yard. I hadn't done that in a while and it's been bugging me bit by bit since we left."

I nodded, "Well, you can go do your physical labor, that's your choice, and we've all made ours, so... teleport!" I pulled us into an I.D., which to those around us would have looked like a teleportation.

I watched Marbel and Blake start running through the now empty streets, avoiding now empty moving cars that crashed into each other on the streets. I looked at Weiss with a soft sigh, "Yang and Ruby are gonna take a bit to get here, which gives me time to go check on something at Beacon. You can come if you wish, but there's some confidential stuff I'll be dealing with, and I can't take you with me into the specific buildings to check on it. You can stay outside and have a look at the architecture, though. It really is a beautiful school."

Weiss hummed, stroking her chin in thought, before looking at me plainly, "I suppose that sounds like fun. It would be wise to get a feel for the place before we start, so as to not get lost wandering around."

I nodded, "Alright then, let's get moving." I picked her up and slid her into a piggy-back hold, then stacked on my speed boosts and began running, splintering solid stone with my takeoff.

... _(about a minute later)..._

Bull Rush may have just been an empowered charge, but Bulldoze was much more. A small corona of Aura surrounded us, reinforced by Aurora, as we broke through walls and buildings, barreling through the city like a bat out of hell. Thankfully, the protective barrier kept any rubble or shrapnel from hitting Weiss, so she was safe.

We had not only sped through buildings, but also across the lake and up the cliff face (with some help from my Gravity elemental), popping up over the edge and flipping in the air, twisting and pivoting around, and finally landing on three limbs, blowing dust away from the impact point in a great plume. I then sped off again, reaching the statue in front of the school and smiling up at it. I let Weiss off of my back and waited for Blake and Marbel to give me their go-aheads.

While I waited the few minutes for the affirmative, I summoned a Flash Axe and a Gleaming Dagger, hacking and cutting apart a few dozen Ursa, jamming the dagger into one's eye, hacking the head off of another, making sure they all focused on me with Signal, an old skill that I realized was gaining levels fairly fast. Just for fun, I charged it up and prompted the I.D. to summon a few hundred various creatures, watching them all focus on me.

Every swing of the dagger refined its shape, every swing of the axe reinforced and sharpened it. Power Burst and Combo-Count Attacks both worked to help me slay dozens of Grimm at a time, supplementing my melee attacks with the power of VB Incandescent Glow.

I levitated the weapons as I summoned the VB Hunting Talons, the melee attack. As expected, it gave me claws of fiery aura. I focused on the patterns, ingraining them into my memory, and working to ingrain them into my soul. They resonated on a different frequency than the AD skills, which allowed them to exist in harmony.

For that, I was damn thankful, because holy shit would my inner completionist be PISSED if I couldn't use more than one of the Beastly Arts.

The two skills found themselves rapidly petering off in EXP gains, returning to a 'normal' advancement rate at about level 85 each, as the remainder of what I knew about the two weapons seemed to 'process' through the Fundamental Factors. I switched to a combination of both Day Breaker and Dawn Mace, the hammer in my right hand and the mace in my left, as I smashed heads and crushed bones into powder, reaching about level 86 with a bit more knowledge of hammers than either axes or daggers.

I knew a bit more about these 'weapons' after learning from wielding Excalibur. In truth, these 'weapons' weren't weapons at all. Even before when I'd called them 'weapons', they hadn't truly _been_ weapons, really just... Aura given shape by will and solidity by an alignment to metal.

They weren't weapons, they were _templates_ for weapons, shapes to be given soul, form, and detail by the user. In the past, such weapons were used and stories were written about the great ones, which had earned names.

No, they didn't just earn names, they earned _identities._ They earned _titles_ that had symbolic meaning. In fact, they had come to possess, in their own right, as much spirit as their wielders did.

Beowolves rapidly dissipated as I plunged the spear-like Magic Missile through three of them, spinning it and jabbing seven more as they all came at me, and I could feel dozens of claws trying to cut into my back, but my defenses were high enough that the damage was minimal. When Magic Missile reached level 85, I spun around with Sunbeam Zweihander and Soul Scythe, clearing ten feet of space around myself as I used Frozen Light to assist Aurora in making them even more oversized than they normally were.

A sword of massive size and potential, the Zweihander was, in fact historically, its heft made it a prime choice for executioners who would put down dishonored soldiers, in place of the more brutish axes used for peasants. Similarly, the scythe was a symbol of harvest and, thus, historically came to be associated with time coming to an end, which naturally led to it being deemed the weapon of choice for the spirit of Death.

I suddenly saw a boost to both of their levels, which ended at about level 93 each. I pushed a little harder, calling on the power of my Moral Fiber as I unleashed Tenshi Katana and cut a swath through the crowd, reaching the edge near Ozpin's tower. I created Sparkling Chain, the 'magic melee spell' equal to a whip.

Admittedly, I didn't really know much about whips, but what I figured out was that Bloodlash, the weapon I'd claimed from the fallen Navio, could be used as a conduit for it, creating long, thin cables rather than amorphous 'consolidated liquid' whips, which gave them more durability.

I didn't recall every being very immune to the power of hype, so it made complete sense why I found such insane satisfaction in the fact that this weapon could be used in conjunction with Far Slayer of all fucking things.

Grimm fell to not only the razor-sharp 'whips', but to the massive arcs of energy that launched from them, thinning the crowd by a massive amount. Since the Dust crystals were the 'inert' variant, the only limiting factor was my Aura, which meant that Aurora actually allowed me to make much longer whips. The cost eased as the levels rolled in, which just allowed me to make them larger and larger.

 _Marbel C: Hey, I just got home. :C_

 _Blake C: That's pretty convenient. I've passed by the border. :C_

I nodded, _Jaune C: Right, gimme a sec. Accidentally spawned too many Grimm, gotta kill them all real quick. :C_ I charged into the crowd, using Cyclone Strike and finishing off the last of the Grimm in about twenty seconds, _Jaune C: Kay, killed 'em all. Just one second to get back to Weiss and help her into a disguise, and I'll drop it. :C_

 _Marbel C: I hope we don't have to wait another second after that. :C_

 _Jaune TC: XP :TC_

 _Marbel TC: EP :TC_

I helped Weiss into a thorough disguise, then destroyed the I.D. whilst making an illusion of a burst of light, which made it appear as though we'd just teleported here. I smiled and pat Weiss on the shoulder, "Alrighty, here we are. Don't draw too much attention to yourself, 'Rosa', but try to have fun. I'll see ya in a bit." I gave a two-finger salute, "Seriously though, this shouldn't take very long, but it's REEEAAALLLLLLY important." I flashed a grin at her and began running towards Ozpin's tower.

Weiss reached out to me as I ran off, but I hadn't been exaggerating when I said that what I came here for was really, Really, REALLY important. I knew she'd understand.

Hopefully.

 _...(some seconds later)..._

As I got deeper into the school, I took the time to observe several odd students walking around, given that it was quite early in the morning on a weekend. There were still people who liked being outside, just basking in nature. I could probably count myself among them, except I also liked to help nature grow.

I simply kept to myself as I passed by them. Nobody paid much attention to my presence, and I saw that the first year students out and about right now were averaging in the 50s-60s range of levels. I saw a trio of fourth-year students all sitting around a tree, but none talking to each other, just peacefully and silently sharing the space. One was level 100, the second level 97, the third level 98. I saw a pair of second-years walking in my direction, chatting. I blinked, though, when I took a moment to actually examine THEM and not just their details.

 **Velvet Scarlatina**  
 **Title: Scarlet Heart sewn together by Light**  
 **Level: 77**

 **Coco Adel  
Title: Crosshair Tailor breaking the Boundaries  
Level: 89**

I chuckled, then quickly shot a message to Velvet with my scroll, _Jaune M: Hey friend. You awake? :M_

I saw her blink and pull out her scroll. She gave a small smile, then messaged back, _Velvet M: Yes I am. Is there something you want to talk about? :M_

I chuckled as I saw and heard Coco make a couple of teasing remarks and Velvet blushing and rebuking with a couple of lines about how she was just partaking in a project, before she was interrupted by my message, _Jaune M: Good, that conversation with your leader with be VERY concerning if you just sleep-walking, sleep-talking, and sleep-texting. :M_

She stared at the screen, then looked around. I raised an arm and waved at her, jogging up, "Hey there, Velvet. I assume this is probably your fashionable leader you told me about?"

Coco seemed to mull that over for a second, "Are you flirting with me?"

I shook my head, "No, because I have a girlfriend already and I think it would be silly anyways. You also definitely seem like you hear compliments like that a lot. I just chose the first thing that stood out about you from a distant gaze." I blinked. That... wasn't what I intended to say... Stay True was once again rearing its ugly head. Its effects during normal conversation were minimal at best, I might have said a few more words than intended, or my friends might have said a few more words than intended. However, sometimes it turned a normal response into... what just came out of my mouth.

She lowered her sunglasses and looked at me, "Astute, but dorky observation. Velv DID say you sounded like a nerd."

Velvet blushed, "Coco! I did not!"

Coco giggled, "She also said how you were planning on taking her in this summer for a 'project'." she lowered her sunglasses a little further, a warning resonating from her eyes, "I won't say I control her life, but I'm pretty well-invested in it, what are you trying to do to our little bun-bun?" she blinked, and I noticed that Stay True had activated _again_.

I sighed, "I just planned on helping her take her skills to a new level, get some new friends, maybe help increase her self-confidence. Nothing bad, I just see a lot of potential in her."

Coco hummed in contemplation, "Well, as leader, I'm responsible for my teammates even while school's out, so I might be joining you in your little 'training' sessions. Might even give you some tips."

I nodded, "Well, that would be nice. It's like they say, the more the merrier!" I chuckled happily. I didn't mind Coco joining us, not really. She was strong (least physically), THAT I could tell already. Maybe not QUITE as strong as I was, but I had like five different boosters and she only had two. If it came down to raw strength, though, she'd definitely win out.

Coco smiled lightly, letting out a small giggle, "Velvet was right, you DO sound like a nerd."

I smiled and shook my head a little, "And you sound like a tailor, weaving together lies~." I gave a small chuckle, "It's not nice to put words in other people's mouths, poor Velvet might have a heart attack from all the embarrassment."

Her eyes flashed with mischief, "Oh really? If you're concerned with her having a heart attack, what would you do if she did? Give her CPR? Maybe a little mouth-to-mouth?"

I cringed a little, "No, I'd just use some healing power. Alternatively, I doubt you wouldn't already be on top of the situation like soil on bedrock."

Coco quirked her lips, raising her sunglasses so they didn't obstruct her vision, and looked me up and down, "You're quite something, I'll say that. You've earned my self-introduction at least. I'm Coco, Coco Adel." she held her hand out with a sickly sweet smile.

I smiled right back and shook it, matching the strength of her grip by calling on a couple of buffs, "Jaune, Jaune Arc. Nice to meet'cha." I smiled, then let go, "I should be getting on my way, however. I think all three of us have things to do this morning."

They both smiled, nodding as I walked past them. I found the spot I desired and stopped, making the illusion that I was conjuring a runic circle.

Behind me, I heard and 'saw' Coco and Velvet turn back at the falsified sound, "Hm?"

Coc lowered her glasses looking at me, "Hmmm... he's got a nice ass, doesn't he?"

"COCO!" Velvet blushed, and I did too a little bit.

I sunk into the ground, appearing as though I'd teleported.

Really, though, I'd actually just sunk into the ground.

 _...(seconds later)..._

It was quite an experience, magically digging through the ground. No, digging wasn't quite the right word for what I did... tunneling?

Closer, but I didn't leave a tunnel behind, especially not one down to the underground vault.

I guess I more 'flew' through the ground, leaving behind no trail, but I didn't quite move myself as I more rather displaced the stone to shift my air pocket downwards.

Eventually I came to a thick layer of heavily reinforced stone, which I could safely assume was the vault's ceiling, since there was a massive empty space below it. It was trivial to get through it, shifting the stone out of the way as the hole spit me out of the ceiling, which I fixed and even put the runes back into place. The emerald lights in the massive hallway gave it away, and if not that then certainly the mass of machinery at the back end.

I sighed, falling gracefully to the ground, landing and throwing up a light cloud of dust when I hit the ground in a three-point land. I lunged forward, stopping in front of the machine.

Amber's body laid still, suspended near-vertically in the machine. I could see IVs leading into her arms, "H-hi." I greeted awkwardly. I'd never really talked to an unconscious person before, especially one I didn't really know. I sighed, hitting her with Gamer's Sight.

 **Amber Cornucus**  
 **Title: The Fallen Maiden of the Fall**  
 **Level: 84 -} 83**

I gasped lightly, "You're slowly withering, I can see that. Maybe you were nearly down a level last time I saw you, or maybe you'd just gone down a level before I arrived. I don't know which, but... I know I want to help you." I looked sadly at her scarred face, "You're very pretty, Amber, it's terrible that this had to happen to someone so young and innocent, as well. Whoever that wizard was, the one who designed the Maiden's powers, they were an asshole and a terrible person, shoving that responsibility onto four young maidens." I sighed, bringing out a comfortable chair and plopping down on it.

Amber didn't even so much as stir.

I sighed, "You know... last night, I had a dream. It was odd, and I think I'm starting to figure it out." I shook my head, "I uh... well, the first one, I was a tiger faunus, a _white_ tiger faunus. It was while I was in Vacuo and studying the Beastly Arts... and after spending a long time thinking about the elements and the Maidens, I had a dream about what seemed like the Wizard. Maybe it was my enhanced mind letting me see from their perspectives while I was asleep, and... and the Ominous Nightmares aren't really predictions, but rather dreams that lets me see into the past with extremely heightened levels of details, but from a first-person perspective. I'd need another example to really cement it, but I guess that's just a theory, really."

She remained skill.

I sighed, "How did you awaken before?" I looked at her, thinking back to just over a week ago. The situation replayed in my mind.

I'd felt an oppressive weight on my body, one that wasn't present currently, we'd locked eyes when I was very close to her, and then Aurora had activated on its own.

Humming, I called upon Aurora, which by this point in time was as simple as breathing. I watched as the broad, star-like glow not only illuminated a large amount of the hall, but seemed to flow towards Amber, visibly getting absorbed into her. She coughed weakly and her eyes opened, looking into mine.

I smiled gently at her, placing my hand on the glass cover, "Hi there, Amber. My name is Jaune, and I'm here to help you." I saw her massive amount of AP steadily ticking up from emptiness, and she seemed to visibly relax. She regarded me with cautious eyes, but my smile stayed strong, "My aura is helping you right now, filling up your own reserves."

She opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a croak. I let Juristimunja manipulate the machine, and released the case. I reached out and gently took her hand, "Trust me. I want to help you." to help prove my point, I charged up Soulforge and cast it on her, several dozen times. Each time, she winced in agony, but I could see that after only fifty usages, the massive debuff to her strength reduced by 1%. It wasn't a permanent fix, she only received a status effect that would temporarily compensate for the debuff, which I focused on.

 **Status Effect: Shattered Season  
Description: After her soul was drained away and torn open, Amber's ability to regenerate AP has been completely crippled, to the point that every point regenerated is used to sustain her withering body.  
**

 **Effects: All AP regenerated is used to sustain the body. Reduces effects of Aura by 95%. Chronic Pain. Physical stats are reduced by 90%. Greatly weakened bodily functions.  
Duration: Permanent.**

She shivered as I finished reading through the status, and I saw a blush creep up her cheeks. I looked her up and down, only to blush when I saw a tube coming out of leg of the white shorts she currently wore, a tube that was filled with a yellowish liquid.

I coughed into my fist, continuing to administer the Soulforges, "I-it's fine. Nothing to be embarrassed about. You're very weak, and that comes with problems." her eyes looked a little empty, and I snapped my fingers in front of her face, "H-hey. Can you even hear me."

She paused, then nodded, letting out another croaked word before stopping and coughing weakly.

I frowned in pity, then used my various abilities to conjure up a glass of cool water, which I then crushed a bit of medicine into, "Here, this should help with the pain. Easy now." I helped her drink it, then gently sat her down in a cushioned chair, sitting across from her.

She coughed lightly, but let out a somewhat more relaxed breath, "Th-thank you." she said in a low, gracious tone, trying not to strain her voice, "H-how do you know my name?"

I pointed upwards, "Ozpin told me. You sure got messed up by those attackers, huh?" I placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry, it happens to the best of us. Hell, it happened to me a few days ago."

She sighed, "I... I tried so hard. I let myself get hurt." she whimpered, looking down at her hands.

I shook my head, "No, no you didn't. I'm sure you fought valiantly."

She shook her head, and I could see her refilled AP was giving her some energy back, "N-no I didn't! I hesitated, and lost. It all hurts, s-so much." she shivered again, and let out a sniffle.

I gently pulled her into a hug, patting her shoulder and rubbing her back, "It's okay. Let me guess, you couldn't bring yourself to deliver the killing blow?"

She nodded against my chest, a few tears leaking through her clenched eyelids.

"It's okay, Amber. Not everyone can bring themselves to kill. It's... a final step that is hard to take." I'd already taken it, but there was a difference between murder, killing to prevent more death, and killing in self defense, and the latter two were justified in a lot of cases.

Still, practical and logical aspects didn't always alter people's moral quandaries, and not everyone could put aside their personal morals to do what was right or necessary. It was a whole big mess and Amber seemed to be caught in the middle of it, "How am I alive?"

I sighed, "The huntsman known as Qrow Branwen found you and saved you from being completely killed, severing the connection between you and the woman who drained you. Do you recall anything about how she did what she did?"

She sniffed, letting out a hum of thought, grunting lightly in the middle of it, "There was a beetle-like insect that came out of a glove on her hand. It attached to my face via some sort of spit, I think... all I remember after the beetle is a split-second of encroaching darkness, a lot of pain, and then nothing."

I sighed, "Of course it isn't easy. Seems like my luck's run out, then. Thank you for what you've given, at least. You're a good woman, Amber, and I hate that this has had to happen to you."

She nodded, "Th-thank you... w-what was your name?"

I smiled gently at her, cleaning her face with a soft, damp cloth, "Jaune, Jaune Arc. It's nice to talk to you, Amber."

She looked at my face, "You're... so young. Ozpin and the others, they trusted you to me?"

I nodded, "I have a special power that nobody else does. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who could have helped you to the point that you were conscious."

She sighed, "I... already feel faint again. I... th-thank you, Jaune, for this. I'm sorry for the trouble."

I shook my head, smiling, "It's no problem, Amber. I-"

 **You are out of AP!**

I paused mid-sentence, staring at the notification. Sure enough, my AP bar read zero.

 **You received the status effect "Plucked Tree"**

I read it and found that my AP wouldn't regenerate as it should for a full five minutes, which sucked ass.

I sighed, seeing Amber's AP already rapidly draining away, "... I was happy to help. For now, you should just rest. I'm going to find a way to help you, okay?"

She nodded weakly, her eyes fluttering closed. In less than ten seconds, she went from simply tired, to fully comatose again. I sighed and very carefully set her back into the pod, closing it and looking at her scarred face once more.

At the very least, she didn't look as agonized as before.

I sighed and sat down, meditating the five minute minutes away and drawing in a bit of AP from the power of mana. When the time had elapsed, and my AP surged back to full, I let out a breath of relief and reactivated my buffs. Without them, I honestly felt a little naked.

With everything in place, I levitated back up, seeming to phase through the ceiling with how smoothly it swallowed me up, setting the rune patterns back into place as I ascended back to the surface, locating Weiss with the Party Tracker and finding her just sitting on the edge of the fountain and statue, "Hey." I greeted cheerfully.

She turned towards me, "Jaune! You took longer than expected. Still, I suppose it wasn't so bad. About ten minutes, I've been sitting here." she looked around with a soft smile, "And you know what?"

I raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"

She smiled, "Nobody recognizes me. I don't have to keep up appearances like this."

"Well, that's nice, I guess." I smiled at her. She certainly seemed happy to not be weighed down by her reputation, "Though I suppose we'd have to change Jellybrownmush to... actually no wait, it still works." I hummed as I thought about it a little more. Yeah, it still worked like that.

Weiss raised an eyebrow in confusion, "I'm sorry?"

I blinked, then cleared my throat, "Right, right, sorry, it's just a little thing I've thought about, JLYBRWNMS. Jaune, Lie Ren, Yang, Blake, Ruby, Weiss, Nora, Marbel, and Skyler. I'm hoping that whatever that quest will be leading to will make her... well." _Jaune W: Human. If my power can turn a Grimm into a human, conceivably, then I could potentially go on to make some serious shit happen. :W_

She looked at me funny, then snorted and giggled, "That has to be one of the most terrible acronyms I've ever heard of! Even if you picked, say, Jelly-brewman, I would probably accept that over 'brown mush'." she stood up and followed me as I conjured the illusion of a teleportation rune circle.

I made the 'flash' as we entered the I.D., "How about... JYSMWNBR, Jasmine Bar? That sounds like a fair name for us."

"That would be excluding that name Thomas, as well as your father. Though, I suppose, then, that we'd make two full teams in Beacon." she hummed in thought.

"Then, I suppose, for two teams, maybe JYSM short for Gypsum, and BWRN short for Burn?" I suggested.

She scoffed as we set into a pace of a several hundred miles per hour, the wind deflected off of us to allow out conversation to continue, "So you'd be on a team of yourself, your girlfriend, your childhood friend, and your grimm-human experiment?"

I shrugged, "I figure it works out best that way. Eh, it doesn't matter right now, I'm going to drop you off back at the airship docks and go make a statement to the White, letting the dead man introduce me as a trusted friend. I figure if I deal with them sooner, I'll have more time to spend with you all later." I smiled back at her as Roimontagne carved a path through the city for us.

Weiss smiled, "Alright then, sounds like a plan."

I nodded, then quickly bled off momentum as we reached the docks, and I set her to 'appear' inside the women's restroom, which was thankfully mostly empty. I used the relatively simple Realm Banish to send her outside the I.D.

Now alone, I poured on the speed as I ran towards the White Fang Alpha Camp, grabbing several cars and consolidating them into a massive ball of metal that I chained to my back through my skin, causing a river of agony to pour up from my muscles to my brain. I reinforced the structure with thick bands of metal wrapped around my body, with rods running through my torso.

Honestly, it hurt like five kinds of hell, one of which was cold, and another a hauntingly large and empty underground cavern with only enough to oxygen to live and suffer from oxygen deprivation, but not die of suffocation.

However, despite the extreme pain, agony, and struggle, I pushed forward like an unstoppable machine.

The fact that I was still (if just barely) able to maintain near-sonic speeds impressed me.

* * *

 _(A few minutes later, Jaune POV)_

I broke free of the makeshift torture/training device, stretching with my fullest range of motion possible, by doing so naked. After limbering up, I checked the training notifications.

 **Extreme exercise of many muscles has increased your STR by 1!**

 **Pushing yourself to move very quickly while heavily encumbered has increased your DEX by 1!**

 **Enduring extreme pain and torturous physical agony has increased your VIT by 1!**

I redressed myself in Adam's clothes, feeling my physique become a bit leaner as my physical form shifted to become more like his. I exited the I.D. and walked towards the camp, my stride and posture exuding confidence, authority, and a general sense of being pissed off at the world.

Sure enough, the act was convincing, as the two guards at the perimeter, who were looking through a crate, caught sight of me and immediately stopped and saluted, "S-sir! We weren't expecting you back for some time. Was your away mission successful?"

I sighed and regarded them with a nod, "It went well, however, I have an announcement to make in a few minutes, regarding a friend of mine." I concentrated and made the illusion of myself walking up to my side.

The two faunus glared at me through their masks, but I myself stepped forward with a grunt that told them to stop or receive my wrath. They backed down, and the copy of me gestured with manipulation of the illusion, and spoke with the power of Shimfan, "Adam's been training with me, and we've been talking about some stuff. I think I should be able to help all of you out." my copy smiled charismatically at them, and they looked at both of us.

I cleared my throat and pointed behind them, "Go inform the others that I have an announcement to make." I ordered, and they obeyed, quickly running off to go spread the word. I looked at my copy and he looked at me, and we both nodded and smiled.

We walked towards the main tent, where Thomas was looking over a map, though he seemed unfocused, _Adam W: So you're sleeping on the job, eh? :W_

He jolted up in surprise, looking at me and my copy, _Thomas W: I assume one of you two is an illusion? :W_

 _Jaune W: No, clearly I found a way to revive Adam using only his soul, and did that while turning him into my friend through very un-nice mental manipulation. :W_

 _Thomas W: Well, that sounds rather awful. :W_

 _Jaune W: It would be easier with two voices here, sadly. Lucky me, though, I have a way to speak up with just my mind. :W_

My copy opened his mouth, "It's nice to make your acquaintance, Banesaw." he smiled, "Adam's told me a lot about you."

He hummed, but decided to roll with it, "All good, I assume?"

My copy shrugged, "A decent guy, a helluva fighter, and a good friend. Sounds like someone I'll be able to get along with." the copy gave a bright grin, pulling up a chair and sitting down in it, which REALLY surprised Banesaw.

I chuckled, "Telekinetic force to mimic having a solid body. With luck, I should be able to avoid this secret getting loose." I smiled at him, "Now then, I'll give them a few minutes to gather everyone, then I'll start the speech. Would you like to join us?"

Thomas sighed, "Well, that idea beats staring at a map and doing nothing for two hours." he got up and walked over to me, crossing his arms, "So, 'Adam', I'm guessing the announcement is about the human next to you?" he regarded my copy.

I nodded, "Well, it's a rather big announcement for just one person, but he's a rather important person." I held down the urge to smile, because Adam wouldn't smile, "I'll give it a minute."

And so we waited.

* * *

 _(A minute or two later, Thomas' POV)_

I sighed, stood, and stretched. The past week was... tough. I had to admit that for his efforts, Jaune had done very well.

It was tough to accept him as my new leader, but it was a choice I had to make, and make it I did. He was... powerful. Not just in terms of abilities, but he had a powerful presence that demanded respect.

I wasn't simply cowed into submission, though he did have to show some strength to convince me. I sighed as I remembered that conversation. There was shouting, screaming, it came to blows briefly, but in the end we'd come to an agreement like men.

I'd wanted a new life, a life where I could be free, pursue my own path, one where I wouldn't be shackled into the lower class because of a pair of fangs.

Then, in came Jaune, with new goals and in the position to actually help. Unfortunately, there was more to my trust than him simply being in the position with the power to help, because many politicians pandered to the faunus with promises of help, only to turn their backs on us the second their position in office were secured.

Let's just say that under Adam's rule, there was a sword hanging over many of those men's heads, waiting for some final straw to be cut and send it plummeting down to split their skulls.

One of the men showed a bit of hesitation as he entered the tent, "Sir, the troops have been gathered." he looked at the image of Jaune, and I could swear I saw a flash of disdain in his eyes through the eye slits in his mask.

The actual Jaune, disguised as Adam, nodded, "Good. We'll be right out." he turned and nodded at me, "Come on, lieutenant." his image stood up from the table, "I might need you for this announcement." he nodded his head towards the tent flap and the 'three' of us exited out to see the crowd gathered.

His image held out a hand and gathered a few boxes to act a makeshift stage, hopping up on top of them. I cleared my throat as I stepped in front of the crowd, "Everyone!" I called out, silencing their chatter, "As all of you know, our glorious leader has an announcement to make. Be silent."

'Adam' cleared his throat, "My followers, thank you for coming on such short notice. As all of you know, our goal is to show the kingdoms that the Faunus will not bow down, subjugated into being regarded as lesser people! We will fight for our freedom, and we will not give up until we have it!" he raised his fist and the gathered faunus cheered.

"But..." his image then spoke up, hushing many in the crowd, "I have what I think might be a bit better solution." he smiled, "It's... a little complicated. How about you start off the explanation, buddy?" he turned his head to look at 'Adam'.

Most-everyone was confused, so 'Adam' began, "As many of you know, I have been away for extended periods of time recently. I would like to introduce you to a dear friend of mine, Jaune Arc." he gestured to his image, "We have been friends for many years, but recently have re-engaged our friendship, as he is already constructing a position for himself to do a massive amount of good for all of faunuskind." he gave a grin, "Though the meal tastes sweeter when you fight for it, I think it might a lot easier to have it served directly to us, on a silver platter, with no complaint."

Jaune's image spoke up, "I have a very powerful semblance akin to conjuration. I'm currently constructing the framework of a settlement in the mountains. It will take time, but when it's finished, it will be a full kingdom on its own, where all people are equal, and such racisms that we see in the four current kingdoms will be not only illegal, but the sociology of this kingdom will be cultivated so that people will willingly accept the faunus as equals." he gave a broad grin, "As Adam here said, sure your freedom might taste a little sweeter when you fight for it, but why bother the kingdoms when they actively resist the changes you plan on making, when you can just go to your own new kingdom where all those freedoms and rights come standard with your citizenship?"

There was a chatter among the crowd, and I could pick out that some people were getting on board with the idea, but of course a dissenter spoke up, "How do we know you aren't going to just stab us in the back like all the others who've promised us freedom?"

'Adam' growled, "Need I remind you, Jaune and I have been in close friendship for several years now. I've seen deep into his psyche and I can assure you that he'd will not disappoint us. He has a habit of making that which seems impossible, into something not only possible, but probable. Whether it takes days, weeks, or months, he will fulfill his promise. He hasn't let me down before, and he won't now." he appeared to give an expectant look at his image.

The image smiled, "You all have my word, not only all of you here now, but all of you in Vacuo and Mistral. I give you my word as a person and as a man. I'm an Arc, and an Arc never goes back on their word." he swept a finger across the crowd, pointing to all of them, "So, do I have your trust, that I will deliver you your freedom?"

More people joined in with those who agreed, but of course another person spoke up, "Hey, aren't you the one working that Schnee bitch?"

'Jaune' sighed, "The public story is that I am currently working as security for the Schnee's tour, but the purpose of this endeavor is to worm my way into her good favors, even her heart. As it was said, I've been crafting a grand position for myself to operate from. I've already begun to turn her from a simple Schnee bitch into a faunus sympathizer! Imagine it, the greatest perpetrator against the faunus, the SDC itself, pulled towards our side by the heiress herself! Our greatest enemy turned into an ally, with every single one of their damn mines emptied of slaves. Not only that, but the SDC also holds weight in the council of Atlas. It's the core of my plan, to gather a massive amount of weight to sway the councils with. Just think, if one kingdom already grants faunus equal rights, then you'll all have a more substantial foothold with which to get worldwide liberation."

'Adam' picked up immediately, "Just think, having one of their own on our side gives us a key ingredient for our victory. After all, those damned council members would be far more likely to listen to another human than even myself." he chuckled darkly, "And the best part of it all? Even while the SDC themselves place the kingdoms into the midst of our pincer attack, we will pull their stuffed pockets inside out and use that money to fund our goals and our own kingdom. An attack on their minds from all sides, where we will reap all of the benefits." he grinned viciously, "So who among you will join us in a renewed, refined fight for our freedom, one where we will humiliate them by making them hand over everything we want, and LIKE IT?!"

I gagged a little, surprised at how easily Jaune was able to channel Adam's viciousness, but was a bit more surprised that he'd turned the whole crowd to his favor. There were cheers from the crowd.

The two grinned, and 'Jaune' spoke up, "Now then, if anyone among you still doubts me, rest assured that Adam will be following me closely as I continue to craft my public image, readying for the moment when we will make our strike and systematically take everything we want." he pointed in the air, "To those of you in Mistral, all we ask is that you not interfere with the Schnee's music tour while we go through the kingdom, we all must bide our time, readying to make the strike." I saw that a scroll was floating above the crowd, "I will inform you all immediately when I deem my new kingdom, named Celeste, viable for living." he looked out over everyone, "This concludes the livestreaming portion of this announcement, the rest of the information we will be providing is only for the Valean White Fang. We thank you for seeing things our way, and hope that you all look forward to the future that we are securing." the scroll clicked as the video ended, then floated back over to 'Adam', who pocketed it.

I watched as Jaune, still disguised as my old friend, cleared his throat, "Now then... there is more information to be had. Some of you may know of another human, a woman named Cinder, who tried to strong-arm me into joining her cause. She promises many things, but Jaune is far more trustworthy. I want all of you to know this, that while we will appear to be on her side, we are definitely NOT." he grunted, drawing his sword and pointing it skywards, "When the time comes, that filthy whore will find the guns she assumed she was hiring all turn and shoot her in the face!" he laughed cruelly, "When the time comes, you all must be ready to betray that bitch for your people."

'Jaune' smiled, "In addition, and this may upset many of you, but we will have to play nice in Vale for a time. Whatever that woman wants, she needs an army for it. When the time comes, she will find that as she charges into the field of battle, there will be nobody by her side, and she will be stranded in the thick of battle as we watch and laugh at her foolishness in trying to trick us." ironic that he says that, because he was currently tricking everyone here.

Honestly, I didn't really have anything to add to the announcement, I just stood there. Maybe I held some importance, like I was a linchpin that solidified the claims that had been made, that it wasn't just Adam, but also his lieutenant that had agreed to this human's plans.

"Now, if we're all clear, I have one more request to make." Jaune said, looking at the crowd, "Celeste is not a kingdom for only faunus. There will be humans there too. I _will_ be selecting only those who will not pose any issue with the faunus, but I am forced to request that in return for this kindness, you do not pose issues with the humans of Celeste. This includes my friends who will be helping me lead. They will not make any trouble with all of you, so long as none of you make trouble with them. One of them is a faunus herself, actually. We shall all be fair, kind, and generous leaders." he bowed, "All we ask for is cooperation, so we can all reach a better future together."

There was minor hesitation, but they all cheered for him, which was reassuring. Undoubtedly, there were at least a few who had reservations about working with a human, but they were willing to trust 'Adam's judgement about him.

"That concludes this announcement. Jaune and I have to leave now, prepare for the trip through Mistral. If any of you have questions, simply ask my lieutenant Banesaw. He will answer them all to the best of his abilities." 'Adam' concluded, hopping down from the crates.

'Jaune' followed, "I'm looking forward to working with all of you in the near future." he waved as the two of them simply walked away.

I sighed heavily, "That's everything, folks. Please return to your stations and camps. I will answer anyone's questions if you have them." I steeled myself in preparation for those who had concerns to voice. At least two dozen people stayed put, slowly making their way towards me. I hopped up onto the crate and regarded them with spread arms, "Alright then, let's begin."

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

 _(meanwhile, Jaune's POV)_

 **Charming and deceiving hundreds of prejudiced people all at once has increased your CHA by 2!**

Far Slayer struck trees as I launched it dozens of time. I was busy running at supersonic speeds towards my next destination. It was hard to believe that I was only barely coming up to three-quarters of an hour back in Vale. Just doing those two things, before all of this happened (assuming I'd be able to do them at all) would probably have taken an hour each.

I cracked my neck as I leapt into the sky, landing sword-first on an Ursa Gigantus that spawned on the city walls. It was impaled, yes, but the sheer force of my body hitting its chest caused its ribs to explode out of its back like a pair of macabre wings befitting its vile nature.

 **By raising "Rushing Strike" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Charging Strike"!**

I leaped off of its body and landed on a Nevermore in the air, axe-kicking off of it and gaining altitude. Once I'd chained together enough ascensions to get a thousand feet into the air, I focused my magical prowess on enhancing my own gravity, sending me rocketing back towards the ground like a meteor.

I hit a Miraganger Star feet-first and proceeded to skate down the street on its body, breaking its head on the concrete and transitioning smoothly into a Sprint as its body disintegrated beneath me, accelerating into Furious Pace.

 **"Amazing Grace" level increased by 2!**

 **"Incredible Strength" level increased by 1!**

 **"Ki Ventilation" level increased by 1!**

I followed the path set by my map, leaping through buildings to gib Beowolves I'd prompted to spawn on the other side, my title **Twice Pacing a Bullet** boosting my reflexes enough to keep track of everything around me and allowing me to not trip and go bouncing along the ground for a mile.

Lightning arced off of my body and zapped the grass as I began slowing down, skidding to a halt right where I needed to be.

I smiled as I sensed the familiar soul in this spot, right in front of the old war memorial as expected. I slipped out of I.D. and pulled the packed breakfast from my inventory, "Hey Jenkins."

The old man jumped in surprised, holding his chest, "God have mercy! Oh, shit, Jaune, don't scare me like that, I'm just an old man." he sighed in relief, "Glad I didn't piss myself."

I frowned, "Sorry about that, friend, just figured I ought to surprise you. Here, to make up for it." I held out the box to him.

He sighed and took it, "I know you didn't mean it, at least." he took a whiff and smiled, "Ah~, that's nice. Shall we?" he gestured to the bench, and I nodded.

"I'm running on a little bit of a timer here, friend, but I have a few questions for you." I made to help him, but he proudly walked over there all by himself, grinning as he sat down and patted the spot next to him.

I smiled and sat down next to him, pulling a drink from my inventory and taking a few swigs, "So... tell me, Jenkins, how WAS your time in the war?"

He chuckled, "I'm surprised you feel the need to ask that, Jaune. Pleased that you're concerned, but surprised by it nonetheless. A lot of people say that the war was terrible, but I had a damn good time in the war! I once shot three men in the head with just one bullet." he smiled, "I made a lot of friends, but... sadly, they're now few and far between." he rolled up his sleeve, showing me a tattoo there.

It was only slightly distorted, allowing me to easily make out that it was an eagle perched on an assault rifle. Wrapped around the rifle was a banner that read _'Veni, Vidi, Vici',_ which I smirked at, "I came, I saw, I conquered... humble."

"Hehe, it's the mark of my squad... we even called ourselves the Thirty-Cal Pred8or Kings... with the number... we even had a symbol, and even though it was just 30C8K, it was ours." he sighed softly and caressed the tattoo, "We were young, once, and then we were deployed as real soldiers." a tear slid down his cheek, "It was a wonderful time, really and truly."

I gently grasped his hand and gave him a hug, "It's alright, friend, I'm sure they're either alive and well, waiting for you, or yelling at you to 'suck it up, pussy!'." I chuckled, as did he, and we slowly got louder until we were just completely caught up in laughter.

After a few minutes, he sighed and wiped a year of laughter from his eye, smiling, "Oh god, that... that is exactly what Blaine would say." he sighed, a hand on his stomach, "I don't think I've had so honest a laugh in years." he smiled, "Thank you for that, Jaune. As I said, the war was a great time for me, but I have to say that my life slowly trickled downhill after it ended." he sighed, looking at his sandwich, "I should finish this thing, the others would admonish me for not doing so." he picked it up.

I smiled, "And I would be offended. I worked hard on that thing."

He chuckled, "Ah yes, toast. So difficult to make." we shared a laugh.

I looked around, "So... Jenkins... I'm starting a new kingdom."

He blinked, then looked at me, "If you and your family didn't have a reputation for making the impossible possible, I'd call you nutters."

I chuckled, "Yeah, well... we'll need a military, even if it's a small one. I was thinking, maybe you'd be willing to be my general?"

His eyes widened and his nearly choked on his food, but got through it and looked at me, "Really?"

I nodded, "Really really. You have the most military experience out of anyone I know. You'll even get your own squad if you'd rather lead on the battlefield rather than from behind a desk."

"Do I get to shoot stuff if I say yes?"

I chuckled at his enthusiasm, "Yes, yes you do."

He gave a cheer, "I'm in! Ahhh, this brings me back to the glory days." he sighed in content, enjoying his food all the more with his good mood.

I smiled at him, "Well, it won't be for a while, but I'll definitely be helping you get up to par at least." I pat him on the shoulder.

 _Yang W: Hey, Jaune, you're in town, right? :W_

 _Jaune W: Yeah, I am. You can probably tell by the distance. :W_

 _Yang W: I can, actually. Me and Ruby are on our way to town. :W_

 _Jaune W: Alright! I'll be there to greet you when you get to the dock. :W_ I smiled widely, "If you'll excuse me, friend, I have young man things to go attend to."

He chuckled, looking at my smile, "Of course you do. Well, have fun with your friends and/or girlfriend, or whoever it us you'll be seeing. I have old man things to do." he finished his sandwich and I picked up the trash, crushing it down and disintegrating it in my hand, tossing the ashes into the trashcan.

I waved as I turned and began Running, appearing to teleport as I slipped into I.D. again.

* * *

 _(At the airship docks, Weiss' POV)_

I smiled as Jaune appear a few feet away, "Ah, you're finished with your other errands then, I assume?"

He nodded, smiling widely, "Yes, yes I am."

We shared a smile, and began walking towards the street, "So, what now, then?"

I was swept off my feet as we slipped into the I.D. again, "We're going to the docks, to greet Yang and Ruby. Yang messaged me and you can probably see their distance reducing as we speak. We're going to go greet them at the naval docks." I was placed on his back as he took off down the road, and I saw the corona of angry aura that surrounded us push aside a couple of cars that were in our direct path, even pushing aside a motorcycle that was an arm's distance away.

"Can't we let them greet us at the airship docks?" I hummed curiously, noticing that we weren't going at sonic speeds.

Jaune shook his head, "Weiss... let me ask you. If you had a boyfriend who you were traveling to see, would you prefer that you greet him at his home, or that he greet you as you get off the ship?"

I mulled over his words. If I was going to be frank, I would say that I didn't know what that felt like, but I doubted Jaune would appreciate me trying to deflect the question like that, "Being greeted DOES seem nicer. I suppose it would better show that he cares about me."

Jaune grinned, "Exactly. So why shouldn't I show Yang the same?"

I sighed, "I'll give you that point, Jaune. You should always show her that you care." a near-mirror image of myself, face framed by boyishly short white locks, flickered through my mind's eye, "You never know what action will be the last you perform towards her."

He looked back at me, then flicked my nose, "Don't get back on that dying shit, okay? Nobody among us is going to die, not if I have even one single syllable to say about it." he smiled at me, "I'd take a whole machine gun's worth of bullets for you, Weiss, same with Yang, and with Ruby, and any of y'all. Y'hear me? Nobody's gonna die."

I stared into his eyes, a brilliant cyan that shone with promise and power, and I smiled, unable to resist snuggling a little bit into his back, "Alright, alright." I let out a small laugh, "No need to get all 'deadly protector' on me either. If I'm not allowed to tense the mood with my seriousness, you aren't either." I rubbed my knuckles into his scalp, "So stop it. It's unnecessary."

He sighed, "Maybe... maybe it is, but it still deserves to be said." he turns and went wide-eyed, then immediately hopped and angled his body to slow us down.

 **Jaune's skill "Amazing Grace" leveled by 1!**

 **Jaune's skill "Shining Armor" leveled by 1!**

We came to a rolling stop and hopped over a railing, landing in the area below. We'd reached the passenger docking area. Jaune's eyes glowed, the radiance visible even from behind his head, and I saw him scan the area. I didn't know what he was looking for, but he apparently found it as he walked over a bench and stood us next to it, gently shrugging me off of his back.

I couldn't help but blush as I realized I'd wrapped my legs around his waist. Sure, I was riding on his back like a child would, but I was not a child. The casual look on his face told me that he hadn't noticed my embarrassing act, which was a relief. We appeared in normal space, with nobody within at least thirty feet between us and any of the few people nearby. I was thankfully still in my 'Rosa' disguise, so nobody paid us any more attention than a few bewildered looks. Jaune began walking towards the dock, and I followed a few feet behind. He seemed focused on a distant ship, which I strained my eyes to see. Two small patches of distinct color, one bright yellow and one bright red, were visible. It was safe to guess that those colors were a slowly approaching Ruby and Yang.

Jaune closed his eyes and grunted, and I saw a splash of water on the docks grow a small patch of visible salt. Perplexed, I stared at it as it traveled over the side and into the water. I stepped over to the edge of the dock to see the compressed salt helmet of Pluviteus move through the water. After a few seconds, I saw the ship move noticeably faster.

Jaune grinned, "Here they come." he snapped his fingers, and the ship soon slowed to a halt right beside the dock.

I let out a small shriek, NOT a squeal, of surprise when the water crashed against the side of the pier, nearly splashing up and onto us, but curving impossibly back at the last second. I pouted at Jaune, and he just pat me on the head! The nerve!

Yang jumped down, stumbling and nearly falling from the sudden change in momentum, only for Jaune to catch her before she hit the ground, turning her over to face him, "Weird, baby girl, I thought you'd already _fallen_ for me." he chuckled.

Ruby hopped down, having shown the intelligence to let her inertia settle before getting off the boat, "Booooooo~, puns are bad and you should feel bad."

Jaune chuckled, looking into Yang's eyes as he wrapped an arm around her back, "How can I feel bad when I have my sunshine with me?" he grinned at her, then picked her up, "Get up into my arms, baby girl."

I felt Yang's flames flare up and hit my face as Jaune lifted her into the air, settling into a strong, steady stance. As they rocked, Yang wrapped her legs around Jaune's waist and one of his arms wrapped around her back, their faces meeting in a deep, somewhat noisy kiss. Her fire heating my face intensified when I saw Jaune's right had snake down and grab ahold of her rear end.

I opened my mouth to comment, but just stared blankly. I looked at Ruby and noticed she was blushing furiously, "Y-you're blushing Ruby. It's unbecoming of you."

Ruby looked at me and pouted cutely, "Y-y-y-you're blushing too~." she whined.

W-was I? I felt my hot face. That... that feeling inside me, it was similar to sickness, it had to be Yang's flames hitting me the wrong way, right?

I stared at her, feeling a somewhat cold, yearning feeling settle through my skin as I examined their embrace. It... no... no no no.

I was nauseous from heat, I wasn't... jealous... was I?

 _'If you had a boyfriend...'_

 _'It would show he cares.'_

I shook my head to clear it, but all that did was cause the thoughts to sprout throughout my head. Wasn't it every girl's dream to find love? Wasn't that a fairly universal idea, that finding love should have been a goal in your life, no matter who you were? I knew I was correct, and I was just... thinking of my own future love, and how I...

I... wouldn't mind a hug like that, I-i-i-i-i think... EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP

Goddammit, Jaune, you _dunce_!

* * *

 _(meanwhile, Yang's POV)_

Bliss filled my head as Jaune and I finally broke our kiss, a string of saliva hanging between our lips before breaking and coming back to hit my chin. I knew he'd planned on something big for when he got back, but THIS?

This. Was. _Amazing~!_

It was just a kiss, yeah, but the energy, strength, and emotion behind it was all real and all amazing. I sighed happily, "Well, love, THAT was one hell of a pleasant surprise." I giggled and nuzzled my head into the crook of his neck, looking up at him sweetly, to make his heart throb.

His affectionate smile was all I needed in order to read him, "Heh, anything for my Sun Angel. Come on, you have a friend to meet, and I think that might not have been the most normal start to a first real meeting in the world." he chuckled and set me on my feet, giving my ass one last little squeeze. That felt really great too, that he wasn't intimidated by my beauty like that, and he missed me enough to really, REALLY grab ahold and not let go.

I cleared my throat, wiping my mouth and smiling, "Heh, well, hey there Weiss. Nice to finally meet you." I flashed a winning grin at her.

She only blushed, "Within ten seconds, you disgusted me."

I smirked, waggling my eyebrows, "Oh~? Your blush says you're more jealous than disgusted. It's fine, a lot of girls are jealous of me." I flipped my hair and smiled, "But you're beautiful in your own right, every girl is. Come on, don't be so down, today is the first day of our awesome friendship, let's not spoil it with jealousy and jabs." I got between her and Rubes and put my arms around them, pulling them tightly in, "It's gonna be fuuuuun~." I said cheerfully as I squeezed them close.

Jaune chuckled, "Yeah, it is. I have some plans. Who wants free pizza?" now THAT was interesting.

Ruby cheered, "That's probably the best four words I've ever heard you say."

Jaune smirked at her, "Strawberry chocolate chip cookies."

Ruby blinked, then grinned, "I stand corrected."

Jaune, Weiss, and I all shared a hearty laugh as I gave Ruby a little hug-shake, "Oh my god, Rubes, you are just TOO adorable sometimes."

She pouted, and elbowed me, "Yaaaaang~." she whined, and I couldn't help but laugh a little more.

"Come on, Rubes, you know we all love you." Jaune ruffled her hair a little, "Now come on, free pizza is just one 'teleportation' away." he snapped his fingers and for half a second I saw a flash of light, then we were standing... in exactly the same spot. I looked around, only to find that everyone else was gone.

Oh, we were in one of those I.D. things.

I felt a moment of weightlessness as Jaune lifted me and settled me onto his back, "Alright, Weiss and Ruby, you two are pretty good at running really fast, so just follow me through the city." I felt his aura flare up and buzz slightly, feeling warmer to the touch, and he began running so quickly that I was forced to wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck, holding on for dear life.

It lasted for... I wasn't sure how many seconds before I realized I wasn't in danger of falling, and I pressed myself against Jaune's broad, muscular back, letting out a sigh as I felt his muscles bulge and flex under his skin, exuding strength and vigor, which gave me small shivers.

Sexy shivers.

I pressed my lips to the back of his neck, "I love you, Jaune."

He turned his head, smiling at me, "I love you too, Yang." he looked like he didn't even notice the growing 'predicament' I was experiencing, "We're almost there. Trust me, we won't have to wait at all except for the time it takes for Crocea and Xibu to cook the thing."

I nodded, "So then... we skip the lines by being in alternate space where everything except the people are here?"

He hummed, then nodded, "Pretty much, yep. If we eat before we leave the I.D., the food stays inside us." he smiled, "Wouldn't want my precious girl going hungry, would I?"

I shook my head, "No... hey, wait, it's like 8 AM, and... don't pizza places usually open around lunch time?"

Our speed rapidly decreased as he stared ahead, then let out a loud, "SHIT!" and stomped the ground in frustration, _Jaune C: Weiss, Rubes, hey, no pizza. The places wouldn't be open. Let's just get breakfast, shall we? :C_

 _Weiss C: That sounds fair enough :C_

 _Ruby C: Awww, I wanted pizza. :C_

 _Jaune C: Don't worry, Rubes, we'll have pizza later. :C_

 _Yang C: Yeah. We got time, sis. It's all good. :C_

I smiled softly, but it soon fell, and I sighed and tried to calm myself. It would be good to start working on NOT looking all hot and bothered, it wouldn't exactly show a graceful side of myself to be a wet, blushing mess.

I sighed again, _Yang W: J-jaune... s-slow down. :W_

 _Jaune W: Something wrong, baby girl? :W_

 _Yang W: I uh... that kiss earlier, and this right now... it's uh... w-w-well... y-y-y'know~... :W_ dammit, why was I feeling so shy? I could joke and jive with the best of them, but in less than five minutes Jaune wore my resistance down to nothing. If it had simply been broken, it could be shocked back into working, but with it so worn down, I would probably need either a couple of hours or a cold shower to calm down.

 _Jaune W: I... don't follow. What is it, sunshine? :W_

 _Yang W: You can't be serious. Jaune, please... first you pick me up, kiss me deep, lick my teeth, and grab my ass, and now you run so fast that your back is rubbing against me... and you DON'T get what the issue is? :W_

 _Jaune W: Oh... oh god, I'm sorry, sunny. I didn't mean to be a tease like that. :W_ I felt his hand gently pull my head forward, and our lips met again, _W: Just... try to calm down. I know we're both a little emotionally charged, but I don't want to hurt you because we made a dumb decision out of pure excitement. :W_

 _Yang W: Heh... you know, only YOU wouldn't want to jump at the chance to do... th-th-th-THAT stuff... with me. :W_

 _Jaune W: Oh trust me, I'd definitely want to, but I hold back because I don't want to move things too fast, 'jump at the chance', and end up hurting you or your feelings. Like I said, a dumb decision made out of pure excitement. :W_

I couldn't help but blush even more. Sure, the sexy feelings were nice, but it was hard to deny that his kind, loving, considerate words made my heart throb.

I pressed my forehead against his neck and concentrated. I began breathing in and out, slow and deep, to calm myself, the way my dad had showed me. Thinking about my dad _did_ kind of stab my growing bubble of hormonal feelings in the face and make my level of arousal sink like an anvil, which helped a _lot_.

I didn't stop breathing, though, because we were still a ways away from... wherever Jaune was taking us.

I began humming quietly, thinking about the two of us and our... unorthodox relationship. Back in the beginning, it was... a flurry, really. Jaune had come in our of nowhere, and just... talked to me. It was just a casual conversation at the gym, a regular and a newcomer, and we were really... casual.

I couldn't help but smile and laugh on the inside. It was ridiculous that something like THAT probably allowed him to sneak his way into my feelings, but it was how he'd done it. He was just... friendly, which was a great change of pace between the usual 'either don't get approached by a guy who was too nervous, or get approached by an asshole and reject him and watch dad beat him up'.

It wasn't fair, and due to that conditioning, it had taken at least an hour of talking to Jaune to convince me that he wasn't going to ask me out. Even when he had suddenly brought out a compliment, it didn't feel like flirting, it felt more like banter, like I'd get into with a friend from Signal.

We had just been talking, it was nothing serious, but then there was a flurry. He had probably just been trying to be friendly, but there had been a period of time where he seemed to know when he'd upset me and immediately sought to correct it. Someone being so easily able to read my emotions had set me off balance, and maybe that had been what set our relationship into motion.

It was hard to pinpoint what caused all of this, but whatever it really was, it was an excellent decision on both our parts. I certainly felt happy about it, and that Jaune was all smiles and trust with me said that he was happy about it too.

 _Yang W: So hey... why can't Marbs and Blake come with us? :W_

 _Jaune W: It's not that they can't, it's that I think I should switch you four out for the trip through Mistral. Marbel also has to go to a civilian school, Yang, which means that she can't request a futzing of the rules like you and Ruby were able to. By the way, how did that testing go? :W_

 _Yang W: Five days of intense studying, followed by a grueling test, and finding out I made a solid A, it was... elating. :W_

 _Jaune W: Nice! What did Ruby make? :W_

 _Yang W: The little nerd made a better A than I did! Hell, she got all of the questions right! :W_

 _Jaune W: Well, she DOES have 100 INT, I'm pretty sure she's justified in getting a 100 on the test. :W_

 _Yang W: Yeah... well... still... nyeh. :W_ I stuck my tongue out.

Jaune just turned his head and gave my tongue a lick, _Jaune W: Nyeh to you too. :W_

I immediately retracted my tongue, _Yang W: When are we getting there. :W_

He looked forward, and I his head flit around as he observed our surroundings, _Jaune W: ... shit... we passed it! Stop distracting me with your beautiful voice :W_

Jaune chuckled playfully, and we were suddenly surrounded by a corona of angry azure aura, and Jaune turned, plowing straight through the walls of several buildings and turning back towards our actual destination.

I ducked lower, my hair still blown back by the wind, but was relieved when it seemed that pieces of rubble were swept away from us by the corona surrounding us, which was good. I sighed, and found us eventually skidding to a halt, a wave of pressure hitting my arms and legs wrapped around him.

We reached our destination, which I found to be a nice diner in the downtown area. Jaune smiled and set me down, "Here we are. And no wait either!" he led us inside, holding the door open for all three of us.

I looked around the place. It was modest and nice, the kind of place I could see myself coming to normally, "Nice choice, babe, what made yo-" I turned and the words died in my throat as I looked at Jaune.

 **Jaune Arc**  
 **Title: Magical Cleaning Maid**  
 **Level: 73**

"... what the fuck?" out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ruby and Weiss turn to look at him, and they both promptly read his new title and burst out laughing.

Jaune sighed, "It's the only title I have that increases the quality of my cooking."

"How did you even get that?" Weiss asked through her laughter.

He sighed, deadpanning at her, "Raising my housekeeping skills each to level 50. Anyways, look over the menus and pick what you want, girls."

We all sat down while shaking in laughter, and started looking through the menu.

Already, breakfast was shaping up to be pretty awesome.

* * *

 _(After breakfast, Jaune POV)_

I sighed softly, smiling at the girls as we drove along in a commandeered car. I'd have loved to use the invisible jet, but I was sure that Weiss would have lost her breakfast she _just_ finished enjoying and even got a couple of tongue burns over.

Of course, I 'stole' the fastest car nearby, Jurist hotwiring it with ease, and Crocea reinforcing the frame while bleeding weight off of it, allowing us to cruise at a nice hundred miles per hour.

"Alright, hopefully this doesn't go to shit, but if it does, don't worry, I'll make sure none of you get hurt." I informed them, focusing all of my elemental charges into Roimontagne.

In front of us, the road itself reared up and formed a large ramp, and we started driving high above the ground, the ramp forming in front of us as we went along, thanks to Roi getting well over 200k AP/m, which I was happily giving him.

We traveled over the forest, heading towards Celeste. Cruising along, I sung a soft song with Shimfan's help, while Yang lounged next to me, and Ruby and Weiss relaxed in the back seat.

 _Blue moon~_

 _Blue moon~_

 _Blue moon of Segret_

 _Keep on shining bright_

 _Please let me and my friends_

 _Have some fun tonight_

 _Blue moon~_

 _Keep on shinin'~_

 _Blue moon~_

 _Keep our spirits high~_

 _Blue moon~_

 _Shine on my friends and I~_

 _Blue moon~_

 _Let us have fun tonight~_

The song was pretty simple, meant as a simple well-wish, and I felt it was fitting for this peaceful moment.

By the time I finished singing, we'd arrived at the illusion version of Celeste. I was thankful that it wasn't damaged by any random activity or some sort of military investigation. I scanned the area and found that only Blake was present, thank the gods.

I parked the car outside of the castle, "Alright, everyone out, I'm about to drop the I.D." I got out and opened the girl's doors for them. Not that they couldn't do it themselves, but it was the gentlemanly thing to do. When we were out, I dropped the I.D. and the car was left behind as we appeared in normal space.

There was a sensation that the others clearly felt as well. It was like our Auras were stretched like rubber bands before snapping back, probably their resistance to the I.D. trying to reclaim our breakfast. Weiss clutched her stomach for a moment, but recovered a couple of seconds later, "Let's not do that all the time." she said with a slight groan.

I nodded, patting her on the shoulder, "Don't worry, it feels kinda wrong anyways. We might do it once in a blue moon, but definitely not regularly."

I turned and looked out at the field, closing my eyes and willing the shift. I opened them to a darkened world, where a sheet of shades of greens showed itself in front of me. I saw a circle of different colors near the center, the circle of flowers that marked the place I sat while meditating and awakening the auras of the grass.

I hummed softly, switching titles to Mountain Monk and my two classes to Monk v5 and Wizard v4, to maximize my APR, "You girls have a nice chat, I'm going to awaken more grass aura, and maybe make some more buildings."

Yang pouted slightly, which compelled me to kiss her, if only to dispel the pout. Our lips met for several seconds, and I gave her a welcoming smile, "I just need to meditate, if you want to sit next to me while I do it, you're more than welcome."

She smiled back, "You two talk to Blake and stuff, Jaune and I are gonna awaken grass aura."

Weiss and Ruby smiled, and I walked over with Yang and sat in the center of the circle, cross-legged in a classical meditative posture.

Yang sat down beside me, leaning against my side, and I let my eyes drift mostly closed, feeling Yang's warmth on my side as she nuzzled her head into the crook of my shoulder.

 **You have received the status effect "Love's Glowing Embrace [Low]"**

I felt my APR jump up by a little bit more, and smiled. I slipped into meditation, humming softly as my aura reached out and touched the grass I hadn't yet awakened. With the help of the various skills I'd gained, it was far easier to reach out through my meditative power.

The sensation I felt was like having thousands of arms, or maybe prehensile tentacles, each tipped with a fire made of pure aura, reaching out at the edge of the rough circle and touching square inches of grass, which then lit up with the glow of Aura and began feeding off of the AP I burnt off.

It didn't even take a minute.

 **By raising "Green Thumb" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Dryad Touch"!**

 **By raising "Nature's Bond" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Nature's Favor"!**

I felt the trickling of spent Aura turn into a sizable flow as it became ten times more expensive. I felt a new power and read the description of Nature's Favor, smiling as I found it gave a power that would help me a lot at the moment.

I took in a deep breath, not only using Ki Ventilation, but also using the power of Mountain Monk. I shifted the tune from an aimless one to one that was my best impression of the 'elemental song' for Water. A faint glow filled the air, tinted green as the new active ability granted by Nature's Favor, appropriately named 'Nature Aura', projected a field of light inside which plant life would be promoted, which allowed me to more efficiently use Dryad Touch.

I pushed a little harder, letting Awaken Aura simply surge outwards as fast and efficiently as I could manage it, even going so far as to drop my active defenses in order to free up as much APR as absolutely possible.

I felt the fire in my soul, the sheer _energy_ , surge and crash and flow outwards as levels for Awaken Aura flooded inwards. My mind thundered with the resonance of energy released by ignited souls, and the flood of experience I granted to those tiny specks of spiritual power came back to resonate within my body, shaking me to my core as I held Yang close, feeling like if I didn't, then I would be blown into the sky by the unrelenting updraft of mannic energy.

And then, I felt my own light ignite with increased power.

 **By raising "Awaken Aura" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Bolster Aura"!**

I hummed curiously, opening the skill window and reading it, barely holding onto my meditation as I did so.

 **-/\\-**

 **Bolster Aura (Active) Level: 1, EXP: 0.00%, Cost: 10,000 AP  
** **A skill available only to those with incredibly powerful souls, and the ability to aid others. Generations after the Age of Enlightenment began, people found that those whom fate had ordained to heal the broken generally had an additional ability to stoke the fires within others. Isolated, purified, and expanded upon, this skill allows one to reinforce the power of trust of a person's awakened aura by reinforcing it temporarily, so it may beat back the shadows that threaten to encroach on the light within and snuff it out. Additionally, the mortal flesh that binds a soul may be better empowered to mitigate the woes that the world inflicts on all living beings.**

 **Increases all parameters of one's Aura by 100% for 10 seconds.  
Costs an additional 10,000 AP every 10 seconds.**

 **-/\\-**

I used it on myself, to see what exactly it meant. It didn't increased my APR, but I felt the increase in how much of my power was flowing outwards, all increased by the promised 100%, doubled in flow. Activating Aura itself drained 2% instead of the usual 1%, and Aurora for 20% instead of 10%.

Okay, fairly straightforward. Activating that skill pretty much doubled the speed and casting power I had, but didn't reduce costs. Overall, I didn't particularly need it at the moment, but I would keep it in mind.

The best part about all of that was the simple fact that Awaken Aura now only cost 20 AP per casting. In reality, that was piecemeal for the ability I once thought unbelievable, awakening the soul of another human being... in fact, in my current state, I'd be doing it... let's see... 570k total for absolutely everything I was pouring into attaining maximum possible APR, plus 4k from Nature's Bond, Nature's Favor, and Ki Ventilation... about twenty-eight thousand and seven hundred times every minute.

I kept it up for about an hour before having a realization, "Hey, Yang?" I spoke up, hearing a groggy response, "Yang... Yang!" I shook her shoulder.

Yang jolted into awareness, "Huh?" she looked at me, "Something wrong, babe?"

I shook my head, "No, not particularly, but I realized something. Come on." I stood up and lifted her to her feet with a light pull of her hand, leading her to the castle, "I'm a quarter done with the field anyways, even after just an hour. Pretty sure after we're done in Mistral, I'll be well equipped to awaken the whole forest easily enough." we entered and soon found ourselves walking through the few hallways.

As we entered the library, I heard Ruby's voice speak up, "Do you have any... twos?"

Weiss responded with a sigh, "You're cheating, I just know it." there was a small shuffle of paper.

"Ah, Go Fish, a simple game. I like it." I smiled as I turned around one of the stone bookshelves, "Oh, by the way, Ruby, I can see the deck with my special senses... Weiss, she stacked it, at least as best she could."

Weiss pouted at Ruby, "How? How did you do that?"

Ruby shrugged with a sheepish grin, "100 INT? I mean, I couldn't orchestrate it perfectly, but I did what I could to maximize my chance of winning."

Weiss had three books, however, and I noticed she'd actually gotten a point in LUK for overcoming the very disproportionate odds, "Didn't do a very good job of that, then, Rubes." I smirked playfully at her, and in just a second she was in front of me, giving me a punch to the arm.

"Shut up~. Stacking decks is hard~." she whined, "Why are you up anyways? I thought you were awakening grass aura."

I nodded, "Right, I was about to get to that. Weiss, Blake, and Marbel each have an elemental, but you and Yang don't. I figured it'd be good to handle that problem while we have spare hours and are on solid ground." I looked between the two of them, "So, if you want to have an awesome elemental, I suggest we make our way to the newly constructed ballroom and get started."

They both grinned and hugged my arms, "Awesome~!" Ruby cheered, "Come on, let's gooo~."

Yang smiled, "Hold on, Rubes. I know Jaune can regrow his arms, but I don't think he'd appreciate you pulling them off." she giggled, "Come on, Jaune, if you don't match her pace she'll make you fly."

I smirked and pulled Yang onto my back, "Ruby, I think without Aurora you'll be hard pressed to win a race against me." I chuckled.

"Whaaat~?" she looked at me incredulously, "You can't be THAT fast!"

I equipped **Twice Pacing a Bullet** , "I can run at over Mach 2." I chuckled at her shocked look, "Don't worry, over the summer, I'll be teaching all of you a ton of my buffs, assuming we can get each of you to a high enough WIS that you're able to concentrate enough to perform them. After they make an imprint on your soul, though, it should be a lot easier." I stopped in the center of the grand ballroom, which I'd need to put a bit of sound insulation in. Just a bit, though. I'd make a pattern out of it, even.

Roimontagne made the summoning circles in the floor, "Alright, let's get started. From what I can see, Yang, you have way more Fire affinity than everything else, and Ruby, you have more Air affinity. We'll of course start with those." I brought out dust crystals of the aforementioned elements, "Just focus on the crystal, and on your soul. The circle should help ease and smooth over the process, but you basically need to split off a splinter of your soul, then reach out with it and coax it to be colored by the element I've provided you."

They both nodded, and hummed in concentration.

It took only a couple of minutes, but I saw Yang soon fall back as the skill took hold and she lost consciousness. Ruby, however, continued to struggle.

I sighed, walking over and kneeling beside her, "Ruby, you need some help?"

She sighed, deflating as her face flushed red for a few moments, "I feel like I'm only getting close to squeezing out a fart, and not actually getting my elemental." she pouted, "I don't want to fail at this."

I gently patted her head, "Don't worry, Ruby, you'll succeed. I know you will, you're the kind of person who never gives up. Let's see... try increasing your WIS. I wasn't able to use the skill book for Summon Elemental until I had 50 WIS to begin with, so maybe that's what's holding you back?"

She hummed, "It's worth a shot, I guess." she pumped ten points into her WIS, then tried again.

* * *

 _(seconds later, Ruby's POV)_

I focused with a soft hum of effort. It was significantly easier now, the process going much quicker, like I'd been digging with my fingernails before, and now I was using a trowel at least. After a lot of effort, I felt my soul splinter and reach out to the dust crystal in my hands.

I felt it tug, then jerk at my core, and I felt my core tug and jerk back, as if either pulling it in, or trying to resist. I felt a hot, almost burning sensation as my Aura flared to life and I felt a painful bleeding-like sensation below my skin.

 **Your soul resists the alteration, but you power through!**

The air was grasped by a piece of my soul, and I felt my blood boil in pain before all sensations faded away.

* * *

 _(seconds later, Jaune's POV)_

Ruby's face twisted in pain, then relaxed as she lost consciousness.

That... wasn't good. I really didn't like how Ruby kept getting hurt when it came to soul-related matters. When Magic Eyes had hit level 50, the ability to see others' auras had been added. Ruby's aura was flared up and acting chaotic, not settling at all. I sighed softly, and began using the skill I'd just recently gotten to bolster and help recover her Aura.

Bolster Aura flared to life, and I could see the color gradient form as my cyan flowing into Ruby's rose-red. I sighed as I held that for as long as I could, maintaining it as I sent Pluviteus out to continue awakening grass aura.

I got comfortable, focused on the spell with one hand on Ruby's shoulder, and maintained it as I slipped back into meditation.

* * *

 _(meanwhile, Pluviteus' POV)_

I hummed as I was called into being and given a task. Manifesting my physical form had become a lot easier after our evolution, even with the large increase in my size. I swept across the field, my form only half its now-normal size as I reached out and opened the auras of the grass.

I paused, still pushing power out, and knelt down, deciding to examine the grass. It was green, in fact the entire forest was green. I'd seen it before, but it was the first time seeing it since my mind opened, when that small crack in the wall that was cognition was punched out into a hole big enough to see so much it nearly overwhelmed my spiritual eyes. The water that was my skin fluctuated as I pulled control back in.

We were all... not good. We weren't broken, or incomplete, for we all were formed fully and individually, so there was nothing to say we were either broken or incomplete. Mas- Jaune had become sad at our lack of goodness.

No... it wasn't goodness. We were good in both the sense that we were morally sound, since we derived ourselves from him, and he would not find himself morally unsound, and were of quality, because we had 'prestiged' and thus become greater.

It was... ugh, it wasn't something I could understand, but that was the problem itself. We could not understand why our master was saddened, and our not understanding was why he was saddened. It wasn't fair for any of us involved.

We weren't smart enough to know why he was sad that we weren't smart enough. It was beyond our mental capacity.

I suppose, then, that was why we developed like we did. I had always been a bit more curious than the others, mostly due to my ability to heal rather than harm.

I was curious, an intelligence-person who healed and protected by healing. My hand caressed a colorful flower as the AP flowed in even faster with Animakinetic Flow, which I'd helped activate by using Aurora to boost the skills he'd already been using. Master had many skills, and often forgot about some. Luckily, I was curious enough to study a lot of them.

In much the opposite way, Roimontagne was perhaps dumber after the change. Before, he grunted, snorted, and broke things, but now he did it all with pride. He was the largest of us, and that added to his ego. He wanted to be the largest and strongest of all the things. Unfortunately, we wouldn't know if he would be the strongest of all the things, because we wouldn't know if there was someone stronger than him outside of who we knew. His passion for his own strength, size, and ego were all gotten from Jaune, filtered from his mind and into Earth, the element of Strength.

Crocea Mors' challenging ways were also born of pride, but more pride in his own endurance, a desire to prove he was the best by challenging all the things and besting them, instead of Roimontagne's method of simply breaking the things to make them weaker. He perhaps was given a lucky piece of the mind, because he gained a larger amount of intelligence than the others did.

Xiburichu's mind had increased in understanding, but the increase in knowledge came at the cost of what people called 'sanity', his infinite willpower pushing at his desire to destroy was born of Jaune's occasional urge to destroy everything just to have fun. Though fun as a concept was hard to think of, it made happiness, which joy was also a part of. Xiburichu gained happiness from destruction, from spreading himself to all things and destroying them.

Juristimunja was probably the only one comparable to that level of 'insanity', as her new mind was born of Jaune's desire to grow, which also added his insecurities into the mix that was filtered into Lightning, the element of Change. She didn't know what she wanted, just that she wanted. It was perhaps better than knowing only a tiny amount of things, her element, and only what Jaune told her. She now had a drive, an ambition, perhaps even a willpower like Fire represented, but she had no direction, she'd pursue one goal and abandon it when another presented itself. Nothing bound her to a single direction, except the general 'forwards'.

Thankfully, not all was gloom, as Jaune's greed was filtered into Air, the element of Breath, perhaps not so much Willpower or Change, but maybe somewhere between and yet opposite, the voice that allowed others to gain insight. It hurt to think of these things, it hurt so bad that I nearly lost form again. Mystral began to hoard things, pulling them in with no purpose than the simple desire that she would rather have them than not have them. She was also much the opposite of Juristimunja, having a direction, but no drive or ambition, just a desire that she fulfilled for no purpose other than fulfilling it.

Okay, maybe all was gloom. Perhaps the broken disarray of mental facets was what saddened Jaune. I did not know what exactly it was, but what I _did_ know was that my task was one that could not be ignored.

I gave Jaune joy when I asked to plant flowers in the field, which he immediately approved and got Crocea to open a packet of seeds he'd gotten at some point earlier, dropping them on the ground and pouring water over them.

They sat, mingling with the grass, waiting to grow. The power of Dryad Touch boosted by Nature's Favor allowed me to help them start to grow. In fact, the former skill rapidly gained levels, even as Roimontagne came up to shift the ground so the seeds could be buried in the dirt slightly. I hummed curiously, pouring more water over them, watching the liquid soak into the dirt.

For hours I watched as the stems grew rapidly, plants awoken and given strength by our Aura's expending. The skills of The Fundamental Factors of Wisdom and Intelligence gained a steady, if slow flow of EXP, and I spread light throughout the field.

At some point, I found that I could force the frequencies of power between Dryad Touch, Nature's Favor, and Awaken Aura, to mix together. Maybe I was also Jaune's desire to solve problems, or at least part of the group of parts that solved problems.

By the end of it all, the entire field was awakened, through not only using the power of Jaune's aura itself, but also using Nature's Favor to coax the power of Dryad Touch to take the burnt Aura as fuel for the inflammation involved in Awaken Aura, allowing it to be used at a tiny fraction of the cost. It was complex, but not only did Druid Proficiency level up, but Aura Channeling as well, to ease the process.

 **By raising "Aura Channeling" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Aura Projection"**

It had gained several levels by the time I was done, when master called me back to his soul. Being pulled away... it caused a small resonance inside myself that was difficult to understand.

I liked how the field looked, all the green grass and the flowers, I would...

I would think of it in its absence.

* * *

 _(meanwhile, Jaune's POV)_

I pulled Pluviteus back into my soul, feeling a small surge of fondness in his spiritual mass, like he would miss being able to look at the flowers. Said, I had slightly more important things to tend to right now, which was the possible need for healing for Yang and Ruby.

When I saw Yang sit up with a groan, I cut the flow of Bolster Aura, counting on its now extended duration to hold Ruby over until she woke up. Sure enough, as I sensed my Aura's bolstering effects fade away, Ruby had stirred awake.

"Eep!" she squeaked, and both my and Yang's heads snapped towards her, only to see that she'd been surprised by Skyler's presence. I myself was slightly surprised, but I'd sensed a distortion in the air before.

I chuckled, "Skyler, don't stand right over someone when they're unconscious. You'll frighten them by doing that." I walked over and pat Ruby on the shoulder, "You gonna be alright, Rubes?"

She rubbed her eyes, "Y-yeah, I'm fine, just got caught off guard is all. Thanks for trying to make sure I was okay, Sky." she smiled at the vulcyrie.

Skyler nodded, "I... you're welcome." heh, I could tell she was only curious, and probably caught off guard as much as Ruby was.

I refrained from mentioning that, though, "So, Rubes, Yang, how'd it go for you two?"

Yang hummed softly, clenching her fist, then it snapped open, and held in her upturned palm was a small flame. She focused a little, and the flame grew bigger, then smaller, then roared, then shrunk into fizzling out. She stared at it all, then closed her fist again and flared her aura, wisps of actual fire flaring up in it, "It feels... incredible. It's hard to describe, really, but it's... amazing." she flexed, fire swirling around her skin.

 **Yang has learned the skill "Flaring Lava"**

I blinked in surprise, "Well shit, THAT was fast." I chuckled, "Good job, babe. I was gonna teach all of you what buffs I could, but looks like you're ahead of the curve on that. Ruby?"

Ruby's tongue poked out from between her lips as she focused, and green-tinted streams of aura swirled around her hand, coalescing into a red ball of wind, a tint of green suffused throughout it. She fired it at me, hitting me in the chest and blowing my hair and hoodie backwards.

I grinned, "Great job, Rubes! Still, Air isn't the most effective for direct combat, it's more a supporting element. You'll definitely be able to move a lot more effectively, though, so try to focus on that. Now then, how about you two summon your elementals into physical form?"

They both nodded, then focused. On either side of me, fire and wind coalesced into two physical forms.

On Yang's side, fire grew and formed into a short woman with yellow flames for skin, orange flames curling into locks of hair that framed her face and flared out, and red fire filling her eyes and flattening into a sheet that curled around her slender body, forming into a strapless red dress.

On Ruby's side, air colored and coalesced into a surprisingly solid-looking small child, floating daintily in the air with her hands clenched over her chest. She had pale pink hair that was lightly waving back and forth, pale yellowish skin, and pair of small white angel wings coming out of her back. A simple white sundress hung on her small frame, and that was it for clothing. She opened her eyes and let out a delicate yawn, revealing ruby-red irises that looked at me and Yang, "H-hello." she said with slight hesitance, "Hm? Oh, right. I am Shamaestro." she floated over to me, extending a tiny hand to me, "It's nice to meet you." she let out a small hum, then blinked, "Oh." I picked up that she was probably having a hard time not verbalizing a response to Ruby's mental commands.

Yang and the fire woman by her side giggled, "I am Xiatianliming, pleased to make your acquaintance. So... shall I heat things up?"

Ruby let out an indignant cry of agony, "OH MY GOD YANG! NUUUUUUUUUUUUU~ WHY THE PUUUUUUUUUUNS~?!" she complained loudly,

Yang only giggled harder, "It's not THAT bad, sis. What is a Shamaestro anyways?"

I hummed, then used my Gamer's Sight on the two elementals, "Well, Shamaestro is a portmanteau of Shamal and Maestro, both of which are northwesterly winds, which I suppose makes sense, since I guess it refers to Patch Island which is west by northwest from the rest of Vale, and the elementals seem to base their names off of some combination of factors that relate to the owner. Xiatianliming means Summer Dawn, which makes sense as well, because your title refers to July, and you're the sun." I chuckled softly, "Well, looks good for both of you, girls. Skyler, have you finished all your books?"

Skyler shook her head, "Not yet, M- Jaune. I have finished dozens of books and I think I have a grasp on speaking in normal conversation."

I nodded, "Well, alright, have a conversation with Yang and Ruby, then. Hmmm... Yang, you start it off."

Yang hummed for a second, "Alright." she cleared her throat, then turned to the vulcyrie, "Hi there. How are you?"

Skyler smiled, "I'm good, thank you for asking. How are you?"

Yang flashed a grin, "I'm doing fantastic. Today's been good, hasn't it sis?"

Ruby smiled, "Yeah, it has been. So, Miss, what's your name?"

Skyler hummed, "I'm Skyler, thank you for asking. What's your name?"

Yang raised an eyebrow for a second, and I mentally deducted points from... some kind of arbitrary score Skyler had, "Well, I'm Yang, and this is my little sister Ruby. Nice to meet you, Skyler. You new in town?"

Skyler looked a little troubled, "Er, no. I've lived here all my life, actually." she smiled to cover up the temporary fault, "Why do you ask?"

Yang took a moment to think, "Well, me and my sister are looking for directions." she looked around, "Do you know the way to... the mine?"

Skyler hummed, "Well, if you head out of this building, turn right, and head straight for about half a mile, you should be right in front of it."

Ruby grinned, "Thanks, friend. Come on, sis, let's go." she waved to Skyler as she and Yang made to leave.

I examined Skyler's reaction. She paused, raised a hand as if to speak, then let out a small grunt as the words died on her beak. She looked troubled, and I sighed, "Alright, that's the end of it. Skyler, you were pretty good, but most people might pick up that something isn't quite right with you. The ending was a little shaky too. You looked lost after they 'left'. It only gets better with experience, so I'm going to have you stay in the castle with Blake while we're in Mistral. You two will be talking regularly, so you can practice and Blake doesn't get lonely. Marbel will also be stopping by semi-regularly. She has to go home and go to school, but trust me, I plan on hopefully having you at the end of this process before Beacon starts."

She smiled, "Thank you, Jaune. I will do my best. This process will allow me to have the power that you do." she got a determined gleam in her red eyes, which were ringed a bit more with that yellow of intelligence.

I nodded, "Yes, it will. For now, though, you've clearly done very well. I think we've all done well, so we're going to have a little celebration." I smiled at the three of them, "Just a bit of a _dance party~._ " I chuckled as Ruby went sparkly-eyed, Yang grinned, and Skyler did her best attempt at a smile.

I grinned, "Just a minute while I make sure Marbel can be here." I slipped into I.D. and proceeded to zoom off towards the city again, going at full speed.

 _Jaune W: Hey Marbs, how's the homecoming been going? :W_

 _Marbel W: Well... :W_

* * *

 _(A minute or so ago, Marbel's POV)_

I sighed as my mom _once again_ mentioned my outfit, "You really should change, sweetie. At least make sure this dress fits you." she held up the thing, which was too frilly and girly for my taste.

"I'm fine, mom. It's all clean. Jaune did his wizard thing and cleaned all our clothes before we got to Vale."

She sighed, "Well, still, you look so boorish, sweetie, like your favorite place to spend time at is some greasy skate park." she crinkled her nose in disgust.

I rolled my eyes, "Mom, why do you refuse to accept that I don't want to be some girly girl? I want to be strong and fast and tough and cool like Aunty." I stared at her, "I want to follow my own dreams and ambitions, not work at a restaurant for my parents for the next ten years!" I held my raised volume at a limit, not wanting to shout, but clearly showing I meant my words.

My mother sighed heavily, "I... I see, sweetie. Well then... if that's what you wish, could you then at least just humor me and try on the dress?"

I groaned, "Alright, mom, fine, only for you." I took my outer clothing off and slipped the dress on, zipping it up and shifting in it a little, getting as comfortable as I could.

It did little to comfort me, only leaving me feeling naked without the layers of reinforced cloth and leather over myself. Sure, I could still kick ass, but... ugh, goddammit!

I was definitely making progress on permanently setting myself into a Hunter mindset, but that just left me in a limbo between civilian and warrior, where I was far enough progressed that I felt weak in the dress, but not far enough that I felt I could overcome the limiting factor and still kick ass.

Uuuugh, meta-psychological knowledge was weird and sucked ass.

 **Growing to understand yourself more has increased your WIS by 1!**

Random points don't make people happy, game!

"Oooohhhhh~ you look so beautiful~!" my mother cooed, grinning ear to ear and taking a few pictures of me, "Sweetie, could you please make a pose?"

I complied, with all the enthusiasm of a barefooted person being forced to walk through a street infested with snakes.

 _Jaune W: Hey Marbs, how's the homecoming been going? :W_

 _Marbel W: Well... :W_

"Sweetie, PLEASE try to smile? For me?" my mother pouted, trying to guilt me into being more excited about her pink froufrou girly _bullshit_.

I smiled widely, widely enough that my face hurt, _Marbel W: My face hurts from all the smiling, and not in a good way... also I don't like this dress. :W_

 _Jaune W: Dress? Hold on a sec... huh, well I think you look pretty good in it. :W_

Dammit, Jaune! Why can't you be on my side in this? I felt my face heat up a slight bit, _Marbel W: I don't FEEL pretty good in it, though. :W_

 _Jaune W: Oh?... OH!... Ooooohhhh... well, maybe coming to a dance party here in like ten minutes will make you feel better? :W_

 _Marbel W: I would do literally ANYTHING to get out of this right now. :W_

 _Jaune W: Heheheheheheheh, then I'll cut the power, kill the guards, blow up the escape chopper, and kidnap you away. :W_

 _Marbel W: You DO realize that A) That guy's goal was to rape and kill her, and B) He died in the process. :W_

 _Jaune W: Hahaha! But isn't it the thought that counts? :W_

 _Marbel W: Please ask before raping and killing me :W_

 _Jaune W: But that starts dismantling the concept right there! :W_

 _Marbel W: Well I think the concept was dismantled the moment you weren't a vampiric perverted rapist unholy bastard jackass :W_

 _Jaune W: Hehe, I guess you're right... so, about that dance party? :W_

 _Marbel W: Please help me escape this all. :W_

 _Jaune W: Your knight in shining armor is on the way! :W_

Less than ten seconds later, there was a beep from my scroll, "Let me check that." I picked it up, checking the message, "Ah, hey mom, I'm gonna head out for a little bit, Jaune wanted to bring me and some of our friends together for a little party before he continues his business trip stuffs."

"Oh, well, alright then sweetie. Have fun, and be safe, and don't be out late." she smiled at me, at least happy I had friends to hang out with.

"Don't worry, it's only like a couple hours at most, we'll just be having some fun." I smiled at her, giving her a brief hug, then changing back into the comfortable clothes I had on before.

We heard a knock on the door, "Ah, if that's him, then he moves _very_ fast."

I couldn't help but laugh a little, "Yeah, he's pretty fast." I checked everything on my person, then rushed downstairs to meet Jaune at the door.

I heard my father talking to him, "Yeah, sorry but I had to quit if I was going to have the time needed to put my all into my training."

"Ah, damn. It's a shame, you were one of the best waiters we had. Some of our reviews online were probably so high because you did such an amazing job. Still, I respect your decisions. So, what're you doing here again?"

"Well, Marbs is a friend and I'm gathering all my friends together for a little party before some of us go heading off to Mistral for a month. I decided she should come home, but that doesn't mean she's excluded from the festivities."

I walked into the living room and rushed up, "Hey Jaune! I'm ready to go." I gave my dad a quick hug, "Love ya, dad, I'll be back in a couple of hours."

My dad pat me on the back, "Alright, pumpkin, stay out of trouble, alright?"

I couldn't help but laugh, "Don't worry dad, it'll be no trouble at all. Jaune's got ahold of the situation."

Jaune flashed a grin and nodded, "Don't worry, Coalson sir, it'll be nothing but good times with good friends." he pat my on the shoulder, "Come on, Marbs, let's go."

I smiled, nodded, and followed after him.

When we were out of sight and out of earshot, he made the 'teleport' guise and smiled at me, "So, on a scale of 1 to 10, how bad was it?"

"The dress had a frill cluster flower-looking thingy on the chest, and I felt highly unprotected in it. I'm... I'm getting better, definitely, but there are limits on both sides."

He nodded, "Fair enough. Well don't worry, bud, you'll feel better when we get back to Celeste." he knelt down and gestured to his back, "Hop on."

I climbed onto his back, "Is this really the best method of transporting me?"

He took off, "Best way without tearing your arm off or relying on something like a skateboard, skis, or wing glider." he smiled, "Plus, as Ruby says, hugs are nice."

I sighed and settled in for the ride, "Hugs ARE nice." I hugged him a little tighter, smiling.

Jaune's hugs were especially nice.

* * *

 _(A minute or so later, Jaune POV)_

We 'reappeared' outside the ballroom, Marbel smoothing her hair down. I noticed that it had grown quite a bit due to both VIT and time, now reaching two inches down her neck. It looked really nice, actually, and made her look more mature.

I pushed the ballroom door open, "Alright, is everyone here?" I looked around the room.

Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Skyler, and now Marbel. We were missing Ren and Nora.

I sighed, "I'll go get Ren and Nora. Let's see... the map says they haven't left the city, probably because they can't get through without an I.D., and they don't really have one. Gonna have to fix that, I guess." I groaned, "I'll be right baaaack~."

I chuckled as I slipped back into I.D., going full speed once again. It took only five minutes to get to them get them into I.D., and get them attached to me via a large sled. It had just been a joke to Marbel at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it could work in theory. Smoothing out the dirt road was crucial, as was focusing a lot of power into a magnetic Elemental Aura. The skill had been wracking up quite a few levels, which was good. I had decided to put off getting any new skills for the time being, mostly because I wanted to work on the skills I had.

I bled off momentum with both magnetism and telekinesis, and turned to look at the two of them, "Well, how was that?"

Nora's gigantic grin somehow widened even further, "THAT WAS AWESOOOOMMMMEEEE!" she cheered, throwing her hands up in the air, "You were like a comet, Jauney!"

I chuckled, then looked at Ren, "You like it too?"

He smiled, "I admit it was a nice way to get the heart pumping." he looked around, "So, this is Celeste?"

I spread my arms wide, "Yes! Gaze upon my empire of stone and dirt, gaze upon its trees and grass that glow with power." I'd noticed that in addition to the whole field of grass being awoken, Pluviteus had also awoken hundreds of trees and nearly nine times the original area of grass, "I have a simple thought, that when this fledgling kingdom truly takes off, and should it have to fight, then not only will the people fight for Celeste, but even Celeste itself will fight for Celeste." I chuckled, imagining a treant or dryad rising from the forest and swatting airships out of the sky like giant flies.

Nora grinned, "That sounds AWESOME! I wanna fight a tree!"

Ren placed a hand on her shoulder, "No, Nora, we're going to spend time right friends, not blow up the forest." he tugged her towards the door, which I opened wide.

I threw my arms out, "Alright! We're all here, let's get this party started~!" at my cue, my scroll floated out and set itself on one long table, and I pulled some large speakers out of the inventory, thankful that my dad had gone and bought them. It was just a bit of picking and placing later that the hall was laid out so that the music would fill it without being painfully loud. Using Engineer's Aura to power the whole thing, I started up the first song on the playlist.

Immediately, the entire hall was filled with sound, and it took all of ten seconds for most of us to get into some kind of groove. The music picked up, and so did some of our paces. I made it a point to nudge the others towards dancing together. We were all friends here, after all, and the powers of dancing and music had the tendency to strengthen the bonds between people.

 **By raising "Dancing" to level 99, you have earned the skill "The Dancer"!**

It happened quite early, and over the course of the next couple of hours, during which I'd made sure to prepare drinks and snacks, and we'd all had a ton of fun. The music helped us all loosen up and have a well-earned break from work.

A couple of glorious highlights was when Marbel, Ruby, and I performed _Rules of Nature_ of all songs, when Nora managed to create a small tornado while dancing to _Through the Fire and the Flames_ , and Skyler working with me to create fireworks (with Vulcyrie Cinderus fire and my spell Cinder Sparks, respectively) during one of the more celebratory-type songs. She managed to conjure fire, which was signs of progress, and I doubted it was pure coincidence that she managed it after her Corruption lowered below 50%.

I was thankful that Ren and Nora had accepted Skyler, but I suppose I'd given off the image that I was the type of crazy-resourceful-and-powerful to actually pull it off.

 **By raising "Magic Hands" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Wizard Fists"!**

It allowed me to increase the ease of casting by exerting 'manipulatory or brute force', which basically just translated to 'finger motions or punching'. It was pretty cool, though I'd earned it for just throwing Ash Sparks and Cinder Sparks into the air several times, though I'd earned a lot of levels while bolstering Ruby's aura while she was summoning her elemental.

Overall, it was a great time.

 _...(an hour or so later)..._

Combining the strain of my heavy armor with the complex physical motions involved in dancing not only got the new skill a third of the way to the next prestige, but I'd also gotten two points in DEX by the time I realized that the playlist had run through and we had to end the party and return to the routine of normal life. I sighed and looked at the others.

Marbel, Ruby, Yang, Ren, Nora, Yang, and I all made our way away from the castle, Blake and Skyler seeing us off.

I grinned as I led the group, "So... we have half an hour to get back, buuuut I think we can make it even faster. How about a race? The only rule is no sabotaging the others. Hitting the ground going at the speeds we're capable of will definitely induce some injuries, maybe even serious ones. Plus... Ruby, Yang, Nora, Ren... okay like ALL of us would get avenged with like... triple the force."

Marbel nodded, "So where are we headed?"

I hummed, tilting my head to either side as I thought, "I think... my house. Here, let me mark it on the map." I opened the map up and found the Arc residence on it, marking it for everyone to see, "I'll be there to determine the winner, okay? Now then... readysetgo!"

In a second, I'd blasted off with extreme speed and force, leaving the others to scramble into runs, my laughter echoing in my wake.

I saw the walls around Vale approaching quickly, and simply allowed my momentum combine with several more skills, glowing like a comet as I struck the wall head-first.

My Aurora held strong, and the wall exploded in all directions, sending tons of rubble and shrapnel flying away as I tore up the streets, leaving a furrow in my path, making my way home with half-kilometer turning-radii leading my path, hitting myself with tons of force and energy as I slammed into an unbreaking wall of telekinesis, instantly causing my Aurora to explode outwards as I lost nearly thousand AP from the impact.

 **"Mana Shield" level increased by 10!**

 **"Golem's Flesh" level increased by 7!**

 **"Robot's Flesh" level increased by 7!**

 **Withstanding extreme forces and surviving has increased your VIT by 1!**

"Oh... FUCK..." I breathed heavily, realizing what I'd just done.

I was merely experimenting, but without some of my skills, I probably would have just killed myself just for an experiment. I sat on the shattered curb and thought about that for a minute.

I sighed, rubbing my forehead. I had to look into the kinds of physical forces I was dealing with here, with my running at over Mach 3 speeds, it wasn't something I could afford to play with unless I wanted to turn into chunky salsa.

I stood up after shaking off the shock. It wasn't the first time I'd had a brush with death, and certainly not even near to how close I'd ever come, but it still was worth consideration.

I sighed, brushing it off after a minute or two. The others were approaching fast, moving easily over a hundred, in fact I saw that except for Ruby, they'd all reached two hundred.

Ruby was currently moving at sonic speeds.

I'd almost say that wasn't fair, but I was able to move triple that, and without getting tired like Ruby clearly was getting.

Thankfully for her, she was able to slow to a halt outside the Arc household about a two minutes later, panting and laying down next to me, sighing at the feeling of the cool stone below herself.

I gently pulled her so her head lay in my lap, and gently patted her head, applying Soulforge, "You won, Rubes. Congrats." I smiled down at her.

She turned her head up at me, her eyes gleaming, "Thanks... uh... hey... Jaune... I have a question?"

I smiled, "I may have an answer, what is it?"

She opened her profile, turning so she was looking up at me, "I have 50 points... I want to increase my CHA, but I feel like I should put it into other things."

I looked at her stats, contemplating, "I would suggest 5 into DEX and VIT, 15 into CHA, and 25 into LUK."

She nodded, recovering with my help and mentally applying the stat points.

 **Ruby has advanced in her life story!**

I also noticed she'd gained the status effect **Natural Growth** , even though she'd just gotten through one of those.

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Name: Ruby Rose  
** **Title: Little Red Fighting Hood -} The Red Fighting Hood  
** **Level: 68  
** **Class: Reaper  
** **Nickname: Rosie**

 **HP: 11,000 -} 12,000  
** **AP: 23,000/23,000  
** **SP: 16,000 -} 18,000**

 **Strength: 45 (+12%) = 50.4  
** **Dexterity: 95 -} 100 (+225%) = 325  
** **Vitality: 55 -} 60 (+12%) = 67.2  
** **Intelligence: 100 (+90%) = 190  
** **Wisdom: 42 (+65%) = 69.3  
** **Luck: 25 -} 50  
** **Charisma: 85 -} 100**

 **Stat Points: 50 -} 0**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

I hummed as I looked over all of it, "Hehe, yep. Good choices, I can see. Hopefully in Mistral we can get you to Aurora. I promise I'll do my best to get you there. Don't worry, Rosie." I brushed her hair off her sweaty , feeling its silky softness between my fingers, "You're adorable, you know that?"

She sighed, "I've been trying to get past that, Jaune." she pouted up at me.

I took out a soft cloth and gently rubbed it over her face, "Hmmm... nope, no such luck. I can't wipe it away, looks like you're stuck being adorable." I chuckled, feeling her flick my nose and let out a whining sound in protest.

She took the cloth and rested it over her face, and I felt an unnatural breeze flow over us, "Tell me, Jaune, and tell me the truth... do you think I'm pretty?"

I sighed, "Ruby, you and the other girls are all beautiful in your own rights. Weiss has a beautiful conviction, and a gorgeous smile. Blake is like a supermodel. Yang is like a supermodel that gets a proper diet and rigorous exercise. Marbel has the sort of friendliness that gives her a beautiful heart. Even Nora, she has a kind heart and a great, if overbearing passion, plus she has a cute smile and the kind of emotional pull that makes me want to see her succeed. You're adorable, but you also have a grace to you that outshines many, with a loving heart worn on your sleeve, kindness in droves, a willingness to share and spread your joy with others. If you'll keep this secret, then I must say that honestly, if I wasn't already with Yang... if I'd met you first... then I'd probably have pined after you instead."

Ruby's face lit up like Christmas, but her eyes shone with realization, that I was serious.

I nodded, just smiling and gently petting her head, "Really it's that way with all of you. If the situations had just been a little different, I could have ended up with any one of you... well, except Ren." we shared a laugh at that, "I don't think he'd want to be with me either." our laughter intensified, "But... regardless of Ren's preferences, I just wanted to say that. You're pretty, you're beautiful, you're even gorgeous, Ruby." my mind teased me with the memory of the laws that were in place, laws that encouraged polygamy. I shook them from my head, "You'll make some lucky guy very, VERY happy some day." I gave her a brotherly smile.

Ruby just smiled at me, but I was sure I'd made her brain bluescreen from shock and joy. I just watched after her, looking out for the next to arrive.

Weiss ran up soon enough, looking at me and Ruby curiously, "She tuckered herself out. Don't worry about it." I'd given Rubes the courtesy of covering her face with the cool cloth, blowing AD Frosty Breath on her, then turning it onto Weiss, who shivered for a moment, then sighed.

"She seems to have recovered, though." she looked at Ruby laying her head on my lap.

Ruby spoke up in a very frank tone, "My pillow is very comfortable, and because of that, I cannot get up yet."

Weiss just raised an eyebrow, "So... you're just enjoying yourself, then? Just... using your sister's boyfriend's lap as a pillow?"

Ruby nodded, "Yeeep, Jaune doesn't mind it, nor does Yang. Right, Jaune?"

I just shrugged, "Ruby is adorable, how could I deny her?"

Weiss shook her head, a light laugh slipping from her lips as she went over to my side and leaned up against it, "Well, I also happened to 'tucker myself out', so I will be resting for a moment as well."

I chuckled, reaching around with an arm and giving Weiss a quick little noogie, "You picked a bad position, Weiss." I chuckled and ignored her protests, only to let her go right after she paused to breathe, "Come on Weiss, you know I'm just messing with ya."

She sighed, "Be that as it may, I still do not appreciate you grinding your knuckles into my scalp like a brute. I thought we were friends." she pouted sadly.

I sighed, hugging her with one arm, "We ARE friends, Weiss. Friendship means we can banter and joke and play around with one another." I smiled at her, letting her go after a few more seconds, when I sensed two more approaching quickly.

I turned my head, seeing Nora and Ren arrive at nearly the same time. When they came to a halt, Nora did a cartwheel and Ren did a faceplant, collapsing from exhaustion. I couldn't help but laugh a little, patting his head, "Welcome to the afterparty, man." I greeted with a grin.

He grumbled something into the sidewalk, but I couldn't understand it. Nora, meanwhile, did a backflip and landed behind me, leaning down with her hands on my shoulders, "Jauney~, that was so cool! You went kaboom, but didn't explode, which was weird, but then Weiss explained that you just broke the sound barrier, which was even cooler! And then Ruby did it too! You two are so COOL! I'm really really really glad you let us come with you! Another day of chores and stuffs and honestly I think I might have gone CRAZY!" she bounced on the balls of her feet, her fingers tapping on my shoulders like they were drums.

Ren flipped over onto his back, taking in a deep breath, "Nora, you know that we have to do work if we're going to pay Jaune back for his kindness."

I waved a hand, "No need, Ren. I brought you two on because you were two hunters in training that I felt truly exemplified what being a hunter is about. When you ran to our aid in Vacuo, you didn't have to do that, in fact it would have been so easy NOT to that the fact that you did it is something worth rewarding. Bringing you into the folds of our merry band of Huntsman trainees was a reward for your own kindness." I flashed a grin, to which Ren sighed, looking away slightly.

"I suppose you're right." he went quiet after that, and I smiled, tilting my head back until I saw Nora's upside-down face smiling down at me.

She poked my nose, "Boop."

I chuckled, then poked her nose in return, "Boop. You know, a lot of people would write you off as crazy, Nora, but I can see you're a nice person under it all, you're just... high on life."

Nora blushed, but smiled at me, "Thank you for the consideration, Jauney! Unfortunately, there is a process to complimenting the queen! I'm going to have to ask that you mail in a compliment privilege request form, which you can find online and print out at any local printer. You'll need to fill out the forms in triplicate before mailing them to my PO box, where I will find them and go over them and get back to you within 16 to 35 business days with a confirmation or denial of your request."

Weiss, Ruby, and I all stared at Nora, then we all burst out laughing at the rather ridiculous process she'd described, "Oh my god, Nora, that is too much! You're fucking adorable and hilarious, like... adoralarious." my shoulders shook with laughter, causing Nora to decide that she no longer wanted to lean on them.

She pouted and kicked me in the back, "It's not THAT funny." her blow hardly did any damage, both due to how little effort she put into it, and my substantial defenses.

After a bit more laughing, I sensed the last two approaching quickly, Marbel and Yang running on nearly even footing. Even though Marbel had clearly superior DEX, she was lagging behind due to her physique. Sure, they were nearly equal, but Yang clearly had a natural physical advantage, even with her oddly fudged numbers.

That was something I didn't like about her and Ruby. Their numbers were very clearly nerfed from what they should have been. Yang should have had over twice her current HP, AP, and SP, as should Ruby. In fact, Ruby should have had nearly TRIPLE her current AP.

I brushed it off. It was something for later. Right now, I had more urgent things to do.

I shot up to my feet, causing Ruby and Weiss to both jolt and fall, and I heard them let out sounds of complaint as I caught Yang's lunging towards me, telekinetically keeping myself stable as I spun around after catching her, the two of us sharing another deep, loving kiss. I smiled against her soft, full lips, which tasted of fruit punch and oranges.

I slowed the spinning to nothing, then held out a fist towards Marbel for our secret handshake, my other grabbing a handful of Yang's glorious ass.

Two inverting vertical fistbumps, a normal horizontal fistbump, followed by a medium handshake, then a low handshake, then a high handshake (both held together by our thumbs), then bird wings flapping, followed by lowering our hands back to medium height, pointing at each other through our fistbump, then sliding our fingers against each other as we withdrew our hands, pointing 'gun fingers' at one another, firing a shot, then ending it with a snap of our fingers.

Marbel grinned, "Funny how perfectly you can do that, even while kissing Yang." she let out a small laugh.

 _Jaune W: I'm flexible and have great coordination and motor control, I could do that to two people while Yang hangs off my front. :W_

 _Marbel W: Why do I get the impression that you'd enjoy that more? :W_

 _Jaune W: I dunno. I wasn't implying anything perverted by it, I was just saying that I could do that. :W_

Yang and I broke our kiss and leg go of one another, "Alright, everyone in the house. I can sense my dad is in the garage. I think we should have one last little toast or something to Vale City for being awesome, before most of us must go back to the ship and resume this tour." I led the way to the door, my feet practically gliding across the mowed grass, which had translated from normal space to the I.D.

We got inside and I dropped the I.D. when we were all in the living room.

I equipped my earpiece and transmitted a quick check, "What's the ET on everything being ready to go?"

 _"We've loaded the last of the supplies onto the ship. Final checks are underway, we'll be ready to fly in about twenty minutes."_

I smiled, "Great news. We'll be there before then." then turned off the earpiece. I looked at the others, "So... a toast!" I produced glasses and a bottle of wine, pouring us all half a glass and serving them to everyone, "A toast to Vale for being awesome, a toast to Celeste for being a spark of light to brighten the future, a toast to Weiss for being an awesome singer, a toast to all of us for getting along and being great friends, and a toast to the future." I smiled at everyone, swirling my glass as we all raised ours and then downed them (some of us only the best they could, though I'd picked a light, smooth wine for this purpose).

After that, the others settled into a little chat while I went to the garage, finding my dad working on our car, "Hey dad. We gotta head back to the airships here in a minute." I brought us all into ID in preparation.

He lifted his face from the oily innards of the hood, shooting me a grin, "Right, let me just get cleaned up really quick, and-" he paused as I used Crocea, Mystral, and Roi together as a 'physical cleaning' elemental to wash the oil off of his body with a wave of my aura, noting how Dishwashing leveled up from the act, "That works too. Let's get going, then." he dropped the hood and smirked in satisfaction.

I summoned a few Gaster Blasters and carved a massive hole in the wall, startling the others, especially when the wall all fell at once, "Alright, ID's up, let's get going." I received a chorus of affirmation as I focused on speed, both in increasing my own and warping time so we would (relatively speaking) go even faster.

And so, with Marbel heading home, and us heading to the ships, we all made our way to our destinations.

* * *

 _(a couple of minutes later, Weiss POV)_

I swallowed my fears, as well as a mouthful of seltzer water, as Jaune and I made our way to my room. It was horrific that I just... I just couldn't get over the motion sickness. I knew it was bad, and only a hindrance, but I didn't have Jaune's mind, nor his body, so I found myself lacking a solution, but Jaune's presence calmed my traitorous stomach with the soothing warmth of friendship...

... and maybe a bit of attraction. It was undeniable that he had incredible strength, both of body and character, which... EEP!

"Come on, Weiss, don't get tired on me now. Arranging sleep isn't exactly easy, and I don't want you to get to Mistral and be stuck in a jetlagged state." his hand was on my upper back, a comforting touch.

I sighed, "Of course not. I'm not tired, just... thankful I'm not nauseous."

He grit his teeth, "So... it didn't go away?"

"I..." I gulped down as a wave of partially digested food let out a battlecry at my throat, "I had to cut through the burnt, but not yet dead pilot in order to kill Kroma... he screamed in the two seconds it took for his own blood to gargle up his throat, but I think it was the sheer shock of my aura attack that killed him." I gripped my elbows, unable to keep from curling my shoulders in and looking at the floor.

Jaune tensed, muttering something under his breath that I couldn't quite catch, then let out a hollow, morbid laugh, "Well... at least his suffering was ended... *sigh*... don't... don't worry about it too much. You did him a mercy, AND killed the enemy, not to mention saved the other pilot's life. Sure, he was wounded too, but... look, it was bad, but you minimized the damage as best you could. Nobody can blame you for doing your best." he pulled me into a brief hug, rubbing my shoulder soothingly, "So... try not to fret over it. It's over and done, and while it wasn't ideal for them, it was better than if you'd done nothing."

I sighed, trying to force the image of the bisected pilot from my mind, but found it instead just falling to the floor, with the other pilot looking at me with diminishing horror and slowly growing relief, breathlessly giving his thanks as he cradled the wound in his gut as he pushed and corrected the ship to the best of his ability.

It was... it mitigated the effect, and helped me not feel so sick. Still, I felt the odd sensation that I'd long come to realize the meaning of.

Jaune's presence negated my motion sickness. Of course, it wasn't complete negation, but I didn't get anywhere close to throwing up while he was with me, so it was enough.

It was almost funny, how that seemed to be his own logic towards my failure to stop Kroma before she could compromise the pilots. I hadn't failed completely, I'd stopped her and one pilot had been alive to try to keep the ship afloat.

I'd done enough to keep the night from being lost to a swift and uncompromising crash.

It was a comforting thought, one I could take refuge in. I had acted as a true Huntress would, pushing past my fear and doing what needed to be done. That it wasn't perfect was irrelevant, in fact it was _normal_ that it wasn't perfect. Perfection was impossible, after all.

I sighed softly, "Thank you, Jaune. It seems like you always know what to say to make me feel better." I couldn't help but lean into his side, his warmth soaking into me.

He coughed lightly, "Well, I just do my best to help my friends, that's all. I'm just really lucky in that what I say usually works." he gave a chuckle, opening the door to my room and leading me inside.

I smiled, sighing in contentment as we sat down together, "So... what should we do while we're just flying to Mistral?"

He hummed in thought, then a grin broke out across his face, "How about I show you the marvels of the great Marvel Comics movies?"

"... what?" I stared at him.

He chuckled, "I have signal due to... I dunno, my aura? I can stream the movies."

I tapped my chin in thought, "I suppose that could be fun. Alright, let's do it."

He grinned, "Awesome! Ooh! Hey, we don't we take this to the other ship with the others and all watch them together?"

"Sure. I'd hate to keep it from my friends." a jolt of unsureness passed through me, "I... uh... Jaune... we ARE all friends, right?"

The idiot just smiled and hugged me tightly, nearly smushing my face into his side, "We're all friends and allies, forged in the fires of camaraderie in battle, and tempered by the soft, strong bonds of sharing and trust. I love all of you dearly, and while that may still be a work-in-progress for Ren and Nora, they've shown they're willing to join us all in these endeavors, and do what they must to keep close. They're good, hardy friends, and I know it's just a matter of time until they're just another part of our big happy hunter family."

"Heh, that sounds amazing." I smiled, thinking about the...

wait...

hold on...

FAMILY?!

* * *

 **Well well well! We've come to the end, finally! Well... not the end end, much less the end end end, and definitely DEFINITELY not the end end end end. Don't ask what tacking on more ends means.**

 **Just know they're justified.**

 **Mistral is split into nine regions, and the current region they're in is basically France, and Jaune's name is french, and his character's inspiration was french, and... yeah, you should get it.**

 **So you should know that the Arc Family is in Southwest Mistral.**

 **Anyways, as mentioned a few times previously, as in "at the very beginning of this chapter, in the mid-writing note updates" this chapter's delay was for very arbitrary and dumb reasons... well, one reason, really, "I was dicking around", and don't take that as I was playing around with my dick out (though that happened during this period of time, it wasn't what was delaying the story"**

 **So... yeah, that's really that, actually. I'm going to try to do my best to minimize the dicking around from now on, because like srsly with only an hour's worth of videos I actually care about coming up in my subscriptions, I shouldn't be delaying this much.**

 **I am, and I'm sorry for that.**

 **Anyways, let's just have a cool little note: 20 skills prestiged in this chapter, and while 10 of them were his Boxing skills, it still stands that that's a pretty big amount... hold on, let me just put on my _Integrity Hat_ , and read through the entirety of all of Jaune's T1 skills that are not max level. Redoing this because I realize how easy I CAN do it if I use ctrl+F**

 **241 total skills in T1, -56 prestiged skills, so that means he just got about 20/56 new prestiged skills in THIS CHAPTER ALONE... eeeexcept it's less than that, because a recount says that 12 of the new prestiges were T2, so it's actually 8/56, or about 14.3% of his total amount of prestiged T1 skills coming from THIS CHAPTER ALONE.**

 **Still... that means he has 56/241 T1 skills prestiged, or about 23.2%. More are set to follow, of course. In fact, a lot of his T1 skills are only delayed because I have to come up with stuff for every single prestige skill, because I'm not letting them go undocumented AT ALL!**

 **I also will definitely be adding like... 9 new T1 skills just so it balances out to 250... AAAAND Jaune has the three sets of 3 skills for getting STR, DEX, and VIT past 100 to still get, so I think I just answered my own question before I even asked it (the question was "what 9 skills should I add?")**

 **Alright, well, that's all of THAT settled now, how about we get to that omake, shall we?**

* * *

 _Omake: Glass? Try Indestructible. Cannon? Try Epic Fuckoff Doomlaser._

* * *

 _(Evening of Initiation Day, "Jade" POV)_

I stared as Jaune polished off his second plate of steak, veggies, potatoes, and garlic bread.

The Game must have allowed him to get a lot more immediate effect out of his new VIT score, because that was his eighth plate of food.

"You know, I'm glad you've thus far chosen to eat lighter, more protein-rich/calorie-deficient foods, besides the steak, but steak is fucking awesome, but like... dude, you're gonna get fat at this rate, even WITH the light food." I stared at him.

He burped, then blushed, "S-sorry dude. I just... damn, I was REALLY hungry." he sighed, leaning back with a hand on his stomach, "But... I'm full now. Say, why aren't you eating?"

I rolled my eyes and smirked with teasing smugness, "I was, you ate my plate. You're lucky that one of my skills lets me convert AP into calories. And Gamer's Body means I just need to eat food, no need to worry about what kind. Man cannot survive on bread alone, but I am no mere man, I am The Gamer, and I say 'fuck off I'll eat all the bread I want'." I chuckled and flicked his forehead, "So... how does it feel to be indestructible?"

"Well... I wouldn't say it feels much different from normal, just like... I feel denser, and kinda slow, I need to up my DEX."

"Yeah, you do, and your STR, luckily it seems like you've already started doing that based on VIT alone."

 **Jaune's extremely high levels of lifeforce have been fed, and have increased his STR by 1!**

 **Jaune's body has been refined and has become more attractive, increasing his CHA by 1!**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc**  
 **Title: The Indestructible Arc Knight**  
 **Level: 63**

 **HP: 210,000/210,000  
AP: 27,000/27,000  
SP: 350,000/350,000**

 **Strength: 26 -} 30 (+150%) = 75  
Charisma: 16 -} 20  
**

 **Stat Points: 0**

 **Weight: 250 -} 260  
Build: Light Muscular Juggernaut -} Lite-Med Muscular Juggernaut**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-** **  
**

 **Jade Hex  
** **Title: Grand Wizard of the Elements  
** **Level: 136 -} 137**

 **HP: 140,000 -} 145,000  
** **AP: 526,000 -} 540,000  
** **SP: 211,000 -} 220,000**

 **Stat Points: 0 -} 5**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

I hummed in thought as I compared our stats, "You know, I think it's probably that you need to eat more... I'm not saying eat eight plates of food per meal, but maybe like 3 or 4. It seems to be feeding your muscles almost passively... wait a second..." I checked his traits, and found what I was looking for.

 **Auric Myostatin-related Muscle Hypertrophy: Genes that inhibit muscle growth to normal human levels are themselves inhibited. Effect: Boosts STR gains by 400%. This is affected by the highly strong Aura Jaune possesses, increasing the boost to 1000%**

"Wow... okay, so... just having your strong Aura and insane VIT score means that you're seriously just gaining STR because you can. Damn, I wish I could get some of that bullshit-level awesomeness." still, I had a lot of skills tucked away, skills that could easily put me far beyond any person, even the pesky Taiyang... speaking of... "So... have you made any friends besides me?"

He blinked, "Oh! I met a few people, let's see... there's Ruby, and then that Weiss girl, but she's not a friend, just a bit of a... well, a bit of a crush I guess." he rubbed the back of his head, blushing, "And that Pyrrha girl, who's apparently a big deal or something. I mean, she's on front of a cereal box!"

I stared at him, then facepalmed, "You know, I realize... tell me, was Pyrrha more willing to talk to you than Weiss was?"

He nodded, "Yeah, Weiss was cold, but I know she's just... well, I don't know, but she's sad inside, and that's made her bitter outside, and I wish I could make her happy."

I hummed softly, "Right... and her money?"

He looked surprised, "Money? I'm pretty sure she's not s-some k-kind of... p-p-prostitute, or something. I'm not going to pay her so she can pretend to be happy, I want to be her friend so I can make her ACTUALLY happy."

I smiled, raising an eyebrow, "And what about Pyrrha? She seemed nice, but she also seemed uncomfortable with Weiss. I don't think she likes being treated like she's a big deal, in fact she seems to be rather partial to the opposite, just being treated like a normal person."

He hummed, stroking his chin, "That sounds really good. I'm not really good at dealing with high class stuff, I mean when I was a kid I once went to a charity event thing with my dad and I kinda just ended up hanging by the snack table and hiding in the corner playing games on my scroll." he blushed a little, "Thinking back on it, I wish I had the knowledge to help out a little, at least."

I chuckled, "Only YOU would feel bad about being an unhelpful 10-year-old at a high-class charity event."

"A-actually I was like... eight." he looked away.

I laughed harder, "Not the point, Jaune." I reached over and gave him a hearty pat on the shoulder, "Come on, let's go, the team assignment should be starting soon."

He blinked, "Oh geez, we've been here that long? Damn." he got up, "Let's get going, then. I don't wanna be late in getting a team, I might end up on a really bad one."

"Oh, don't worry, I think we'll be fine in that regard." really, who expected the queen piece to be partnered? There wasn't even a king piece!

 _...(nearly an hour later)..._

I... hate... EVERYTHING.

Why? Why why why why why?

I was tempted to pull the bitch into an I.D. and murder her ass, probably after hate-fucking her, I was itching THAT much for her death.

Ozpin just smiled, none the wiser, "Jaune Arc, Jade Hex-" the headmaster's words were muted in my ears, and I thanked my Illusion that nobody saw me glaring daggers at the woman on the far side, "You collected the Queen pieces, and from this day forth, you will be known as Team JJCP (Jasper), led by... Jaune Arc!"

"M-me?" he seemed surprised.

Ozpin nodded, "Congratulations, young man."

I mumbled, "Yeah, congratulations." hiding my anger and hatred.

 **Pyrrha Nikos**  
 **Title: The Invincible Champion  
Level: 47  
**

 **Cinder Fall  
Title: The Shadow of the Fall Maiden  
Level: 142**

Why was she here?

Was this a result of me fucking the timestream up just by being here?

Fucking... NO!

Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!

I was happy I had a poison elemental, I was going to wear that bitch down before she could ever have a chance to pose a threat to the rest of us. Not all poisons were deadly, and I had enough of a mastery over Alchemy that I could conjure a strength-reducing poison. She wouldn't notice it as time went on, if I dosed them correctly, and the darkness in her heart, I could see, had reduced the effectiveness of her Aurora.

I would make sure none of her plans would come to bear... in fact~...

I looked at Jaune, sighing as I prepared a mental list of objectives.

 **QUEST RECEIVED!**

 **Quest: Burning the dark kingdom to ashes.**

 **Description: Changes in the timestream have led to Cinder Fall being a part of Beacon's student body, and more dangerously, a part of your team! Her plans cannot be allowed to come to fruition. Keikaku's accordance shall be damned to hell!**

 **Objective: Dismantle Cinder Fall's plans.  
-Eliminate the threat of the White Fang.  
-Eliminate the threat of the Grimm near the city.  
-Find out what else the plan entails.**

 **Rewards: +300,000,000,000 EXP, +750 Closeness to Vale City and Beacon, recognition for your heroism.**

 **Penalties: Destruction of Vale City and Beacon, countless innocents and hunters die.**

I smashed the accept button with my fist, "Well, great job, fearless leader! And thank you, sir." I gave Ozpin a slight bow, looking at the two girls on our team... well, one girl and one evil conniving plotting bitch who deserved to be nailed to a stick and set on fire, "Looks like we're all in this together."

Cinder gave a strained smile, "It seems we are."

Pyrrha smiled politely, "I'm glad to meet you."

Jaune led us off the stage, and I smiled at Pyrrha, "Thank you. It's nice to meet you too, Pyrrha. You seem like a very nice girl." I gave Cinder a sweet smile, "You too, Cinder."

Cinder blinked in surprise, "I uh... y-yes." hah, caught you off-guard, BITCH.

 **+1 Closeness to Cinder Fall!**

... no.

No no no.

No no no No No NO NO NO NO NO NO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I won't let this stand.

Maybe... NO!

Ugh, this was going to give me a headache. I needed a chance to chill out...

We made our way to the room, settling in and selecting beds, and I looked at Jaune, "Hey, leader, can't skip a day of STAB, wanna go?"

Pyrrha looked surprised and shocked, "D-don't tell me you have a hobby of stabbing people."

I blinked, then looked at Jaune's face of realization, "Ah, no no no, it means Sweat, Tears, and Blood. I've been training with my buddy here for a long while now, and that's what we call the training, because it's pretty intense."

Pyrrha blinked, "Oh, well I think I'm done for the day. Maybe I'll join you next time?"

Cinder scoffed, "It's nearly the middle of the night. You two can waste precious sleeping time without me." she ran a hand through her hair, gathering her pajamas.

I shrugged, "Alright then, more sweating, crying, and bleeding for us. You ready Jaune?"

He cleared his throat, "Sure man, let's get to it."

We left the room, walking down the hall, and once we were behind a wall of silence, I voiced my thoughts, "I don't like Cinder... trust me, man."

Jaune looked surprised, "Dude, she's like... INSANELY strong, I mean, your sight thing said she was level 142? That title though... something's up with her, I'll agree."

I hummed, "There's this story, The Story of the Seasons, with the four maidens-"

Surprisingly, my copy cut me off, "And the wizard gives them powers because they're nice people. Yeah, I know the story. My mom read me all kinds of fairytales when I was little, I know that one by heart, it was my favorite. It was a sign to me that success and power can come from just being a good person."

I nodded, "Heh, yeah. Anyways, I'm like 85% sure that it's a true story, and that Cinder is some kind of evil maiden."

"That WOULD explain the title." Jaune mused, "Uh... anyways, so what Grimm are we going to be killing? I'm pretty sure we cleared all of the Emerald forest out earlier."

I grinned, and once we were out of view, I activated I.D. and teleported us to the forest, "Alright Jaune, here's the plan. I'm going to strap trees to your legs as skis, and pull you along using auric ropes. I want you to try to keep your balance for some good STR training while we go nearly a thousand miles southwards. If I can maintain top speed, then we'll get there in a bit over ten minutes." I grinned at him, "These buffs, and your VIT, should be more than enough to prevent your from getting your legs pulled off."

I pulled a pair of trees from the ground, trimmed off all the branches and roots, and made a metal device that would hold Jaune's feet. I heard him speak up, "Um... is it REALLY necessary to do that?"

I smirked at him, "Unless you want to ride piggyback or get carried in my arms like a princess, this is the coolest way I can think of." I combined some elementals and reinforced the wood to be stronger than diamonds, "Now come on, get ready to get strapped in. Also, I'm going to equip you with thirty tons of armor when you're in, so get ready for that."

"Wait wha-" he didn't get much chance to speak as I lifted him up, set him in the harnesses, and equipped the armor onto his body, wrapping dozens of layers of mana ropes around his arms and started pulling him along.

He was nearly knocked over, but the trees held strong, as did the ropes and his spine.

 **Enduring great muscle strain has increased Jaune's STR by 3!**

I began glowing like a comet as we streaked through the night, under the cover of a pocket dimension.

 _...(about ten minutes later)..._

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
**

 **HP: 210,000 -} 220,000  
AP: 27,000 -} 30,000  
SP: 350,000 -} 360,000**

 **Strength: 30 -} 120 (+150%) (+300%) (+500%) (+600%) (+750%) (+600%) = 3600  
Dexterity: 20 -} 80 (+75%) (+225%) (+500%) (+300%) (+250%) (+550%) = 1600  
Intelligence: 48 -} 50 (+75%) = 87.5  
Wisdom: 38 -} 40 (+150%) = 100  
Charisma: 20 -} 40**

 **Height: 6'1 -} 6'3  
** **Weight: 260 -} 375  
** **Build: Lite-Med Muscular Juggernaut -} Medium Muscular Juggernaut**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

By the end, Jaune was keeping himself not only straight, but also leaned back, and learning about balancing and shit had increased his mental stats a tad.

Now, however, I was casting Signal, and boy did I stop at the right giant mountain.

A roar shattered the night air, and I saw a monumental beast rise in the distance.

Funny choice of words, self, because I soon saw its info.

 **Salemonumender**  
 **Title: Great Tyrant of the Mountains  
Level: ?**

"Aaalllllright." I said with a broad grin, "Let go over there, and kill the thing." I summoned my Master Gaster Blasters

Jaune gulped, "Jade... I'm not so sure about this anymore."

I turned to him, "Don't lose your urine now, Jaune. You're a hero, and a hero doesn't back down, even when they're afraid! Cinder is probably more dangerous than this thing, because who knows what kind of powers she has, but this thing is just big and strong and tough. I want you to focus on murderizing it, don't back down, don't let up, and whatever you do, do NOT let fear overwhelm you."

He sighed, then drew Crocea Mors, "Alright then... let's do this.

"Ohp, hold on, dragon!" I shouted as I caught the thing in the jaws of my MGBs, grinning ear to ear.

 **Dreadwing  
Title: Razor of Settlements, Scorcher of the Earth  
Level: 140**

And then it was nearly dead from 50 giant lasers blasted right onto its body from point blank range. It fell from the sky and landed at our feet, but our DEX let us not get knocked over, as did our tremendous weights.

Jaune looked at the thing, fury filling his eyes, and his sword fell into his hand, then sliced through the beast's neck with ease.

 **Your level increased to 138!**

 **Jaune's level increased to 73!**

It dissipated into smoke, and the Salemonumender had taken one single step, "Ooh! Mithril!" I used all of it to quickly upgrade Jaune's Crocea Mors, still grinning, "So, you gonna put in your points, or nah?"

He opened his profile and put thirty five of the points into his VIT, and fifteen into LUK.

I snagged several more Dreadwings and repeated the process, shamelessly grinding with all of what some would consider outright cheating, but it wasn't MY fault that there were so many Dreadwings here, just that they'd been awoken and were attacking us.

Dozens of pounds of mithril poured into Crocea Mors, reinforcing it as the Dreadwings broke from Gaster Blaster's grasp and we had to take matters into our own physical hands.

Shockwaves broke out as Jaune punched one of the draconic grimm down to the ground, grinning as the hype filled us both, and I couldn't help but start playing music in the background.

It was an obvious choice, since we were fighting dragons.

 _Toniiight~,_

 _I'm gonna have myseeelf~,_

 _A real good tiiime~!_

 _I feel aliii-iii-iii-iiiive~!_

 _And the wooorrrld~,_

 _I'll tuurrrn it inside ooouuu-uuut~!_

 _I'm floating around~,_

 _In ecstasyyy~_

The dragons were gone, and Jaune was grinning, as was I, and the Salemonumender was half a kilometer away.

 _So DON'T. STOP. Me, nooowww~!_

We closed with distance with a pair of hyper-empowered jumps, causing great blasts of earth to be blown away from our previous spots.

 _DON'T. STOP. ME-_

 _Cause I'm having a good time!_

We lit up the sky with our Auroras, and I gave us both the buff I'd been holding out.

 **You have received the status effect "High Frequency"!**

 **Jaune has received the status effect "High Frequency"!**

 _HAVING A GOOD-_

*CRASH*

 _RULES OF NATURE!_

We sprinted down its back as the song blared, slashing through its giant scales with ease as the molecular bonds were shattered. Jaune grinned at me, "WE'RE DOING IT!" he shouted over the screaming wind.

"YEAH! WE'RE DOING IT, BUDDY! COME ON! LET'S NOT GIVE UP YET!"

We reached its tail, but were suddenly thrown into the air by the thing swinging upwards, then with surprising swiftness we were swatted to the sides, ending up hitting a mountain for me, and a craggy field for Jaune, which tore at his reinforced Aura and flesh.

I saw in the corner of my eye that his HP was down by a whole fifth just from that blow, which frightened me. I was sixty feet underground, and felt only the prestige of Aurora keeping me from shattering like glass, along with all my defensive buffs.

Then, I saw an ore next to me in the cave I'd ended up in.

This was... interesting.

 **Uranium Ore**

 **Description: A dangerous radioactive metal, which emits radiation and should be handled with care. CAUTION: EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WHEN HIT WITH PARTICLES, HANDLE WITH EXTREME CARE!**

Huh... there were about a hundred kilos of it, so I drew it all out of the rock and rose back to the surface.

I saw that Jaune was already on the beast again, their strengths actually a little even, though the thing still had hundreds on him, at that level of the scale, it wasn't a gigantic difference in the grand scheme.

I formed the hundred kilos of uranium into a massive ball, and threw it with great force at the gigantic beast, which from this angle I could properly see was fighting on its knees, and was still over three hundred feet tall.

Jaune actually managed to cut off a hand when I gave him the message to retreat, only to see him get picked up and thrown towards me, hitting the mountain

He'd only been hit twice, and was already at 2/3rds health, which wasn't ideal.

I summoned Mystral, Xiburichu, and Juristimunja, the three coalescing into Solaris, the Radiation elemental. He was, as he was before, a dragon, now one that emanated harsh violet light, with bright azure eyes. It was massive and coiled into a long corkscrew shape, glowing literally like the sun, with ultraviolet radiation pouring off its scales, but not in the direction of me or Jaune.

The Salumonumender turned to face me, roaring like a storm and clearing the dark sky. Then, it turned its roar upwards as pain no doubt shot throughout its entire body from the wound in its gut.

Granlero, the combination of Crocea Mors, Roimontagne, and Pluviteus. His massive halberd cut a deep gash in the beast's chest, an opening for Solaris.

A beam of irradiated particles hit the beast, activating the uranium inside.

And then there was boom.

Solaris protected us from the radiation, but the sheer force of the radiation explosion (something was definitely up with that material, I had to study it further) threatened to shatter my bones. It DID cause an avalanche. on the mountain, which I prevented from harming Jaune as Granlero split up and traveled back to me as his constituent elementals, then Roimontagne held the rock aside.

 **Your level increased to 144!**

 **Jaune's level increased to 120!**

 **You have earned the title "Nuclear Scientist"!**

 **Enduring kilotons of force has increased your VIT by 10!**

After a long time, the mushroom-shaped cloud dissipated, leaving the raining chunks of smoking, dissipating flesh to fall around us as Jaune climbed his way out of the crater he was in.

I grinned at him, "WE DID IT!"

He nodded, obviously tired, "WOO!" and looked at his profile.

I looked at my own, and his, recording our increases.

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jade Hex  
** **Title: Grand Wizard of the Elements  
** **Level: 137 -} 144  
** **Class: Wizard v4  
** **Nickname: Mr. Player Man**

 **HP: 145,000 -} 170,000  
** **AP: 540,000 -} 625,000  
** **SP: 220,000 -} 250,000**

 **Strength: 150 -} 160 (+500%) (+150%) = 1125  
** **Dexterity: 140 -} 150 (+500%) (+150%) = 1050  
** **Vitality: 180 (+500%) (+150%) = 1275  
** **Intelligence: 290 -} 300 (+10) (+500%) = 1800  
** **Wisdom: 290 -} 300 (+10) (+500%) = 1800  
** **Luck: 117  
** **Charisma: 175**

 **Stat Points: 5 -} 40 -} 30 -} 20 -} 10 -} 0**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 6'7  
** **Weight: 320 -} 350  
** **Build: Med-Heavy Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blonde / Starry Azure / Medium Tan**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc**  
 **Title: The Indestructible Arc Knight**  
 **Level: 73 -} 120  
** **Class: Juggernaut  
** **Nickname: Vomit Boy**

 **HP: 220,000 -} 500,000  
AP: 30,000 -} 150,000  
SP: 350,000 -} 1,000,000**

 **Strength: 120 (+150%) = 300  
Dexterity: 80 (+75%) = 140  
Vitality: 335 -} 500 (+150%) = 1250  
Intelligence: 50 (+75%) = 87.5  
Wisdom: 40 (+150%) = 100  
Luck: 30 -} 100  
Charisma: 40  
**

 **Stat Points: 0 -} 235 -} 70 -} 20 -} 0**

 **Age: 17  
Birthday: November 20th  
Race: Human  
Height: 6'3  
Weight: 375 -} 500  
Build: Medium Muscular Juggernaut  
Hair/Eyes/Skin: Blonde / Royal Blue / Light Tan**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

We touched down on the cleared forest floor while Solaris cleaned up the radiation, and Jaune shivered in agony. I caught him from falling completely, but ended up getting blown away as his body erupted into pure ivory light, wisps of purplish black growing into it, along with streaks of gold

I watched as his body seemed to crack, pure white leaking from the cracks, and then... it all faded away, leaving Jaune shirtless, his body smoking and white markings trailing up his right arm and flowing across his shoulders, reaching down towards what I saw was a sword, pointed downwards, positioned between a pair of tribal wing-like markings on his upper back, the shoulder marks seeming to try to grasp the sword on his back.

 **Jaune's impossible VIT and great LUK has caused him to ascend beyond the limits of mortal men!**

I stared, and brought up his glowing profile, several pieces of information changing.

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc**  
 **Title: The Indestructible Arc Knight -} The Great Arc Paladin**  
 **Level: 120  
** **Class: Juggernaut -} Paladin  
** **Nickname: Vomit Boy**

 **HP: 500,000 -} 750,000  
AP: 150,000 -} 200,000  
SP: 1,000,000 -} 1,500,000**

 **Strength: 120 (+150%) (+250%) = 600  
Dexterity: 80 (+75%) (+225%) = 320  
Vitality: 500 (+150%) (+250%) = 2500  
Intelligence: 50 (+75%) (+225%) = 200  
Wisdom: 40 -} 50 (+150%) (+250%) = 250  
Luck: 100  
Charisma: 40 -} 80  
**

 **Stat Points: 0**

 **Age: 17  
Birthday: November 20th  
Race: Human -} Paladin  
Height: 6'3 -} 6'4  
Weight: 500 -} 250  
Build: Medium Muscular Juggernaut  
Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blonde / Royal Blue / Light Tan**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

I stumbled over my words, blown away by the transformation, "... Paladin... is not... a race... you fucking game..."

Jaune slumped, exhausted, "I feel like I just ran like... fifty marathons."

I helped him up, only struggling slightly, "You just turned from a normal human into a paladin... your race changed. It doesn't make sense, I know. I think you might be able to fly."

He blinked, "What? How? With my arms? I think they're broke-whoa. That's... pretty cool." he seemed to still be reeling from the transformation.

I sighed, "Okay, you see, now THIS is why I've kept from dumping all my points into one stat, not only was I worried it'd fuck something up, but I also grew to fear that the human body wouldn't be able to handle stats so high. At least you're basically fucking unkillable now, so THAT'S a thing."

He grinned weakly, chuckling, "Tank all the hits?"

I chuckled back, "And hit all the tanks. Yeah... literally just put yourself between enemy and ally and the enemy will have a hard time getting to you. You also weigh a lot less than before, for some reason, so try to be wary of that." I cast a flurry of buffs on myself, the others having dismissed during Jaune's transformation basically burning away all other light, "Alright, come on bro, I think I could grind you along the ground and you don't have to worry about anything even getting past your skin." I trussed him up with dozens of layers of mana rope, noting that his Aura was nearly gone, probably from somehow converting nearby matter into mass for his body.

I decided that was more than enough training, and the Dreadwings nearby had fled from the radiation explosion, or 'nuclear' as the title I'd gained suggested about it. I started running back to Beacon, going a little slower.

Jaune didn't seem to be taking pretty much any damage, even without his Aura flaring up as much. He grunted a couple of times as the ID copied cities led him to crash through buildings or cars headfirst, but nothing was getting through his pretty much adamantium skin.

 _...(about thirty minutes later)..._

I hadn't gone full speed because... I felt like it, really. I sighed and cracked my neck, helping Jaune up and helping him restore SP as we made our way back up to the room. Thankfully, he seemed pretty alright after we found out he could now also burn AP to get calories, but clearly it wasn't an efficient trade.

We entered the room quietly, seeing Pyrrha and Cinder sleeping, the former with a beautifully peaceful sleeping expression, the latter visibly tense and uncomfortable even while asleep and having her back turned to us.

I let Jaune go to bed while I tucked in for a night filled with meditation.

"Goodnight, Jade." I heard Jaune whisper to me.

"Goodnight Jaune." I whispered back, smiling lightly.

About twenty minutes passed before I heard Jaune speak up, "I'm having a little trouble falling asleep."

I hummed, then simply conjured up my sleeping spell, "Here, this should help." I cast it on him, amping the power up a few hundred times to make sure it worked.

Thankfully, Gamer's Sight told me he had fallen asleep now, which was good. I sighed and conjured up a picture of Yang, hugging it to my chest.

I... I had things to do, yes, prevent whatever Cinder was planning was a part of it, but... I could find time for love.

I'd found time for it before, no doubt I could find it again, and with my sweetheart once more.

Things were... rough. Damn, I didn't need the emotional stress, but I couldn't stave it off forever. Best to let it in while nobody was looking and let it process so it wouldn't affect me later.

Sighing, I kissed the conjured image and let it disintegrate like most matter that my power conjured.

It was a relatively common philosophical question: _'If you could go back in time, and you knew then what you knew now, would you change things?'_

The question was actually part of why I had such a strong belief in the value, sacredness, and right to having second chances...

But... well... I hadn't gone back in time, but I'd gone to a world where everything I'd done before was... just wiped away, just like that.

I would do my best to forge the bonds I'd had with the others once again, to help them grow and become closer with one another and myself, and to win the privilege of being a part of Yang's heart again.

And I'd help my copy get a girlfriend too. He seemed to be into Weiss, and I knew she was a valued and dedicated friend, so she'd be perfect for him.

I'd do whatever I could.

Whatever was possible.

To make sure that this version of me didn't make the same mistakes that I did.

* * *

 **Well, there you go everyone, the sequel to the Jade Hex omake. I hope it was up to your expectations.**

 **Honestly... and I probably sound really pessimistic here, but I'm like 65% sure that it isn't, because it seems like a ton of people absolutely adored the first one, and...**

 **No reason to not be honest with you guys and gals, I've read a few reviews that commented on the first part of this little omake series, and they mentioned how that person enjoyed the omake more than the story.**

 **Now I understand I'm not exactly an A-class writer, but when I see things like that, it doesn't make me feel proud for the omake, it makes me think the story is lacking so much that what should be a nice treat at the end of the chapter, a literature equivalent of Billy Mays saying "But wait there's more!", or a post-credits scene like in a Marvel movie, was tur** **ned into the focus of the chapter.**

 **I don't like feeling like that, and I know I shouldn't because you beautiful readers don't mean it like that, and enjoy my story and what I write, but I'm only human and not only do I bleed when I fall down, I also feel insecure and shit.**

 **But... hey, that's all just in my head, I bet. I have to do a bunch of work in the "morning" *wink wink* so I think I'll end the chapter off here after a few more lines.**

 **Next chapter we'll be seeing some of Mistral, same with the chapter after that, and the chapter after that will conclude Mistral, bring them back to Vale, and start on the mysterious "additional bits" between Mistral and Summertime that a lot of you probably haven't noticed that I've been subtly alluding to.**

 **So... yeah.**

 **Chapter 19: Mistral part 1**

 **Chapter 20: Mistral part 2**

 **Chapter 21: Mistral part 3 (the last part) and pulling them into the mysterious bits**

 **Chapter 22: The conclusion of Story Arc 2.**

 **Chapter 23: The start of Story Arc 3.**

 **There we go, a schedule that I will hold myself to because if I don't then I'll look like an asshole... not that I probably don't already, what with some of the responses I give to reviews, but I just give my reasoning as best as I can articulate besides "I could, and I could justify it at least a bit, so I expanded the justification and did it."**

 **Anyways, let's get the stat dump now.**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Champion Boxer  
** **Level: 73  
** **Class: Magic Knight / Tank v2  
** **Nickname: Knightlight**

 **HP: 46,300/46,300  
** **AP: 190,600/190,600  
** **SP: 68,600/68,600**

 **Strength: 90 (+325%) (+140%) (+85%) (+220%) (+175%) = 936  
** **Dexterity: 85 (+325%) (+140%) (+85%) = 552.5  
** **Vitality: 95 (+325%) (+140%) (+85%) (+220%) (+50%) = 874  
** **Intelligence: 170 (+5) (+325%) (+50%) = 831.25  
** **Wisdom: 200 (+5) (+325%) (+50%) = 973.75  
** **Luck: 116  
** **Charisma: 87**

 **Stat Points: 89**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 6'2  
** **Weight: 260  
** **Build: Med-Heavy Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blonde / Brilliant Azure** **/ Medium Tan**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Well, that's all folks.**

 ***puts Porky the pig away***

 **Haha classic reference.**

 ***goes to rest so my creative energy may return***

 **This is Player 1 sighing off.**

 **See you all later, beautiful loyal readers and fans, ^W^**


	19. The Mighty Moon among the Distant Stars

**4/23/2017 at 2:53 AM: Well, starting the next chapter off with some stuff I cut from the end of last chapter. I hope I can cut down on the "having too much stuff" in this chapter... hopefully. Until then, we just have to wait and see until after I'm able to work on it more, because like I said at the end of the last chapter, I have a lot of work to do "tomorrow" (meaning "the daylight hours after this chapter") and should really get to bed soon. I'll type a little bit though. Similar to getting a level-up in an RPG, my creative energy is restored a great deal when I start a new chapter... also, I should see about making that forum.**

 **4/24/2017 at 5:34 PM: Well, I have to go to class now, but I decided to grind out as many words as possible, and now have 11.8k words done, just like that. Yeah, I think I could definitely eke out a chapter every few days at this rate. Problem is, I had to focus on nothing but THIS during that time. Not even schoolwork. I'm going to have to deal with all this shit for at least another week, so not TOO long thankfully, but hey, it's the price for a good life.**

 **4/26/2017 at 8:59 AM: Okay, I just had a cool idea, which I will start as an Omake, and that idea might be an alternate story. There's a strong market for gamer types of stories, and the one I just got, I will simply call "New Dawn". Wordcount update: 16k**

 **4/27/2017 at 8:23 PM: Okay... I just saw two people had started following the story, and their names are Shifting Paradigms and Aesopian, which for some reason makes me think they're part of a youtube channel or something, which then made me think about how dope it would be if someone made an audiobook out of my story. I just hope someone, some day, has the guts to do it. That would be the most awesome thing I've ever seen.**

 **4/29/2017 at 10:50 PM: Okay... well, I've come to realize I'm on a rather fucked up sleeping schedule, like... currently it's 9 to 4, from my estimates... 9 PM to 4PM to the next day. I'm going to be trying to push that to something better in the next couple of days, since I desperately need it.**

 **5/1/2017 at 8:38 PM: Gonna probably have to take a couple days off from writing to finish my college stuffs. Might finish Thursday, might be Wednesday, who the fuck knows? I don't, at the moment.**

 **5/8/2017 at 8:18 AM: Well, let me tell you, this week has been STRESSFUL. Chapter wordcount was like 31.4k, omake looks incredibly long but is only like 4k words so far, and nearly done at that! Everything here a lot of words regardless though! Anyways, I'll probably finish this shit up in the next couple hours, post, and then focus on some college shit.**

 **5/8/2017 at 4:53 PM: It's all done. I'm going to post the chapter now. Final wordcount 37.3k. I hope you all enjoy this thing!**

 **5/8/2017 at 7:13 PM: Post-completion note... apparently the notifications are broken. I don't like that. I'm gonna try to delete and reupload the chapter, see if that fixes it.**

* * *

 _ **Reviewer Responses:**_

 **Jack905 (congrats on not being a Guest anymore!):** Oh my god you actually did it, you absolute madman, XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. Anyways... Sassy Answer= He'll face BATTLE with Cinder at all, hehehe (that means making out, in case you didn't know). Serious Answer= Yeah, he'll eventually face off against Cinder. Depending on what my plans go like, it might be sooner rather than later, but going THAT route sets off some other shit that will start a spiral, and that will probably end up playing a lot of cards too soon, so... it might not be sooner rather than later. I think I'll have to move that couplet of events further back, after more justification rises that nobody will see because I made it really subtle and when it's pointed out you'll probably be like "OH! THAT'S WHY! Damn, that's pretty clever." so yeah. Woot, first review on the new chapter and it's a pretty great one!

 **Alex2909:** Yep, slowly but surely, which would probably eventually lead to a mass reveal in which they all end up shouting out their feelings like stereotypical anime heroes and their expositions, and Jaune has to decide what he's gonna do about it. Too bad he doesn't have any real empathy sense, that'd make this all much easier to see coming.

 **xYuukito:** Damn, really? Holy fuck, dude. I should cut that stuff down, then. I'm going to make an effort to do so starting THIS CHAPTER. Sadly, it'll be really hard, because I want to respond to every review worth responding to.

 **Crofty666:** He would be able to. It happened once, it should be able to happen again, scientifically speaking. He doesn't know how yet, though... pretty much, but the thing is is that Jaune will probs go for the Weiss (Snow Angel, because Snow and Angel) while Jade would go for Yang (Gold Stars, like Gold Shield, both abbreviated GS and both Gold and Something related to his class). I was planning on setting up Jade/Jaune's friendship to be like Saitama and Genos from One Punch Man, except with Saitama being the smarter one and Genos being the stronger one. That make sense? Also, make a profile. Stop being anonymous, anonymous people are close to grimm-status. Here, *awakens your aura/profileness* be free~, :P

 **perseus99:** You know, your review and like the 4 after it, I didn't see until I looked at the page, so it was like Billy Mays, "And wait, there's MORE!"... onto your review. No, Jian Bing in that story was a persona used by that story's Jaune. Here, Jaune would have no need for it because 1) He has nearly everyone that will be close to him in the know, 2) he isn't going to start committing crimes using martial arts, and 3) He doesn't even know the White Tiger style, he knows Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird.

 **zen-aku the spirit wolf:** Yeah, she is, and not just because Yang is Caritas and the two skill names rhyme and the two holders are sisters... well they're in the forest and they have no grain crops for any sort of bread, tortilla, rice, quinoa, or whatever the fuck else is grains... oh man, you are NOT going to like my compiled list of Magic Swords of Doom, LOL JK yeah I never really liked the magic spears motif, Jaune uses swords, and who knows maybe he could indeed develop a weapon that will grow his harem (sorry I couldn't help but poke fun at how there wasn't any division between those two points)... hmmm... I'm thinking Orgasmotron Laser, compressed into spell form, costs 500 AP per equivalent minute of intense pleasure, more if they resist... WTF am I even saying right now? XDDDDDDDD

 **Umbrardor:** Uh... okay, I think I will! *goes to many locations such as Spacebattles, and several other stories, and leaves them a small box with two cookies in it, one for the person and one for a friend/lover*

 **God Emperor of GAR-halla:** Thing is, I'm trying to get them there ASAP, which is why I'm compressing the whole of Mistral into like 3 chapters.

 **LaStAnOnYmOuSpRiNcE3XD:** Please don't have capitals like that... and also yes, I DID say that. Sadly, I can't go that fast because I have IRL shit to do, and unlike Ryuugi I am not a machine disguised as a very dedicated man and cannot do that like that.

 **sorry . no-names:** Yeah, I mean she's 15 and a quick google search tells me that most girls start puberty at age 11 and are physically mature by age 14. She might be childish-acting, but unless something is blocking her hormones she shouldn't be NOT experiencing the same red-faced feelings that pretty much every teen goes through... Castitas is more than just innocence, it's a purity of heart, and Ruby is very pure of heart... yeah she is, especially if she's going to be one of ten wives (Ren is not exempt, he will be assimilated, XDDDDD)... yeah, and that fortification comes from INT, the sharpness of the mind... yeah, I realize I'm slowly making her depend on Jaune more and more, which I think stems from bits and pieces of my ravenous reading appetite (I've even learned and grown from some of those "X betrays/tries to kill Y because of *insert usually very exaggerated reason here)") and my love of Snow Angel (that's my official name for it), as well as pretty much all Jaune pairings... well no, not "prestige", he's going to "reach the benchmark"... I laughed too. Too bad it's all just a ploy to eventually turn Yang bisexual so she'll be more open to the harem, XDDDDDDDD... yeah, Stay True was meant to be annoying. Usually it pops up in normal conversation, but Jaune isn't tracking it 24/7 so he probably wouldn't even notice when he said something really small, while a bigger truth would definitely catch his attention... yeah, he can do a lot, but he's literally trying to hold a patch onto a hole in a torn-open, highly empowered soul, while it's leaking constantly, and that costs a LOT of AP... well there's RWBYJRMN, Ruby German, but I think the germans would surrender to France if France had Jaune on their side XDDDDDD... saying that a human meeting with a massive group of racist terrorist faunus and trying to trick them into thinking he's best buds with their fucking LEADER who THANK FUCKING GOD/LUCK happened to once have a human friend that Naranja remembered once being mentioned, is "tense", is like saying the ocean is "wet", it doesn't fully convey the scale of the situation. Sure, a few well-placed Gaster Blasters and he pretty much could kill all of them, but he really, REALLY didn't wanna do that, especially since Thomas is kinda close and is working with him on the "redeeming the WF" plan... Yeah, Jenkins will get recognition and shiz, and just wait until he's leading an army of people, backed by golems with assault rifles XDDDDDDDDDDD... you have bet very wisely, friend-o... well his housekeeping skills will (SPOILERS!) become awesome magical prestiges... there is no XDDDDDD for this, I'm not even joking (END SPOILERS!)... he actually hasn't tried yet, nor have I thought of that... well they won't "defend themselves" in the way you might think, but they have a measure of defense. There isn't yet any hive-coagulation-amalgam "soul of the forest", so it's basically a ton of small, but strong souls defending their bodies from outsiders that try to harm him. Jaune may not be a Lorax, but he's friends with the trees, and well, "So long as you are friends with the bees, the bees will not sting you." is a good way to look at it... yeah, surprisingly the Water Elemental is the one to be insightful. Funny thing about Water and Metal too, is that they both assist VIT, but Water assists "Vitality" while Metal assists the "Constitution" aspect of it, AKA lifeforce vs toughness... yeah, Marbel is doing her best... and knowing is half the battle!... Ruby gets a few more levels and she's bound to get Aurora, but getting her LUK up will help her regardless, while INT only makes her smarter. He's banking on her being able to get more levels, which she will do without a doubt... so could Nora. While Ren's VIT is skewed towards "lots of lifeforce and little endurance", while Nora's VIT is skewed towards "lots of endurance and little lifeforce", basically meaning that Ren will have among the biggest HP bars and smallest SP bars, and Nora will have among the biggest SP bars and smallest HP bars... Jaune was the one who said family, not Weiss. Weiss was caught off guard by his almost casual fondness for all of them, and finds it surprisingly nice to be considered so close to him.

 **Xerzo LOTCN:** Yeah~. Honestly I think I'd prefer long reviews to short reviews, but there's a point where it's too much. Let's get to responding:

Yeah, you are now Xerzo LOTCN the Very Longwinded, Reviewer First Class... you're forgiven... relearn how to make a paragraph?... well clearly Rook is mobility and Knight is... also mobility, so you can expect maybe Bishop and Queen will be mobility too... I need to remind myself of my ideas for those.

yep and yep on those next two points... he can't do an I.D. within an I.D... yeah, it's like "I'm so smart that I should logically be able to learn this entire fighting style just by studying it"... they just haven't been going out and killing super big and tough Grimm, at least not on the level of the low 100s, once they do that, the levels will start rolling in... yeah, but he's operating at 1/4th grinding capacity... yep yep yep on the stuff about the EXP-gain skill suggestion, I'm considering it, which is why I haven't deleted that out of my docs yet... well they have a week to form a bond and it's festival time, which might as well say "Boosts Relationship gains by Fuckton%"... I think it's safe to say it here: The last memory chunk will come at the beginning of Story Arc 3, also he gave Ruby a kiss (on the forehead) and complete that quest, the reason he had Ruby put her points in like she did is actually for the second quest's (one about getting Yang and Taiyang to stop coddling her) growth goals... yeah, Texas is awesome, ^W^

Ruby's purity quite literally shines through with the skill Castitas, but yeah, Jaune is basically forming Gemstone Knight (RWBYxJaune) without realizing it... Velvet and Coco are in chibi form, sitting in a box labeled "Possibilities", and also Amber isn't "saved", it's just that Jaune's aura has the mysterious property of being able to (as mentioned before) hold a patch onto the torn part of her soul so it doesn't leak everywhere, without that working, Amber goes back to being a vegetable, and also Yang will probs be pissed, and also NO because you are terrible because that's cucking and cucking is absolutely WRONG (though it might be done purely jokingly in an omake in the future).

Yeah, Cinder going to find herself metaphorically castrated when she makes the call for the attack, and Jaune "mind over matter" helps him greatly in acting like Adam would so he can convince them to pull off that metaphor, and also he's Thomas Darkly (I made his name a RWBY-fied version of Tom Hardy, who played Bane in the Dark Knight trilogy)... I don't think it was the faunus war, but if you must know, Old Man Jenkins (literally that's what he is) isn't racist, he fought alongside many faunus, along with Matthias Arc, in the war, and war buddies are basically half a step from actual family... yeah, poor Weiss and Blake. Still, I think it'd be funny, like... Neptune walks into the library and tries to flirt with Weiss, and Weiss is just like "I'm taken." and then he goes to Ruby, and Yang says "She's taken." and he looks at her and Yang's like "Oh I'm HELLA taken." and he attempts to look at Blake and she just instantly says "Taken." then he looks over at Pyrrha and Nora and Nora says "WE'RE ALL TAKEN! Move your flirts elsewhere!" and Neptune dejectedly walks off, aaaaaaand he sees Velvet, and opens his mouth and Velvet just says "Sorry, I'm also taken." and Neptune just slumps twice as low, XDDDDDDDDDDDDD but otherwise I can make things happen, don't you doubt that sonny-jim... that's a good idea, hehehhehehe... yeah, Jaune had to grab _dat ass_ , it was pretty much necessary... that was Pluviteus, his WATER elemental, doing that, and yes if they can manage to use a certain skill (it has vague, but strict limits. One such limit is that the Elementals can only cast spells of their element)... yeah, Ruby needs her soul fix, she has a craving for them and must sate her hunger XDDDDDDDDDD... Marbel, Skyler, Nayro, and Thomas was a thought of mine... yeah, a party brings everyone together... as do hugs, and yeah, Ruby, Weiss, and Nora all, plus Ren, and don't feel bad, I legit had that idea too XDDDDDDDDDD... those two branches are at maximum level of the maximum rank.

Jaune didn't "finish" school, he dropped out to train as a Huntsman and going Beacon. Also yeah, Jaune is a french name, he was inspired by a french legend, so his family is in France because Occam's Razor. Marbel does not have the luxury of dropping out of civilian school because her huntress aunt doesn't have the authority to do that, and her parents aren't the keenest on their little princess going off to fight monsters, also the exact in-story date is April 26th, 2015, one month after he dropped out of school, and one month before Summer starts... yes, he will make her repent by trapping her in a cage of emotions... yeah gamer Jaune in canon world was slightly iffy for me too, I almost didn't feel like making a sequel, because it might ruin the originality and charm of the original, but I decided "Fuck it, I'll do what I can" and I did. C-Jaune weighed 500lbs because of his extremely high VIT and very high STR stats increasing the density of his bones, skin, and muscles, to the point that he weighed 500lbs before the Paladin transformation made him able to be that strong with half the density because magical DNA and shit... already planned on those illusions, buddy, same with the I.D. world... that is an interesting idea, but I already have a plan for that, and it involves one of Bon Jovi's hit songs.

That paragraph isn't completely pointless, and like I said I'd prefer a long, thought-out review to a short one like some of these people do where they just comment "thx" or a fucking winky face (you know who you are, people!)... anyways, that concludes this response.

 **Chaosstripe and LOBBERDARK:** Thank you for your kind words.

 **Gerold (A guest):** I'm... surprised, actually. I didn't think you'd own up to it, sir (I'm assuming if your name is Gerold then you're a sir, but sorry if I'm mistaken). That is very mature and polite of you, and I thank you for the honesty. You're forgiven, we all make mistakes and spout hyperboles sometimes, nobody's perfect. I applaud your bravery and strength of character, here is a cookie and a Chibi Ruby *Chibi Ruby looks at you with a sheepish, crumb-stained grin with her hands behind her back, trying to look cute and innocent*

 **Plasma Dragon 312:** In-story time is two months and two weeks, currently. Chapter-wise, it's probably 6 chapters away (three more for SA2, two for SA3, and then the start of SA4)

 **thebebb:** Yeah, that's one of my many worries about the extreme length... it's kinda awkward because not a lot of people can take all of my extreme length all at once, XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD sorry I HAD to make that joke once I thought of it. Still, I'll try to keep the next few chapters relatively short, hopefully only 20-30k words (excluding omake and ANs)

 **kaitenglory:** Yeah, the actual person spoke up, which I find cool of him to do, and I know it's slow, but I'm going to be doing my best to cut a bunch of fucking stuff down so I can fit these chapters into "under 30k", which I might extend to "under 31k" just to give myself a bit of breathing room, but even then, there are things happening, and I'm compressing nearly 2 weeks of events into 1 chapter... I can't fit 1 week into 1 chapter because not only is that still too slow, but it also doesn't fit with what's all going on. Truly, the first week of Mistral is actually important, and the middle two weeks are a bunch of faff, and the fourth week is the Mistral Regional Tournament.

 **Trey of the rebellion:** That would explain why the reference picture looked so odd. Honestly, I thought it was some kind of fire gem from Steven Universe (do the gems in that show do magic like that? I've never watched it)

 **Umm (anon):** You bring up a good point, and dammit if hindsight isn't 20/fucking/20. I had originally planned for Jaune to come in and just fucking beat Dillan to death for his shit, but I'd gotten more than one or two reviews from people saying that Jaune was in the wrong or that Dillan was justified... I should have gone with my gut instinct. I might have a future scene where the asshole gets his rightful punishment, because you have opened my eyes, the situation was a LOT worse than my fatigued mind could recall, and looking back at it I was surprised I didn't put the pieces together.

 **Wafflez (anon):** It's bad for you in large quantities if you don't have it managed. Jaune is pretty much making sure that nobody gets hurt from point usage by spamming heals until the negative side effects go away. In this chapter he gets a couple of much higher power healing spells to better do that with, so that becomes a little more feasible too. Also, in an emergency, the negative side effects come second-thought to the power needed in the moment the dump is made.

 **hirshja:** Wow... I didn't realize how unique it was. I randomly saw the idea while going through the thread that was the story of TGWP, it was even a bit of a written omake, but the TGWP did his bullshit that basically meant he made himself appear as a villain and when he helped his canon self, he used illusions to hide the party invite, was actually dragging grimm into the path of Jaune's blade while he attacked an illusion of him. My Jaune of course decided to just directly ally with the canon Jaune, and you have seen the results of that... one thing can be said about my Jaune, and that is he is prideful, so he wanted the other version of himself to be powerful like he is. Of course, the canon Jaune doesn't have the insight the DGOL Jaune has, as well as has different experiences, so he chose to increase VIT... also, 'Jade' was not from the future in that case, he was actually from that exact same moment, when Beacon was just getting everyone to the school, just from the DGOL world instead of canon world.

* * *

 **I am still looking for someone to make a cover image for this chapter... also, I have been listening a lot to a creator on YouTube called Jonathan Young, he makes metal covers of songs, and I think they're badass... alright, what else do I want to say?**

 **Forum started, dunno if anyone saw that, or can see it, or can access it, or what. I'm still new to that aspect and will try my best to get you all informed about it.**

 **I now have a more tangible goal for the next couple of chapters, plus what omakes will be done.**

 **Chapter 19 (we are here): First week in Mistral, omake will be "Jaune pulling a Sans"**

 **Chapter 20: Second and third week in Mistral, plus maybe one day of the Mistral Regional Tournament, omake will be "Gemline vs Spraymist"**

 **Chapter 21: Fourth week in Mistral (the tournament), then pulling them back to Vale for mysterious bits, omake will be "Jaune gets Dragonball skills and becomes ten times more stupidly powerful"**

 **Chapter 22: The events of the end of Story Arc 2, omake will be "Story Arc 2 credits/trailer/whatever you could call the thing I did in the omake for chapter 8"**

 **Chapter 23: The start of Story Arc 3, which is the summer, and omake will be based on the events of Chapter 22.**

 **Chapter 24: Part 2 of... I'm gonna say 4, just to be fair because there will be things going on during the summer, and omake will be an actual story idea I had (Jaune as Jade Hex story was an accident)**

 **I think that's a little more defined, now I just need to worry about what exact content I'll be filling the wordcount with.**

 **Oh hey, I had an idea too, one that's really sinister... so some of you might have seen Kong: Skull Island, right? And the Skull Crawlers? Yep... don't you think they look an awful lot like the Creep grimms?... Just let that sink in...**

 **I don't know what else to say, so let's just start the chapter now, shall we?**

 **Disclaimer: I only own my ideas that weren't made by anyone else before. I also realize it's been a damn long time since I've made a disclaimer.**

 **Story Arc 2: Playing Prometheus**

 **Chapter 19: The Mighty Moon among the Distant Stars.**

* * *

 _(several hours later, Southwest region of Mistral, Paris airship docks, Jaune POV)_

It was with humble, yet confident steps that I strode off of the ship, Weiss following close behind. A perimeter was established with the dragon-disguised Gaster Blasters, along with several of the security team setting up a path for Weiss and I to follow. There were flashes of pictures taken, and Weiss did her best to smile for each one, but I could tell that it was grating on her nerves.

The others had already formed a circle around the limousine that was pulled up for Weiss, my dad, and I, and we all filled out the convoy, making our way to the hotel.

It was a rather boring ride, to be honest, but thankfully it was night time so we didn't have to deal with much traffic. Still, it was a long ride. Everyone besides myself, my father, and Ren and Nora all seemed to be feeling quite sluggish and lethargic. Thankfully nobody had slept yet, so we'd all be able to rest and wake up at a normal time in the morning.

We reached the hotel, and with a collective sigh of relief from all the others, we checked into the underground suite and made our way to it. I took a minute to observe everyone in the lobby, but paid most of my attention to the group.

We got to the suite and I made extra carefully sure that everyone got to bed and didn't pass out on the floor, which would suck.

Ruby and Yang shared their room, Nora and Ren shared another, then my father and I took one each for ourselves. The underground suite was very, VERY large, easily able to hold the four rooms, plus another, a living room, a kitchen, and a dining room. It was practically a sizable one-story house, for all its amenities.

I pulled myself fully onto my bed and settled into meditation, going for... several hours.

 _...(several hours later)..._

Throughout the night, I focused on the elements and the world around me through them, gaining a couple hundred Max AP in the process as I hummed and drew upon the power of the world.

It was morning, not long after dawn, that I sensed someone enter the suite that wasn't Weiss or one of the security team members. In a second, I was changed into my combat outfit and had left my room, nearly drawing my sword as I faced the unfamiliar man. Well...

He wasn't entirely unfamiliar. I'd given his face a split-second glance in the lobby last night, but hadn't taken in his Gamer Sight info, just his face. Short stature, medium build, light greenish-yellow hair, navy-blue eyes, strong face, wearing a thigh-length black military coat over beige tunic and black pants. On his right hip was a broadsword with a dark blue handle, similar to Crocea Mors, though the crossguard was also blue, and flared out wider than what Crocea's had been.

I was confused for all of the two seconds it took to bring up and read his information.

Now, though? I saw why he'd bothered finding his way down here.

 **Rinku Arc  
Title: An Unremembered, but Adamant Spirit  
Level: 93**

My sword rested partially unsheathed, and I noticed that in the split second I'd given him, he'd also partially drawn his own sword, which revealed its jade green blade. We stared at each other, then slowly sheathed our swords.

"So..." I said flatly.

He just grinned, "Welcome to Mistral, cousin!"

"..." I stared

"..." He stared

"... what?"

He looked confused, "You don't... well, your father's done a poor job, then." he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "My name is Rinku, and I'm your cousin, son of your father's cousin. We two are of nearly identical lines, holding the Forest Rain and the Yellow Death."

"I know you're my cousin, though that's an interesting piece of information... _why are you here_ is what I'm confused about." I deadpanned at him.

His eyes lit up, "Ah, of course. Right, let me explain. We caught word of your travels and I insisted on being the one to greet you, since I'm the closest to your age, though I see you're pretty tall despite being my junior. Not too much of a surprise." he looked up at me, and I saw that he was about 5'7, but had an insane amount of HP, thanks to his semblance.

 **Hero's Constitution** , it literally just increased his VIT, with a much smaller boost to STR, and a massive fucking boost to his Max HP and a somewhat less massive boost to Max SP.

I hummed, also finding that he was twenty, "I suppose. So, Rinku, where are the others?"

"In the Chateau d'Or Lune, of course. Surely you know about THAT, right?" he looked at me hopefully.

I nodded, "I do... I have a question... did my father have a bad departure?"

He hummed, tapping his chin, "No, all recordings both in memory and writing record your father leaving with much joy and celebration, heading to Vale, the home between the west and the east, to become a Huntsman and carry on the family line." he smiled at me, "And I see you're carrying on from his example as well."

I nodded again, "I guess you could say that. So, you're my cousin? Aren't all of the Arcs in the current generation my cousins?"

He drew his sword and gave me a small bonk on the head with the flat, "Silly cousin, while they are, I am the closest. We are of the two strongest lines in the family, the Moon, and the Ocean, descendents straight from the first two sons of Queen Samantha, daughter of King Arthur Creshus, which later evolved to Crescent, and then to Arc."

I hummed in surprise, "Well, I didn't know THAT. Pretty cool. Kinda like how Christmas and the word Charisma was named after Saint Nicholas Carushifus?"

He let out a delighted sound, "Ah, yes indeed. Same with the Crucifix symbol and the Cruciform shape, actually, all made by the same legendary man." he grinned, "So... coffee, or tea?"

I thought over it for about one second, "Definitely tea."

He grinned, "A fine choice." he led me to the kitchen and started the machine up.

We chatted while we waited for our drinks, mostly about the Arc Family, and how the castle had been moved from the Rome region to the Paris region, which was interesting, "Why is that?"

He just grinned at me, "Sex laws, the family needed expanding... plus in Paris there are no laws against sister-wives."

I blinked, "When you say-"

He just grinned, "I mean two sisters can marry the same man together and it's okay. All marriages here are legally valid across the globe as well."

I stared at him, "Are you trying to suggest what I THINK you're trying to suggest?"

"Looking into the small report given, and searching for the information, it was easy to find that Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose were sisters, given the moderate level of fame the Hunters Taiyang Xiao Long and Summer Rose gained long ago. Of course, no reports are less than ten years old, but I could assume that would be because of Summer's unfor-"

I raised a hand to stop him right there, "I don't need to be reminded of why Ruby has nightmares." I said flatly, my tone utterly unamused, "Let's move on to a different topic, one that's feasible, since my heart only has Yang in it."

He chuckled, smirking at me, "Love like yours only multiplies." the fuck was THAT supposed to mean? "Regardless, show me Crocea Mors, I wish to compare it to Forest Rain."

I hummed curiously, "Why is it called that?" I pulled out Crocea Mors and laid it on the table.

He shrugged and placed Forest Rain next to it, and we both noted that his was visibly shorter and narrower than mine, "It's green. It was passed to the second son because it was the second blade. King Arthur, before his crusade against the Grimm that most historians call 'A lethal case of insanity that led to him being put down by his friend John', split Excalibur into three pieces, and split the sword of his most trusted knight, Saint George, into three pieces. One piece of Excalibur remained as Excalibur itself, one piece was washed with righteousness and became Crocea Mors, and one was fused with a piece of Saint George's sword Shatterspike. The three pieces from Saint George had a similar fate, with one remaining as the now purely ornamental Shatterspike, one washed with magic and named Forest Rain, and the third fused with the third piece of Excalibur to create a blade that... nobody knows what happened to it. Without the painting of him with five swords, there would be no proof that a fifth ever existed. The fused sword was honored by both names and dubbed Viridia Mors, the Green Death, a sword that would cut and shatter all foes."

I listened intently, noticing that Excalibur's level increased by nearly twenty from the explanation, "That's... pretty damn heavy information. Is it even okay to tell me that?"

He nodded, "Of course. As the latest of the Moon bloodline, it's your birthright to know the real story."

I hummed, "Well, I can accept that then. It's good to know, a little different from what the books say, but history is written-" I paused when a new window popped up.

 **QUEST RECEIVED!**

 **Quest: Long Live the Chosen King.  
** **Description: You have learned the Arc Family's current generation version of the Story of King Arthur. However, their self-assurance may contain flaws. Find some way to peer through the veils of the time and see the truth of the story, if it is not already known.**

 **Objective: Find out the truth of the Story of King Arthur.  
-Find out the identity of King Arthur  
-Find out the identity of John the Strong  
-Find out the identity of Merlin the Wise  
-Find out the identity of Saint George  
-Find out the identity of Knight Lancelot  
-Find out the identity of Knight Gawain  
-Find out the identity of Knight Geraint  
** **-Find out the identity of Knight Percival  
** **-Find out the identity of Knight Bors the Younger  
** **-Find out the identity of Knight Lamorak  
** **-Find out the identity of Knight Kay  
** **-Find out the identity of Knight Gareth  
** **-Find out the identity of Knight Bedivere  
** **-Find out the identity of Knight Gaheris  
** **-Find out the identity of Knight Galahad  
** **-Find out the identity of Knight Tristan  
** **-Find out what caused King Arthur's insanity  
-Find out why King Arthur died  
-Find out what happened to John the Strong  
-Find out why John the Strong died  
-Find out what happened to Merlin  
-Find out why Merlin died**

 **Rewards: +75% mastery of Excalibur, +4 STR, +2 DEX, +6 VIT, +3 INT and WIS, ?, ?, ?  
** **Penalties: -50% mastery of Excalibur, -8 STR, -4 DEX, -12 VIT, -5 INT and WIS, ?, ?, ?**

 **Time Limit: 1 year**

I stared at the quest, then accepted it. A whole year to find out a story, when I could probably learn more about the story by upping and even prestiging Excalibur? Fuckin' easy.

"-a long time ago. My semblance, conjuring, is a bit of a 'ridiculously loose interpretation', I.E. I can also conjure knowledge, so if the records aren't perfect, I might be able to divine out the truth beyond them." I smiled at him.

He stared at me, then laughed out loud, "Sounds like the kind of bullshit we could definitely use, then. Might need to hang around some of the historical sights, then, so you can conjure up clearer knowledge." he gave a grin at me, "Speaking of hanging around, would you like to see the city sights with me, or stay here with your friends for the time being?"

It took me half a second to decide, "I'll be staying here, at least until they're all awake."

He nodded, "Alright, I suppose I can stay as well." and just smiled as he poured us some tea and sat back down across from me, smiling politely.

Just then, I heard one of the doors open, and my aura saw Ruby walking towards the kitchen, mumbling something about being thirsty. She reached the threshold and her eyes locked onto Rinku, "Guest? Jaune, who's this?" she cleared her throat, obviously still trying to get her brain up and running.

I smiled, "Ruby, this is my cousin Rinku, the latest of a second line of swordsmen tracing all the way back to King Arthur's time, over seven hundred years ago. Of course, I'm cooler."

Ruby blinked, "But he has like mega HP levels." she said suddenly, but covered her mouth a moment later.

My eye twitched under my illusion, and before Rinku could comment, I covered for her, "She means that you look really tough, and you clearly are. An Arc has to be tough, to do what is necessary to protect the innocent and the weak."

He smiled, nodding, "Well, thank you, Miss Rose. I must say that in person, you look much more mature and skilled in person. Were it not for you only wearing your pajamas, I might even be fearful."

I saw Ruby's face light up red as sleepiness burned away, and she looked at me with a desperate glint in her silver eyes, so I covered for her, "You should be afraid of her regardless, because she's fast enough that you wouldn't be able to hit her if you tried." not entirely true, he had 130 DEX, so he could pull off some crazy shit, but in terms of pure speed I knew that Ruby would win.

Ruby cleared her throat, "Can I just have coffee please?"

I nodded, telekinetically moving the just-finished cup over to her, "Here. Drink that and go get dressed." I smiled at her, and after the moment she'd passed out of earshot, I turned and glared at Rinku, "Stop, and you know exactly what I mean."

He looked surprised, "What? I don't, I really, REALLY don't."

That only intensified my glare, "You were trying to flirt with her, a girl five years your junior and not even in a Hunter Academy yet. Until that paperwork is processed, it's still illegal."

His navy blue eyes filled with shock and horror, "What? Oh GODS no, no no no no no, I was just being friendly, Jaune. I know not to encroach on another man's territory, especially when it's a young woman who will one day be an in-law. Dust, you're awfully protective of her."

I sighed, "She's precious to me, they all are, like an extended family of friends I've made through the process of becoming a Huntsman, and I love them all dearly, and knowing that you can take a beating, I WILL beat you if you try to flirt with any of them... except Ren, mostly because I think he wouldn't care enough about you to be offended." I couldn't help but laugh, and Rinku showed good faith by laughing with me.

"Well, I'll make sure not to do something as stupid as that, then." he grinned, "So... how did you come into ownership of Miss Schnee's contract?"

I made a brief show of 'conjuring' Crocea and Xibu to start cooking breakfast, "I bought it. The old manager was a total pervert and I didn't want Weiss to get molested. I had the money and saw the investment value, so I did it."

He stared at me, "... if that isn't the dumbest, most self-dubbed-hero thing I'd ever heard up. You spent millions upon millions of dollars just to save a random celebrity from getting molested?"

I sighed, "I can't explain it fully, but I was able to see her backstory, conjure it up really. I empathized with her plight, a self-sworn duty to uphold the family's honor, or rather restore it, seeing as Raureif Schnee kinda pissed all over it and tried to sell it as his grandma's fucking peach tea. I wanted to help her, so I took it upon myself to protect her during her tour and take her under my wing so she can learn how to be a Huntress. She certainly has the will inside her, she just needs help unlocking it." I smiled softly, "Plus, she's benefited from having friends she can talk to and laugh with and all sorts of normal friendly things. Poor girl didn't have any besides her siblings growing up." I frowned, I STILL didn't like that, the situation just sounded so... so FUCKED.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that despite your distance from the family, you still grew to have a big heart." Rinku smiled at me proudly.

I deadpanned at him, "My dad isn't THAT bad, you video-game-character asshole."

"Oi! Family made a deal for money and helping entertain the masses. Entertainment means less negativity, I did the world a favor."

"Sure you did, Mister 'Hero of Time'." I smirked at his reddening face, happy to have gotten the upper hand.

* * *

 _(Meanwhile, Ruby's POV)_

Be still, my racing heart. I couldn't help but stay nearby, listening to Jaune talk to his cousin. My hearing and other senses had gotten a lot more keen with my heightened INT, which made sense since my brain was stronger. Hearing him coming to my defense, combined with what he said yesterday... I took a sip of coffee to calm my nerves, or at least shock the thoughts out of my head.

 _'Jaune, I want to...' I looked up at him, my lips parted._

 _He smiled down at me, gently taking my chin in his hand, 'I know, Yang told me, and she wants you to be happy too.' he lowered his face as I stood on my tippy toes._

 _Bliss~._

 _Our lips parted, and Yang spoke up, a couple of feet away, 'Sis, I know you're trying to be mature and stuffs, and I applaud that, but I think we need a test of your maturity. Don't worry, Jaune is very gentle and loving, he won't hurt you at all, even with his size.'_

 _I blushed, nearly choking on my breath. Was I ready for this? I looked over and saw that Yang was in her underwear, and looked at Jaune and saw he was in his underwear too, when I suddenly felt a breeze and realized I was in my underwear as well!_

 _Oh god, oh god oh god oh g-_

 **"Castitas" level increased by 1!**

I nearly choked on my coffee when I came up for air, realizing what happened. My traitorous mind was conjuring up more of those embarrassing thoughts and images. Yang wouldn't be so open with that, would she?

Not unless she and Jaune had... first... but...

GAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!

I nearly slammed open our bedroom door and walked in, closing it much more gently, and looking to see Yang's sleeping face, only slightly disturbed by the noise.

I pouted, walking into the en-suite bathroom and turning the shower on. Once it was at the temperature I wanted, I went back to my bed and grabbed my bags out of the inventory, taking a few minutes to select my outfit from the limited selection... I settled on my normal outfit, and pulled it out.

With a sigh, I started getting for the morning.

* * *

 _(Meanwhile, Jaune's POV)_

I waved Rinku goodbye, promising to meet up with him later on in the day, and went to go wake Yang up.

I could hear the shower running, and Ruby's distance told me she was in it, so I opened the door with a broad smile on my face...

... and caught an eyeful of Ruby naked...

... and swiftly closed the door, _Jaune W: I'm so sorry! I thought you were already in the shower! :W_ I apologized swiftly, whisper-chatting so nobody else heard us..

Ruby's flustered response came ten agonizingly slow seconds later, _Ruby W: I-it's okay, it was just an accident! Knock like usual, d-don't just assume! :W_

I sighed. The one time, the ONE TIME I don't knock, and I accidentally see Ruby's boobies. Unfortunately, Snapshot Glance gave me a fuller image, if (thankfully) a blurry one. Still, the slight visibility of color that could only be pubic hair was enough to make me want to throw up.

NO!

BAD BRAIN!

Not that pubic hair was gross, but that it was the pubic hair of my girlfriend's little sister!

 _Jaune W: I usually do! I'm so, SO sorry Ruby, I didn't mean to peek, even by accident! :W_

 _Ruby W: J-jaune, it's fine. You d-didn't know. I don't usually do stuff in this order unless I'm on vacation, s-so I probably need to just get out of that mindset and stuffs. It wasn't your fault. :W_

 _Jaune W: Well it wasn't yours either. I was the one who didn't ask, even though I always should... you wanna just agree that we both fucked up and move past this? :W_

 _Ruby W: Y-yes! From now on, please don't look at me naked without permission. :W_

 _Jaune W: I won't... wait hold on, without permission? :W_

 _Ruby W: GAH! That's not what I meant to say! Stupid brain, stupid puberty, stupid stupid! Don't look at me, I'm t-too embarrassed! :W_

 _Jaune W: I-I'm just gonna wake Yang up now. :W_

 _Ruby W: Y-yeah, you do that. I'm going to bathe. :W_

Her distance changed, and I waited twenty whole seconds before walking in again, thankful that she wasn't there.

THAT... was uncomfortable. She was beautiful no doubt, but I felt wrong for acknowledging that.

I walked over to Yang's bed and sat down on the edge of it, smiling at her adorabeautiful sleeping face, gently petting her head and brushing my hand through her hair softly. I gave her a soft kiss on the cheek, feeling her arms wrap around me. I slowly, carefully lifted her up a little higher, rubbing my hand all the way from her upper back all the way down to the top of her ass, smiling and meeting her soft, full lips in a good morning kiss.

She stirred awake, practically purring against my lips, and snuggled into me, _Yang W: Jaune? :W_

 _Jaune W: Good morning, Sun Angel. :W_

 _Yang W: Heh, you flirt, what's up with all the attention to my ass? You afraid it'll get cold without your hands insulating it? :W_

 _Jaune W: I am a simple man, my girlfriend has a downright glorious ass, I feel the need to touch it. :W_

 _Yang W: What about my boobs? :W_

 _Jaune W: Only if you want me too. :W_

I felt Yang's face heat up against my cheeks, _Yang W: I do... :W_

I opened my eyes partially, and Yang opened hers. Our gazes met, and with a soft sigh I moved my hands up and squeezed her practically cloudy-soft breasts, reveling in the smooth, soft skin, the perkiness, the bounciness, it was all so perfect, perfect for both of us.

Yang squirmed on my lap, which ended up rubbing her against my tenting crotch. After maybe fifteen more seconds, I took my hands off her breasts and placed them on her sides, holding her in place while I broke the kiss, a string of saliva connecting our mouths, "Yang... we should take things slowly. You know I don't want to rush and end up hurting you because we weren't ready."

She shivered slightly, "I... I know, but I... I'm finding it harder to help myself when it comes to this. Jaune, I _know_ you don't want to hurt me, I _know_ that, and that... that heartfelt sentiment is both an endearment and a turn-on..." she trailed off, staring into my eyes, purple turning into green, "I love this princess treatment, e-even if it's embarrassing sometimes... I've never met a guy with the balance you have, confident enough to not be a spineless coward, kind enough to not be a heartless bastard, you're... you're amazing, and I love you."

I couldn't help but blush, smiling at Yang and gently pulling her in, kissing her forehead, "I love you too, Yang. Honestly I think your breasts are so big because they're pushed outwards by your massive beautiful heart. You're kind, loving, generous, affectionate, beautiful in pretty much any way I can name, and you make me feel like the luckiest man in the world, and strong too, because when I think of you, and your precious smile and laugh, it just... makes me want to save that sight and sound forever." I kissed her again, and we shared a deep, love-filled kiss, emotionally charged but no less flavorful and sweet, breaking it maybe five or ten minutes later when I heard Weiss call out our and Ruby's names in the living room. I smiled at Yang, "Now then, my precious Sun Angel, you should get ready." I couldn't resist, and gave her a small slap on the ass, grinning as I stood up, turned, and set her on the bed with one last brief forehead kiss.

Yang gaped slightly, too shocked to react while I walked out of the room, but we both were smiling brightly.

I grinned, "Weiss! Stop yelling!" I yelled to her, laughing as we met with a brief hug, which surprised me "Uh... good morning, Weiss."

She smiled, "Good morning, Jaune." she tightened her grasp, trying to hurt me with the hug, but it didn't work.

I gave her a small squeeze of a hug, "Crushing me works better when you don't have noodle arms, Weiss." I chuckled, "So why the crushing attempt?"

"We have a photoshoot to do, unless you forgot. I'm not letting my reputation decay because you..." she paused, trying to guess what I was doing.

I helped her out, "Woke Yang up with a kiss?"

"E-exactly! Don't take so long! Let's go, alright?" she grabbed my sleeve and started tugging me towards the elevator.

I walked with her, not wanting to upset her further, "Alright, I'll have the others put some of the breakfast into the inventory. I gave Xiburichu specific instructions not to burn any of the food, so it should be good. They listen to me."

"Speaking of listening, are Ren and Nora awake? How about Ruby?"

"Ruby's bathing, Ren and Nora will be woken up soon. Now, let's get to it." I had let a few bits of info slide past the official documentation, like how we'd need limos to the photo shoots.

We could get there on our own, thank you very much.

* * *

 _(Hours later, Blake POV)_

I stirred, poked by something hard and slightly pointy.

"Blake... Blake... Blake." that voice, I knew it from somewhere, but where? I was too groggy to think straight.

"What?"

"Blake, you're awake. That's good. I want to have a conversation." Skyler? It was Skyler.

"I'm trying to sleep, we can talk in the morning."

"Oh, okay. I only want to ask one question though. May I ask you one question?"

I groaned, "Sure, what?"

"What is love?" she asked sincerely.

I cracked open an eye, yellow meeting yellow, and poked my brain for answers, not wanting to wake myself up too much, "What kind of love?"

"Love." she answered simply.

"Uuuuuuuhhhhhhhhh~... what's that thing Marbel and Jaune say?"

"Baby don't hurt me?" she recited, and I nodded, "I see. That's the answer?"

"I'm too tired to answer anything else. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Blake." I heard her walk away, and then the night was silent as I drifted off in my soft, warm bed.

* * *

 _(during the concert, Jaune POV)_

It was really boring, mostly because 'Adam' had ordered the White Fang to not interfere with the concert in any way, so that their human ally could gather money and get the Schnee's favor.

I heard through my aura and found, more than a fair distance away outside, two faunus were walking down the street and talking about the White Fang, and how their new human ally would 'Catch the Schnee with her pants down and fuck her into submission'...

Nice to know they have such a strong opinion of me...

I sighed, and nearly zoned out as I watched not only the screen, but the entire area with the form of clairvoyance given by Biospiritual Integration. Literally nothing was happening except for Weiss singing. There was more space between the rows, which meant less seats, but the tickets were more expensive here.

 _Skyler W: Master, I have a question. :W_

 _Jaune W: I may have an answer. What is it, Skyler? :W_

 _Skyler W: Do you consider me similar to an offspring? :W_

 _Jaune W: I... what? Um... well, I've raised you up from ignorance into awareness and from loneliness into togetherness, so I guess you could consider it like that. :W_

 _Skyler W: I see... would you hurt me? :W_

 _Jaune W: Only if you got hit by me while sparring, which is justified because we'd be battling. Otherwise, no. :W_

 _Skyler W: I see... thank you, Master. :W_

 _Jaune W: Why are you asking? :W_

 _Skyler W: I am simply thinking things over. :W_

 _Jaune W: Oooo...kay~? Well, good luck with that, Sky, don't do anything stupid, I don't want you to get hurt. :W_

 _Skyler W: I... I appreciate the sentiment, Master. :W_

Weird... I zoned back in to pay attention to all the nothing going on.

I listened in, then composed a text message telling everyone that I had an idea for something fun to do tomorrow. I'd spend some time with my cousin tonight, but tomorrow night would be what I believed could be a friendly competition.

Hehehehehe~

* * *

 _(The following night, Yang's POV)_

Nora gave a cheer as she sent a Nevermore the size of a car rocketing away with an explosive strike.

It was impressive, but not nearly as powerful as I'd started to become.

My aura blazed like intense fire as I charged forward and jumped over the pincers of a desert Deathstalker, roundhouse kicking its stinger away and landing on its back, my fist crashing into its carapace and sending a spiderweb of cracks through it.

 **"Locomotive's Crash Strike" level increased by 1!**

The style my dad had taught me, Flaming Dragon Locomotive, was one passed down through our family. It wasn't as grand as the Beast King styles, but it was damn good. It focused mainly on increasing my strength and attack power, sacrificing defense and even flexibility in the pursuit of more strength. I actually had a far better grasp on it than I did before, mostly because I was able to meditate and the Game would help me learn the skills, which is how I got the skill I was currently using over my arms and torso.

 **"Dragon's Flaming Scales" level increased by 1!**

It damaged my HP extremely slowly due to how it didn't protect me against the flames, but I healed far faster than it burned me, not only because of my high HP and VIT, but also due to my Fire Affinity.

A Beowolf lept up and tried to claw a chunk out of my back, only for the fire to burst at it, shattering several scales but providing some protection and setting the thing's arm on fire.

I spun around and kicked the snarling beast in the chest, breaking its bones and killing it pretty much instantly. I then spun around and slammed my fist into the carapace several times, ending it with a final punch that shattered its armor.

Nora came in over my head and delivered a double strike, sending the stinger away again and swiveling around to deliver a devastating smash that killed the Deathstalker.

"Come on, I wanna win that scarf just as bad as you do!" Nora said with a bright grin as she lept off the dissolving scorpion and resuming running.

"Right!" I followed as fast as I could, hearing my aura hiss like steam as I focused on my speed.

* * *

 _(meanwhile, across the city, Ruby's POV)_

"Come on, Ren!" I called out, seeing him starting to lag behind.

"I'm... coming... Ruby..." he panted, and I could see him focusing on his AP. We'd been sprinting for a while, and Jaune had specifically said 'No speed boosters'.

I effortlessly cut through several more beowolves like butter, turning to see Ren simply leap up and slam an aura-covered hand down on the back of a longhorn, causing its guts to burst out from below like an icky gore balloon.

He panted, getting closer to me, "Remind me... why... we're going after... a scarf?"

I kept running, making sure he stayed close, "Because it gives +50% defense against Grimm, which is WAAAAAAAAAAANT!" I lept over a piece of rubble.

Ren managed to keep up with me, "Ruby, I don't think you all realize that half-again defense against something is not equal to halving the damage taken."

I nearly tripped over my own shock, looking at Ren, "Wait... so then it..."

"If you have 100 defense, then it increases that to 150 when you're fighting Grimm. That is not the same as if a Grimm does 100 damage and that's reduced to 50 by the magic. I doubt Jaune would ever risk giving an item with THAT kind of power away, even to his friends."

I pouted, "Dangit, that sounded so insanely useful! Well... I'm a speedster and I'm not gonna let my sister win the race just because I had to carry you! Come on, pick up the pace, Ren! You can do it!" I cheered him on, catching sight of the scarf hanging off the flagpole in the distance.

Ren groaned and sped up slightly, which was awesome for me!

* * *

 _(meanwhile, Weiss' POV)_

"Remind me why your father is just sitting at the flag pole drinking lemonade while we sweat over all these Grimm?" I complained to Jaune, who was busy cutting five Beowolves in half, with just one blow.

He grinned at me, "Friendly competition combined with some skill training and teamwork building. From what I can tell just by distance comparison, Yang and Nora have found their rhythm in nearly leapfrog-style attacks, while Ruby and Ren go for a Y-shaped pincer. You and I happen to take a staggered approach with me in front and you behind me, lashing out from the sides, which is also effective.

"Because you're using a sword and shield and I only have a sword, so you defend. Plus I'm fairly certain that I'm the more agile of the two of us, due to my lower inertia." I lashed out with a stab and sent a small bolt of lightning at a Vulcyrie, knocking it from the sky where Jaune easily cut it to pieces, "And I can do things like that, since you limited yourself to only physical attacks."

He nodded, "On the dot once again, Weiss. You're a smart girl, but I'm much better suited to taking hits. You just focus on using those dust attacks, and I'll keep you safe, okay?" he smiled that damn, _blasted, **unbearable**_ smile at me that made my face grow uncomfortably warm.

"O-okay." I coughed out, getting back into a run, "So the prize is your scarf?"

He nodded, "I can get another one if I actually go looking for another Crype Keeper Blightus, but I don't think I have to, and I'll tell you why." he grinned, then pulled me up onto his back, "Because we're going to win this race. Why do you think I split Nora and Ren, and Yang and Ruby up? It was also to ensure that they didn't win. Now then, let me just not use a speed booster." he suddenly switched his classes to Ninja V2 and Assassin V2, then took off running, "Make sure to launch spells so we aren't breaking the rule of 'you have to kill almost every grimm on the way'."

I nodded, holding on tightly as he took off, though thankfully it wasn't anywhere close to his usual speed. Myrtenaster flicked side to side, sending flashes of Dust power at the Grimm.

We raced towards the center of the city, and I couldn't help but laugh a little as I felt the rush return.

However, I felt Jaune tense greatly as we grew very near to the center of the city, "Is something wrong?" I asked, a little worried.

"Yes, yes it is." he said, and sped up with the glow of his Aurora, nearly causing my to lose my grip.

It took only a minute for us reach the center, and I saw why he was tense.

Information from Gamer's Sight popped up as I stared at the strange platinum-blonde man.

 **Nighdris Arc**  
 **Title: He whom Redraws the Stars  
Level: 114**

"Ah, nephew, hello again." he bowed slightly, smiling brightly.

Jaune glared at him, "I don't recall meeting you... how did you get in here?"

"Ah, this Mirror-Word, or 'Illusion Dimension' as you call it, was rather easy to enter, actually. I sensed it in the city and entered, trying to figure out who was using the ability. Imagine my surprise when I see my cousin lounging next to a flagpole with a destroyed city around him. It was shocking to say the least." he chuckled, one hand brushing his coat off. I noticed he had a bandoleer of dust canisters over his chest, the straps made of some sort of purple mesh.

"You have the ability to sense these?" Jaune raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Well, it's part of my semblance, which allows me to distort space. It's also why these things don't blow up when I get hit." he looked at me as he gestured to his bandoleer, "Purified thaumium from Feauricus back at the Chateau, terrific at channeling aura and more specifically, semblances. Any attack simply gets shunted away by my semblance used as a shield." he chuckled, "So, this is where you were when Rinku said he couldn't find you. I detected the celestial energy when I got close to the center of the city, entered, and now here we are."

Jaune's father simply laughed, "Hey, remember when Cerulius got pissed that we kept pulling the 'water bucket on the door' prank on her, and you teleported your bucket of milk over her head?"

The man laughed, "Oh my, I remember that. Sadly it was before I knew how to orient things with a teleportation, and so she just ended up getting hit over the head with a bucket, then collapsing and getting milk spilled over her. I think my rear end is still sore from the whipping I got that day, might have even been why I got lactose intolerant."

I perked up slightly, "You became lactose intolerant after experience something traumatic associated with milk?"

He shrugged, "I don't know, but it could be the case."

I felt a surge of relief, "I think it might be. I got the same with air sickness and airships."

Immediately, Jaune had pulled me closer, obviously worried that I'd somehow shatter if I thought about my condition for more than five seconds. It didn't prevent me from shattering, because I wasn't going to in the first place, but it did help me feel a little warmer. Nighdris hummed in contemplation, stroking his chin, "Well... I can see the correlation. I might do a study on this." he smiled at me.

Jaune cleared his throat, "I'm going to have to send you out of here before the others arrive. I don't want to worry them by giving them the idea that the IDs aren't safe."

He nodded, "I understand completely, Jaune. I'll show myself out. I'll see you in an hour?" Jaune nodded, smiling slightly, and a mix of whitish-purple and cyan aura saw him disappearing from sight.

I sighed, "That man was odd."

Jaune's eyes were hard as he glared at the spot Nighdris had been standing in, "He was able to get into my I.D... I need these things to be safe. It might only be because his semblance gave him the necessary power to interact with gravity/time/spatial magic like this, but... he knew what these are, if by a different name. I think the family has some books on the subject... which makes me want to go check out their library." he got a gleam in his eyes, "Anyways, let's get this thing down now." he started lowering the scarf from the flagpole, grinning slightly, "I still love this thing, it's stylish and kickass."

He pulled it off the cable and wrapped it around his neck, smiling at me, "So, Weiss, do you think you have what it takes to go find another Crypt Keeper Blightus and get one of these?"

I nodded, "It sounds worth the risk." I reached out and felt at the scarf, "Oh wow, it's very soft. What kind of material is this?"

He just grinned at me, "Spider silk. All the scarves are spider silk."

Fear clenched my throat like an iron fist, and I looked down at the soft blue scarf wrapped around my own neck, which suddenly felt like it was full of prickly legs, and-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

 _(a few minutes later, Jaune's POV)_

"... okay, that's my bad." I stared at Weiss' somewhat blue, but quickly reddening face, locked halfway in horror and halfway in catatonia from how she'd fainted. Thankfully I'd caught her, "Well, she hates spiders."

"I'm pretty sure most girls hate spiders, son." my dad said with a laugh, "And I'm pretty sure her screaming was assisted by her singer's lungs." he was fine thanks to the soundproof barrier I'd set up to make sure she didn't deafen the others. My god her screams were awful.

If I had to complain about one thing about Weiss, it would definitely be her almost banshee-like screams.

I gently shook her away, gently rubbing the skin of her neck.

She awoke with a slight jitter, looking around, "Gah, huh? What? Where?" she blinked, "Oh god, not the spiders."

I sighed softly, giving her a shake, "Weiss, you are definitely powerful enough to kill any disgusting spiders that get in your way. Plus, the silk isn't dangerous at all, it's soft and comfortable and I'd honestly wear a whole outfit out of it if I could, it feels so damn nice." I smiled at her, "Now come on, the others will be here soon."

Sure enough, Ruby and Ren arrived only fifteen seconds later, the former pouting when she saw me already there and wearing my scarf, while Ren collapsed again, looking like he'd been worked to the bone, "Aw COME ON! I bet you two didn't even fight the grimm!"

I smirked at her, "We killed the Grimm, yes. I didn't use anything besides physical attacks. Still, the lesson here isn't that Jaune likes to bend the rules based on the spirit of his wording, it's that you should be able to work well with one another. Have you figured out any sort of team attacks while you were trekking here, or were you too focused on the scarf?"

Ruby gaped slightly, then collected herself, "We did this one thing where we spun around together and cut up and shot the Grimm away. That was pretty cool~." she made to try to take my scarf, but I gently slapped her hand away.

She tried again, and I slapped her hands away again. This triggered a brief battle of hands that ended with my pulling her into a hug, preventing further attack, "You might be a badass, Rubes, but you're still adorable and silly."

She let out a whining sound, and I just patted her on the back, "You cheated~."

"I didn't cheat, I followed the rules as given, I just happen to have ways to work around the rules." I chuckled, smiling at her and letting her go. I noticed Ren looking at me oddly, and I raised an eyebrow at him, "I'm pretty sure you've seen hugs before, Ren. What's with that look?"

He cleared his throat, sitting up, "I busted my ass to get here with Ruby to get that scarf, and you'd already taken it... I knew you'd have already taken it." his expression had a split-second falter, hardly enough time to register, but there was discomfort in his expression before it was washed away by a flat mask of pure annoyance.

I brushed it off, figuring he was just in pain, "Well, you're definitely wise, Ren. Come on, get up. You need healing." I cast a supercharged Soulforge on him, as well as a supercharged Rejuvenating Breath, which was a massive help to him. I also renewed the Lifeforce Regeneration buff on all of us present, and cast it at Nora and Yang when they arrived. I greeted Yang with another kiss, smiling at her, "Not nearly as slow as before. I see you've definitely been working on your speed, baby girl."

Yang gave a small laugh of nothing but joy, giving me a slight punch on the shoulder, "Well it was either that or have Nora leave me behind, and I don't think Nora's dust would taste very good."

We shared a brief laugh before I looked at Nora, "So... you and Ren are the only two without elementals. Want to take care of that?"

She grinned, "AWESOME!"

Ren groaned, "Give me a minute." he sounded a lot less tired than before, but the thing about rejuvenating breath was that it was only temporary. It would wear off, but hopefully Ren would have recovered some more by then.

With a hum, I focused on my elementals, and combined the Xiburichu, Pluviteus, and Juristimunja. The result was usually a blood-red liquid humanoid that wore a light armor of shiny red plates that had arcs of lightning running along them, an elemental named Nergen, whose power was over Electrolytes.

Well, I focused on a buff.

 **By combining the elements Fire, Water, and Lightning into a spell made to boost the body, you have learned the skill "Invigoration Surge"!**

Holy shit... this thing was damn useful. Instantly restores 1000 HP and 1500 SP, plus a nice little boost to HPR and SPR? YES PLEASE.

It wasn't perfect, no, but it was pretty damn good. Expensive for the effect, but I more than enough AP to pay for it with.

Nora helped Ren up, and my dad looked over all of us, mainly those who were winded, "Well... I think we should all rest up for the day. Ren and Weiss, you two should work on cardio, and Yang, it couldn't hurt to improve it a little."

Yang groaned, breathing heavily. I sighed softly and just healed everyone, then pat Yang on the back, "It can't hurt, Sunny. In fact, I think we all should improve our VIT some." I idly leaned my head over and kissed Yang's cheek, smiling at everyone, "But definitely good work everyone, I doubt we'll be running many marathons as hunters in training, but it can't hurt to be fit enough to be able to run one and still keep going." I explained, "For now, though, I think you all deserve a rest. We'll pick this back up tomorrow."

I took them back to the room, then slipped back into I.D., using the knowledge I'd previously gained to expand my APR and extend the ID Day to triple the length of a normal day, then looked at the summoned Crocea Mors and Roimontagne, "Alright... first I want to be poisoned to the point that it's just barely less effective than the remainder of my combined APR and HPR, since the two values are combined thanks to Ki Body being up all the time. In addition, after that, I want the two of you to utterly shred me while I do push-ups with a large amount of weight on my back."

The two looked at each other, but did as I commanded. Tokyrus stabbed me with his metal scorpion tail, injecting me with a powerful poison. My body grew cold as the poison spread throughout it.

And then pieces of my liver spread over the asphalt as a metal rod blasted through my body. I coughed up blood, keeping my numbers under close observation, since I didn't feel like actually _dying_.

I focused halfway on the numbers, and halfway on Soulforge Restoration.

I used some Dust crystals with Soulforge, to enlighten myself on both.

The process was similar to how the Elementals were formed, but so very different.

Infusing the body temporarily with the effects of the elements, and with Dust, was like an injection of a stimpak or a medicine, it worked only for so long, and then it must be renewed.

Empowering yourself with the elements of nature, it was an old practice, very old. Increasing your power with Nature itself was something almost as old as Dust itself.

It was Nature's bounty that helped mankind rise from darkness and shine their light into this bleak world. However, as with anything that grew in power, it would reach a plateau that could only be broken through when the extra pieces were stripped away, and the core itself was strengthened and not just dressed up into power.

Focusing on the process, on how a burst of aura that reached out to another soul, could help that soul mend its coil, it was something intimate, warm, pure, good, and whole. Examining it, and comparing it the other healing spells I'd seen, I then saw the truth, and decided to mix it up by comparing it to what I had previously perceived.

 **By raising "Soulforge Restoration" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Soulforge Reparation"**

 **-/\\-**

 **Soulforge Restoration (Active) Level: 99, Exp: MAX, Cost: 40 AP  
** **In a world full of darkness, Man learned to create new light. They learned through study and experience that the soul is something infinite in distance and unbound by death. By releasing it, they found immortality even in their own passing. The old race of warriors known as the Spellwarriors created a technique to bestow their souls with the bounty of Nature's Might through the power of Dust, as well as mend their wounds and cure their ailments.**

 **Used without Dust Crystal, 500 HP restored, low-ranking Illnesses removed.  
** **Used with Dust Crystal, 500 HP restored, 300 AP restored, low-ranking Illnesses removed, variable effects dependent on type of dust.  
** **Status Effect duration: 120s**

 **-/\\-**

 **Soulforge Reparation (Active) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00%, Cost: 2000 AP (prestiged from Soulforge Restoration)  
** **In a world plagued by darkness, Man learned to create new light and cast it upon the land. Learning of the infinite distance of the soul, healers rose to shine a merciful light upon those enshrouded in the war against the night. A former Spellwarrior shared their knowledge with the healers, who lifted it to new and greater heights by purifying and empowering the process within, then further bolstering it with Nature's Might through the power of Dust, allowing them to heal wounds otherwise irreparable, and cure ailments that had previously held Man against the brink of death.**

 **Used without Dust Crystal, 2500 HP restored, mid-ranking Illnesses removed, mitigates some negative status effects, low-ranking negative status effects removed  
** **Used with Dust Crystal, 2500 HP restored, 1500 AP restored, mid-ranking Illnesses removed, mitigates some negative status effects, low-ranking negative status effects removed, variable effects dependent on type of dust.  
** **Status Effect duration: 30s**

 **-/\\-**

I hummed in satisfaction, pleased with my new insight, as well as feeling a certain purity in my soul after the prestige, like a puddle of blood had been drawn into a tube, cleaned, and prepared for injection. I almost felt like I'd been trying to grasp the power with my fingertips, but now I'd taken ahold of it with my whole fist.

 **Reaching a new level of healing proficiency has unlocked the class "Cleric v3"!**

I held out a hand, clenching it into a fist as fire blazed around me. I had to define and empower the core in order to make the extra pieces more effective, so they too could grow...

I looked at Xiburichu as I came to another realization. The flames grew hot and intense enough that the metal and stone rods lodged in my body all melted and dripped out of the holes they'd formed.

A harshly burning ball of flames formed in his hand, and an exact copy formed in mine.

We roared in unison as we clashed, exchanging flames as we challenged each other.

This continued for hours, long enough that I'd removed my clothing to avoid it being burnt and restored more than it already had. Fire met fire, feeding off of each other.

My flesh was hot and swollen, Xiburichu was struggling to hold himself together.

We roared and blazed brightly, casting away the darkness and burning away the taint of the Grimm.

 **By raising "Elemental Aura" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Elemental Aurora"!**

He disappeared, but my new skill burned intensely as I was coated in flames. I took in a breath, then let out the song of the Vermilion Bird, scorching the street and melting nearby cars that hadn't already done so.

The flames shifted, becoming structured and purple-colored, streaks of silver swirling up as I changed elements.

Elementally created steel formed a blade in my hand, then a shell of armor solidified around me.

I grinned, "THIS... is just what I needed." I dismissed the sword, focusing solely on weighing myself down.

 _...(many hours later)..._

I pivoted my body, ready to repeat the process again. I had formed these weapons days ago, but now I had a great opportunity to utilize it.

Argenta Percutio, Silver Strike.

A long shaft ending with a large hammer head. I smashed a charging Longhorn Matadae out of its path, pirouetting again and smashing a Boabatusk's skull into mush. Suddenly, the weapon mechashifted, and one side of the head collapsed in, then broadened out into a bearded axe, which I used in an overhead chop to cleave an Ursa in two, following it up with by suddenly turning and beheading a Vulcyrie.

Then, it shifted again, the axe blade jerking upwards, then stretching outwards like an elbow, forming a scythe blade that I swept across a charging pack of Beowolves, bisecting them all. A moment later, a Kitsuninja met its dismembered end as I cut it up like a sausage, ending with decapitation.

Finally, I shifted it again, the blade coming up again and straightening out into a large, sturdy spearhead. I sidestepped a Deathstalker's attempted tail jab, dashing forward past its claws and stabbing it in the eyes, whipping Crocea Mors out and slicing its tail off, then taking the spear in a reverse grip and stabbing into its eyes again, taking them out one by one while dodging its pincers, feeling one crush against my leg. I clicked my tongue and Excalibur sliced the offending appendages off, followed by the tail. Now free to take it down, I called upon my strength and slammed the sharp tip of the spear down with over a ton of force.

*CRACK*

Piercing its hard, but brittle plates was easy, needing only half my full strength with the reinforced titanium spearhead. I grinned and jabbed it several more times, breaking its armor into pieces, then spinning the spear around to utilize its other feature, a high caliber assault rifle.

I then switched weapons once the beast was dead, backflipping high into the air while Vacuan string instruments played, the wind stilling as I reached my apex and pulled out my next weapon.

Gladia Profectus, Blade Progression.

At first, it just looked like two ninjato blades (which counted as katanas to my skills) back to back, giving it a double-edged blade, with a large block of metal at the base to reinforce them.

A Kitsuninja met me when I hit the ground, its incredibly fast punch caught on the blade of one of the katanas, slicing its fingers off. Several rapid swings cut through its body like butter, but its gibs were blown apart by a charging Longhorn Matadae. I dodged out of the way, mechashifting the weapon to its next form.

The block of metal extended upwards, along with the two blades, linking together to become a zweihander. Now of course, given my incredible strength, a zweihander had to be MUCH heavier than a normal historical blade before it was heavy enough that I needed to use two hands to wield it properly, but that wasn't an issue after I'd gone and acquired through purchase, small theft, and mining, a couple tons of titanium.

Grinning, I lept up onto its back and carved a great furrow through its muscles, causing it to buckle from the pain and fall, sliding across the pavement as it recovered. I hopped down and cut one of its legs off before it could get up, leaving it vulnerable for a mighty overhead swing that took its head off.

Then I heard a whistling sound, and the sword shifted and expanded out to the size of a gigasword, about six inches wider and longer than Qrow's sword, and possessing two edges. A massive feather struck the flat, the tip shattering as a few feathers either grazed past the literal tons of armor covering my body, or broke on my sword.

I looked up when the storm had passed, seeing the giant nevermore overhead. I grinned and leaped into the air, my legs shattering the street with the force of my Power Jump, as I flew up into the sky, Gladia Profectus gleaming like a streak of silver lightning through the sky. I spun around, chopping off one of the massive raven-like Grimm's wings, reaching my apex thanks to resisting winds, looking at it.

Through its very slightly intelligent mind, it seemed to hold fear in its eyes, "Good... fear me, for I am your reaper." I spun around like a top, meeting its armored flesh with a modest amount of difficulty, but not enough to prevent me from passing my sword all the way through its body. I came around again and essentially sliced through it like a slow circular saw.

I fell from the sky, but while I did, a Vulcyrie tried to run me through with its spear, but I used my movement control and flexibility to pirouette past it as I switched to my third weapon.

Ferro Geminae, Iron Twins.

A long titanium dagger blade shot out from the blacksteel handle, stabbing into the beast's throat and carving it out. I spun as it lengthened, taking only a second to turn long enough to split in the middle into a pair of nunchaku, held together by a hardened and tempered bluesteel chain, I swung it between my hands before it lashed out and knocked aside the bony throwing knives of a Kitsuninja, which I flew closer to with the **VB Tailwind Charge** , which basically gave me a tailwind usually as I ran, but in the air could help me move forward.

I cracked it over the head while pushing aside its fist, shattering its mask. We pushed off of one another and landed on the back of a Owanshee, which screeched at us both.

The kitsuninja entered a stance as I mechashifted the nunchaku into their other form, and as it charged, its head burst from Mana Shotgun impacting it, the handle having shifted into a magic pistol.

The Owanshee screeched again, but I didn't mind it as I went up to its head, firing Mana Shotgun pretty much on full auto from the gun, earning several levels in the skill as I cut its HP down, eventually killing it as I opened a massive hole in its head.

We fell to the ground, though I kicked off at the last moment, landing me safely on the street.

Cracking my neck, I put the weapon away and checked my notifications, since the position of the provided images of the true sun told me that it was nearly dawn. There were stat gains, skill prestiges, and even classes unlocked.

 **Enduring extreme exercise has increased STR by 2!**

 **Pushing yourself to move quickly and wield weapons effectively despite being extremely encumbered has increased DEX by 2!**

 **Enduring unbelievable damage and physical strain has increased VIT by 2!**

 **-/\\-**

 **By raising "Hammer/Mace Skill" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Hammer/Mace Proficiency"!**

 **By raising "Axe Skill" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Axe Proficiency"!**

 **By raising "Scythe Skill" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Scythe Proficiency"!**

 **By raising "Spear Skill" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Spear Proficiency"!**

 **By raising "Polearm Skill" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Polearm Proficiency"!**

 **By raising "Assault Rifle Skill" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Assault Rifle Proficiency"!**

 **By raising "Katana Skill" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Katana Proficiency"!**

 **By raising "Zweihander Skill" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Zweihander Proficiency"!**

 **By raising "Gigasword Skill" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Gigasword Proficiency"!**

 **By raising "Dagger Skill" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Dagger Proficiency"!**

 **By raising "Nunchaku Skill" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Nunchaku Proficiency"!**

 **By raising "Pistol Skill" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Pistol Proficiency"!**

 **By raising "Shield Proficiency" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Shield Mastery"!**

 **By raising "Shotgun Skill" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Shotgun Proficiency"!**

 **-/\\-**

 **Possessing impressive skill with hammers, great physical power, and a strong lightning affinity has unlocked the class "Asgardian Warrior"!**

 **Possessing impressive skill with axes, great physical and mental power, and a strong bond with nature has unlocked the class "Forest Spellblade"!**

 **Possessing impressive skills with spears and polearms, great physical prowess, and a strong fire and air affinity has unlocked the class "Dragoon"!**

 **Possessing impressive skills with assault rifles, pistols, and shotguns, great physical prowess, and a strong earth affinity has unlocked the class "Trench King"!**

 **Possessing incredible skill with katanas, great physical prowess, and a strong air affinity has unlocked the class "Jetstream Samurai"!**

 **Possessing impressive skills with zweihanders and gigaswords, great physical prowess, and a strong earth affinity has unlocked the class "Jabberwocky Hunter"!**

 **Possessing incredible skills with daggers, pistols, and swords, great physical prowess, and a strong air and metal affinity has unlocked the class "Hashashin"!**

 **Possessing impressive skills with swords, daggers, zweihanders, gigaswords, and katanas has unlocked the class "Blade Master"!**

 **Possessing incredible skills with swords and shields, and great physical power has unlocked the classes "Knight", "Knight v2", and "Knight v3"! Further reinforcing your power with mental prowess and a strong metal affinity has unlocked the class "Knight v4"!**

 **Possessing impressive skills with magic, great physical prowess, and a strong magical power has unlocked the class "Magic Knight v2"!**

 **Possessing incredible skill in striking foes down, as well as many forms of combat, you have unlocked the class "Battle Master"!**

I grinned, dismissing them all and checking out the new skills. As expected, they simply grew off of the previous skills' boosts, most of the 'metamorphosis' aspect being in the practical part of the skill, AKA the part that represented my actual skill in effectively and accurately using the weapons, rather than the numbers that the skills boasted.

Cracking my neck, I called it a day, redressed, and appeared back in normal space.

 _... (a few minutes later) ..._

I sent a message to Rinku, who I'd exchanged info with before we left Paris, and apologized for not being able to spend more time with the family. I sighed as it went through, putting away my scroll and teleporting back to the hotel.

I appeared in the living room, thankful that these big hotels have these things. I mused over it. It was usually reserved for government officials, but we'd just missed a wave of political meetings and had the places all to ourselves.

Sighing, I began cooking breakfast, and had just began plating it up when Ruby and Nora got up. I smiled at the two of them, "Good morning, girls. Did you sleep well?"

Nora grinned, "Yep yep yep! I feel sore from training last night, though." she pouted and rubbed her shoulder.

Ruby did the same, "I got slammed through a building by a Miraganger Star, lucky those things can't make IDs inside your IDs, Jaune."

I hummed, then decided to put one of my new skills to the test, "Well, lucky for you two, I prestiged Soulforge Restoration last night after I focused on it and learned more about it. Here." I switched to Cleric v3, which added the factor of healing spells more efficiently restoring blood and bones. However, the factor I wanted was the trait Divine Mercy, which let me alleviate their pain at no extra cost. I cast it and they both let out sounds of surprise.

Nora shook slightly, grinning, "Wow! That felt really cool."

Ruby flushed, "I feel a little sick."

I paused, then realized my mistake. There was a flare of power from her Aura, lasting only a second before fading away. That strange power, Darkened Warrior, it was tied to her blood, and using a skill that boosted her blood was asking for trouble. I was lucky I didn't overcharge it! I switched back to my normal titles, which earned me another level in Roleplaying, which was another level closer to getting me a third class slot, "It's okay, Rosie. You'll be fine." I stepped over and pat her on the back, giving her a slight hug to help her feel better, "You're strong, I bet you already feel better." I smiled at her.

She smiled back, "Heh, yeah, I do. I only felt a little sick. You don't have to take everything with us so seriously."

I blinked, then sighed, "I can't NOT. You're all dear to me, less-so for Nora and Ren, but you two are catching up. You're excellent fighters and friends." I'd listened in to the new spice their contribution to the conversations that pervaded the voice chat for many, MANY hours of the day, and the others were taking to them like fish to water.

"Oh, hey, speaking of healing stuffs, Jauney, I was playing around with Ren last night, the usual stuff we do, but he said that his knee hurt from training, so I helped with that Soulforge skill, and I found THIS skill leveling up." she opened up a skill window and showed us.

 **Benevolentia (Passive & Active) Level: 2, Exp: 23.53%  
** **The loving-kindness that soothes the flames of Wrath and mends that which it would destroy. This skill greatly bolsters one's Aura so as to allow it to mend wounds and reinforce the body, so that the owner and the ones they love shall not perish.**

 **Increases the effectiveness of all Healing and Support skills by 103%  
** **Increases the HPR and SPR boosts of the owner's Aura by 51%  
** **Increases owner's Max HP by 10%  
** **Increases Ease of Casting for ally-targeting skills by 102%**

I hummed, "Well, it seems like you and the others are getting them. Yang has a skill like that, as do Ruby and Blake. It's some kind of power based on virtue. Benevolentia is a cognate, thankfully. Benevolence, much like the other three, Charity, Chastity, and Temperance, seems to grant you this... special power based on the concept of the word." concept-based powers? I was masquerading with such a power as my semblance. Conjuring, or more accurately the concept of conjuring, which was less bullshit-level awesome than The Gamer. Hell, The Gamer itself was a concept-based power.

Taking the knowledge into account, I went back over the mental recordings of the others' powers, finding it to line up rather well.

Yang's was a healing spell, being charitable and restoring another's aura at the cost of her own. Ruby's was a defensive spell, allowing her to remain pure and safe from harm against outside forces. Blake's was a support spell, boosting other spells by allowing her to charge them up to increase their power. Unfortunately, her Aurora made that power sort of moot, but it had other aspects, and I felt it would grow to have a net gain in its power distribution.

I smiled at Nora, "Well, it seems that you really are a good person, full of positivity and ready to help others."

Nora grinned, "Awesome! I mean, I do care a lot about my friends, since you're all so cool and nice and friendly and great to talk to, so I guess it makes sense that I got a power that lets me help my friends when they're down! Nobody should be down, and-" I smiled as I tuned her out. She was great, but she talked.

A lot.

As in more than the second, third, and fourth most talkative other people in the group all combined.

Still, she had some interesting stuff to say sometimes.

The others filed in for breakfast, while I contemplated what to do for tonight's training. Weiss had more stupid photo shoots to do, but thankfully we could either run or just teleport there.

Honestly, it might have just been catharsis for my own incredibly fast cognition, that I started running multiplications in my head and working on how to best improve myself. I was still wearing my built-up armor, weighing a total of thirty tons. It was spread throughout my entire body, but it was still thirty tons. The only reason it hadn't torn my body open like a lobster was because of my incredible bodily reinforcement.

I cracked my neck, and went to wake Yang up.

* * *

 _(The next night, Jaune POV)_

I cracked my neck, smiling at the others as I watched them from atop of consolidated tower. We were currently in Genoa, in the Rome region, AKA South Mistral.

Yang was resting against my left side, Ruby against my right, Garnet playing with the patterns on the back of my robe.

It was with telekinesis that I continuously practiced my skills **Dust Weaving, Dust Alloy, Dust Ink** , and **Dust Consolidation**.

Simply put, I kept recycling the Dust I used by putting it into the threads and metals of the Dust Weaving and Dust Alloy, then used my control over water and metal to draw it back out and form Dust Ink, then I isolated the solid precipitate Dust and shifted it between powder and crystal forms a few times, before repeating the process.

Once we hit Rome, I'd have to deal with the White Fang again, sadly. It pained me that I wasn't able to spend time with my family, but I'd have to meet with those damned terrorists.

Thankfully, though, I'd managed to make something to make up for my absence in Paris, if only partially.

 **You created the armor "Moonfire Stormblade Robe".**

It was a robe with the Double Crescents on the back, similar to the Rinku's coat and Nighdris' robe.

Except I'd gone for the kind of robe from Assassin's Creed, with a peaked hood and sash at my waist. In addition, I'd altered and grafted one of the blade mechanisms from Jade's weapons, Iron River, as well as the whip system from Navio's Bloodlash, onto my gauntlets. I'd broken the gauntlets of Iron River up fully and put a hidden blade into each of Ember Celica, then took the actual metal for the gauntlets and made the design sleeker and lighter, housing the final claw as another hidden blade for Ruby to use, as well as the boots he'd had.

The current objective was to simply destroy the city as fast as possible.

I grinned softly, hugging both Ruby and Yang, "I love you two, you know that? My girlfriend, and my second best friend." I gave them Yang a kiss on the cheek and Ruby a kiss on the top of her head, "Moments like right now... I think this is worth fighting for. The peace we can enjoy, even if just for a little while, is worth the chaos of battle." I sighed happily.

Ruby looked up at me, "I wouldn't figure you'd feel that way. You make us train every night."

I smirked, "Well, it's better to have strength and not need it, than to need it and not have it." I ruffled her hair.

Yang shifted slightly, hugging me, "Heh, good way to put it. So... how far have they gotten?"

I gazed out over the ruined city, noting the destruction, "About one quarter of the whole city. Ren once again is looking pretty tired... hmmm... he's been going like this for like 4 days in a row now, you'd think that he'd have improved his physique and gotten more Max SP, what with my healing spells allowing him to ." I hummed. It was probably part of why Invigoration Surge helped him a lot.

Everyone had their problems. Ruby's body was full of 'dark warrior blood', and her Aura seemed to almost be actively resisting increasing in mass. Yang had issues based in abandonment and heartbreak, which was a big reason I would never leave her. Not only would I never want to lose her, I never wanted her to lose me.

Blake had confidence issues, Marbel was adjusting to Hunter life, and then Nora and Ren had more physical problems.

While she was tough, I had a feeling that most of Nora's VIT was attributing to SP and not HP, while Ren had the opposite problem. It wasn't easy to see, but seeing their current numbers, and what several levels had done for them, it was clear to see that they had deficiencies in the two bars.

Roimontagne lowered the pillar as Weiss and Nora helped Ren along, "Greetings, ground people." I chuckled, creating a staircase for them, "Come on up. The view of the city is great."

I brought us up high, preparing a platform of telekinetic force, and when we were all gathered, I cast invisibility on all of us, secured Garnet in Yang's hands, and brought us back into normal space.

In an instant, the light from the city below met our eyes, and the others let out sounds of awe. I had to admit, it was rather beautiful. Garnet meowed happily, her kitten mind captivated by all the shiny lights. Yang adored her, and I adored both of them.

"It's so prettyyyyYYYYY~!" Nora squealed, sparkly-eyed. Ren smiled lightly, happy that Nora was happy.

Ruby pointed, "Look, that fountain is lighting up like a rainbow." sure enough, a myriad of colors had illuminated a fountain a couple miles from us.

I smiled, "With the Mistral Region Tournament coming up, I think it's an equality celebration. The rainbow represents that people of all types can come together and be united as Mistralians. It's beautifully symbolic." I began moving us over, "No harm in joining them. Free food and fun to be had." I used my various healing spells to restore everyone's HP, AP, and SP, "So let's have fun."

I carried us over, sending the message that we would be disguising Weiss so she could safely attend a small equality celebration. With five pairs of eyes on her, and my position, it was passed through safely.

We ate some, danced to the music, and overall had a really good time.

* * *

 _(Several hours of time-dilated training later, Jaune POV)_

 **Increasing VIT past 100 has risen you to new heights!**

 **By raising VIT above 100, you have earned the skill "Supreme Condition"!**

 **By raising VIT above 100, you have earned the skill "Heroic Vigor"!**

 **By raising VIT above 100, you have earned the skill "Second Chance"!**

 **Raising your VIT to incredible levels has unlocked the class "Tank v3"!**

I hummed softly, looking over the new class. I'd previously received a large bonus that granted new attributes to all my class advancements. Simply put, not only did I have the increase in the base boosts of Tank v1, which was physical resistance, HPR, and SPR, but Tank v2 had added a stance I could use, 'Planted', to boost my defense by +10%, and now Tank v3 increased that to +25% and added knockback resistance to it, while also adding a passive 'Juggernaut Stride', which gave +50% knockback resistance when standing and +25% when moving _'within normal speeds'._

Given that base running speed was just 80% of base DEX, that meant that I'd have that bonus until I reached... let's see, DEX just got to 92 a few minutes ago... a bit under 74 miles per hour.

I'm fairly certain I could win in a collision fight between myself and speeding car, given this on top of my other bonuses.

Irritated by having 101 VIT, I sunk four points into it. My Max HP and SP had risen by a considerable amount, thanks to Supreme condition providing the boosts based on base STR and base DEX respectively. Heroic Vigor also provided a 30% passive boost to effective VIT, which was much appreciated.

 **-/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Champion Boxer  
** **Level: 73  
** **Class: Magic Knight v2 / Tank v2 -} Tank v3  
** **Nickname: Knightlight**

 **HP: 46,300 -} 60,000  
** **AP: 190,600 -} 192,000  
** **SP: 68,600 -} 80,000**

 **Strength: 96 (+325%) (+140%) (+85%) (+220%) (+175%) = 936  
** **Dexterity: 92 (+325%) (+140%) (+85%) = 598  
** **Vitality: 105 (+325%) (+140%) (+85%) (+220%) (+30%) (+100%) = 1050  
** **Intelligence: 170 (+5) (+325%) (+100%) = 892.5  
** **Wisdom: 200 (+5) (+325%) (+100%) = 1050  
** **Luck: 116  
** **Charisma: 87 -} 90**

 **Stat Points: 89 -} 85**

 **-/\\-**

I grinned brightly, then looked at Crocea Mors across from me. I'd clashed with and grown to better understand Xiburichu, his maniacal sadism, and his fire, now it was time to extend my prowess into conquering the prideful and challenge-seeking attitude of Crocea's metal.

"To think it was just a month ago that we clashed in the forest and Qrow nearly found you." I said with nostalgia. Those were... moderately simpler times.

"True, yet though we've grown, we're still the same. Your build has not changed, even with additional power, and I remain as metal." he leaped high into the air, and I noticed something odd.

He was wielding Argenta Percutio.

Crashing down on me, I took the spear through the chest, tanking the blow as I snatched the weapon back into my inventory, punching Crocea hard enough to dent his face a little over seven inches inwards. Given that his skin was harder than titanium, it was quite a feat.

He reeled from the blow, and it was clear that he substituted the swiftness and agility of DEX for the powerful motion of STR in order to move around great distances. A great compensation, one he'd learned after some practice, and one that helped him when he lunged at me fist-first, punching me in the chest and getting a kick to the stomach in return.

"You're very strong, Jaune, tough as well." he clenched his fists, and a corona of purple light glowed around him as they shifted into large metal balls, like mace heads, "But I am purified toughness. I am not weighed down by your same limits. I endure no matter what, and even through the powers of Change and Growth, I am still Metal, I am still Crocea Mors!" he lunged at me again, punching me several times with his cannonball fists, spitting Mana Shotgun at me from his mouth.

I returned his blows, focusing purely on speed as I punched him again and again, using Combo-Count Attacks, which had been leveling up rather slowly, leading me to believe I needed more DEX to utilize it fully. Still, it was leveling up at a decent rate, about one or two levels per hour, already in the eighties.

I drew back, looking at him, "You are, Crocea, now let me see that sword!" I challenged, determined to link myself further with the truth of Crocea. I switched my classes out for Luck-based ones, smiling confidently.

He flexed his arm and his spiritual copy of Crocea Mors jutted from his body, slipping easily into his hand, and he went in for what I recognized was a Charging Strike, and I stood my ground.

Like a true hero-

*SHUNK*

*SPLASH*

 ***VWOOSH***

 **You refuse to drift into the abyss, you have been granted a Second Chance!**

-I would not fall.

It was a strange sensation, skirting the edge of death, my Aura lashed out violently, blowing half of Crocea Mors' body to pieces and sending the other half flying. It wasn't truly that powerful of a pulse, but since he was my elemental, he was more affected by it than I'm sure any other being would be.

 **LUCKY! Lucky Spark has increased an EXP gain to 400% normal!**

 **"Second Chance" level increased by 4!**

 **"Lucky Spark" level has increased by 1!**

I grinned, bringing Mystral, Pluviteus, and Roimontagne together in my soul as blood poured from my chest, and suddenly flowed up against gravity, forming a sword in midair, "Thank you, Alkahest." the mental image of her physical form nodded in acknowledgement.

I lunged forward, letting out a roaring warcry as I raced towards the reforming Crocea. The sword held in my hand, my own solidified blood, prevented from disintegrating by Alkahest's influence, almost effortlessly stabbed through the Yellow Death-Knight's diamond-hard chest, dissolving his metallic flesh.

Gases, liquids, and solids, the three states of matter, able to mix and match through chemistry, and while not exactly answers, their mixed forms were _solutions_ , hehehe. Blood itself was a solution, and the second-most easily grasped by Alkahest, the first being Tokyrus, but seeing as he needed Crocea Mors to be a part of him, it was out of the question.

I gave a small, quiet, but confident smile at Crocea, "You are metal, Crocea, and you truly are the same inside and outside, but now you're more than before. You will not be lessened by growth, nor will change alter your spirit, merely unlock it further. Though... there is one thing you miscalculated, friend." his flesh began being sucked into the sword, flowing down its form, "You are not weighed down by my same limits, but you have your own limits as well. Your strength is only a fraction of my own, as you are a part of me, and always will be, friend." I smiled wider at him, a friendlier smile, filled with invitation, "You truly are great, friend, that is without doubt... but I am your master, you are a part of myself, and I am a yet greater whole composed of my own self and held higher by all of you and your power... now I believe it is time to surrender to your master, and assist me. One day, I'll free all of you."

He smiled regretfully, nodding sadly as he let himself be defeated by this challenge. His metals were sucked into the sword like a vacuum, and they flowed down and covered my own body, collecting and solidifying into plates of armor.

 **"Summon Elemental v2" level increased by 3!**

 **By raising "Shining Armor" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Spiritual Armor"!**

 **"Druidic Proficiency" level increased by 2!**

The plates of armor shined purple, and I smiled, "Thank you, friend. We all grow stronger together." I clasped my fist over my chest, feeling his power pulsating in my core.

I looked at the sky, noting that it was only about one in the morning in normal space. I had to be back by six-thirty, which gave me five and a half hours, times about (what my experimentation had proven) 3.5 if I pushed my APR to the limits, so... over nineteen hours of meditation.

So I did exactly that, well, I'd go over a little, to get that last hundred even, but it wouldn't matter much really.

* * *

 _(After 20 hours of meditation, the afternoon of the next day, before the concert, Jaune POV)_

I cracked my neck, sighing as I slipped into I.D. and charged towards the White Fang HQ.

It was probably proof of what underestimation and ignorance could do that they stole an entire factory complex without anyone truly realizing it. It was written off as some anonymous cleanup job and the space was converted into other things.

It was probably proof of what deceit could do that I was able to walk right through the front door. I grimaced at how dirty the place was, and already I began spreading my aura through the area, aligning it to the elements and cleaning the floor as I walked past, "Ugh, the only 'filthy faunus' here is the one failing to clean this fucking place up." I said to nobody in particular, "Who's the janitor?"

One person spoke up, calling out to me, and I gestured for him to come over, "You're Jaune, Adam's ally and our human ambassador, sir?" he saluted me.

"The very same. Here, let me introduce you to something." I pulled a mop bucket from my inventory, using illusions to disguise it as a conjuring, "This is a mop bucket. Use it. Clean the fucking floor, I'm surprised there aren't diseases running rampant in this place."

He grimaced, "Ah, you see, our medical bay IS full..." he looked down, "It's not like we were expecting you so soon."

"I'll only be here for a minute. I'm not trying to sound like a stuck-up jackass, I only mention this because I'm concerned about you all. You can't fight when you're too cold, sick, and hungry to even get out of this place. I'll help a little." I brought out a second mop, using the additional ability I'd gotten when the skill hit level 50 to substitute the water with my AP, eliminating the dirt and grime on the floor more and more with every glowing swipe of my mop, then I used telekinesis to bring out more mops, using them to utterly demolish the level of grime covering the place, with cloths wiping away dust and polishing the machinery. I came to a boarded-up hole in the wall, next to a messy patch that was empty of machinery.

The whole thing looked very odd, and I flagged down someone working on a piece of pipe nearby, "What happened there?" I pointed to the anomaly, letting Schwarza control the many mops and cloths now cleaning this place up.

"Ah, a few weird bitches busted in and tore up some machinery, hauled it out of here while blocking gunfire. Weird as hell, I don't really know why they wanted it." he said, "Boss said not to worry and to keep an eye out for them."

I grimaced, "What'd the take?"

"Well... this is a strip of machines that make and clean the steel, I think it was a boiler?" he shrugged, "I don't know how to make steel, I just know the fucking thing bubbled when we had it turned on and were working with it.

"A steel boiler?" I raised an eyebrow, amused.

"No like... water boiled at the bottom or some shit and the gas came up and carried stuff to the top."

I let out an 'ah', "That's the vapor cleanser. It draws out the nasty impurities that weaken the steel and carry them to the top, where they get scraped off. Very useful."

He shrugged, "I guess. None of this shit really works, we've been trying to get it up and running for a couple of months now."

I sighed, then 'conjured' up bricks with an altered Skoporis, who usually controlled obsidian, but my levels in Mana Sketch allowed me to redraw his pieces so he controlled ceramics. The nails and boards were pulled away, and I noticed the windows up high were now quite clean, "The wall's fixed, and I'll see about conjuring up a machine like that. We could get some marketing going in secret, pull in a bit of income." I smiled.

He smiled back, "You're really something, dude. For now, I'm gonna just get this pipe fitted, you go do what you were doing."

I nodded, "Alrighty, you keep up the good work.

 **By raising "Mopping" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Field Wiper"!**

 **You have unlocked the skill group "Adventure-work"!**

I raised an eyebrow, then looked through my skills. The tab was right where Housework would be, which confirmed that these 'arbitrary' skills did indeed prestige into something amazing.

 **By raising "Polishing" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Buff Proficiency"!**

Alright, it looked like the two groups would be 'Battle Support' and 'Party Support', seemed pretty reasonable to me.

I slowly continued towards the rear of the building, smiling as I cleaned the whole place from top to bottom, making my way to speak with Sierra.

 **By raising "Sweeping" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Squadron Breaker"!**

Niiiiice. I stepped into the office, smiling at the frustrated looking woman looking over a dirty, worn map, "Fucking... fuck... what is it?" she looked up, only to stop, "Ah, you're Jaune, right? Adam's human friend." she narrowed her eyes at me, her feathers ruffling a little.

I smiled, "The very same. Jaune Arc, hello again~." I held out a hand, delivering the standard Mistralian greeting as I hit her with Gamer's Sight.

 **Sierra Elise  
** **Title: Honoring fallen Temples with Blades  
** **Level: 74**

She shook my hand and cleared her throat, "Well, hello for the first time. I'm the leader of this establishment, we're working on how to get some of this stuff up and running."

I nodded, "I was informed on the way in here, and was notified that a vapor cleanser was stolen for... unknown reasons." I shrugged, "Any idea on that?"

She sighed, "No, just shouts of a boss demanding something big and out of the way. I mean, we can't exactly report it stolen, after all." she pinched the bridge of her nose, "It's all so confusing... what brings your here."

"I'm just here to see the base, we're in Rome at the moment and I felt it courteous to visit before we left." I internally cringed, apologizing to the entire Arc family, "Though, I guess this incident is really weird and curious. Who would want a vapor cleanser?"

"I dunno, they wanna clean their robots?" she shrugged, "No clue, not even really my problem, couldn't get the damn thing working, got some people who used to work in this place thankfully, so it could have become useful." she sighed, letting her shoulders sag, "I just hope nothing else gets stolen."

I gave her a sympathetic look, "I hope so as well. Anything else happen recently?"

She grunted, "Nothing really. A couple of small raids, twenty-ish percent less complaints about how shitty the food is, so I guess the cooks grew some brains... probably was good to assign permanent cooks, I guess."

I shook my head, "How are you even managing this whole operation?"

She hiccuped, and I realized that she was intoxicated. She reached under her desk, pulling up a dart, and throwing it at a board on the wall. On it, I saw a grid of dozens of names and pictures of faces, along with several similar boards stacked up on the floor. A quick count said that she had seven boards of 140 people, enough to keep track of about 980 people, "Oops, looks like Jeremy is on..." she squinted and stood up, walking over and pulling the dart off the board, looking at it, "Toilet duty... yep." she stuck it back in the board, then turned to me, "So... Jaune... how long before that concert of yours?"

I cleared my throat, "About five hours, why do you ask?"

She hummed, seeming to mull it over in her head, then turned around, fiddling with something... and then turned to me with her shirt open, revealing a lacy beige bra, "Wanna bang?"

I cleared my throat, containing my flash of disgust. Not at her body, she was admittedly attractive, though her figure had taken a toll from the stress of her job and probably more than a few skipped meals, putting her on the border between 'slender' and 'gaunt'.

If my girlfriend wasn't proof enough, then let me say outright that I preferred my women with meat on their bones.

"No thank you."

She let out a small sound, "Really? I'm clean~... not just healthy, but I also bathed this morning."

"Three reasons. 1) You're drunk, I don't want to take advantage of a woman like that, 2) I'm not in the mood for it, nor do I plan to be, or have any protection, and 3) I have a happy girlfriend and I do not plan on ever cheating on her."

She pouted, closing her shirt, "You look like you could use two girlfriends, hell, I'm pretty sure a guy like you would be able to run an all-female orgy in Paris, or abuse the laws in Pillarwash Bay. I've heard that they allow public sex, or at least that you can't be reported for it if you aren't blocking com... com-meh... com-mer-cial functionality."

"I don't need to know about some town-sized whorehouse, thank you very much. I just came here to get a little acquainted, not to put anything in anywhere or get geography lessons. If this is all that's on your mind, then I'll be taking my leave now. I could be advancing my conjuration skills to perhaps be able to create a new vapor cleanser."

She pouted again, then sighed, "I suppose... well, hopefully you're able to come back when I'm sober, Mister Arc." she went over to her desk and slumped down in her chair, huffing slightly.

I sighed, then walked out of the office, determined to help these people if their leader was too drunk to fully function. I jogged past a few people milling about and focused a little harder, getting an idea.

Getting a deeper clean, I internally combined Crocea Mors, Mystral, and Roimontagne, getting Blancoro, an elemental of 'physical cleaning'. It was a little hard to fit the pieces, but his physical form was sort of animated, skin of shining, extremely clean silvery steel, covered in rust in some places, with rings of sand gliding up and down his limbs, wiping away the rust as it passed. Of course, thankfully, he could do more than sandblast/grind metal down to a shiny bare surface, he could clean things with great efficiency.

I found myself in a makeshift laundry room after a little while, piles of dirty uniforms in large rolling hamper cart thingies, and sighed. Switching Mystral and Roimontagne out for Pluviteus and Juristimunja, creating Saniset, my 'chemical cleaning' elemental. Just a bit of suspended 'cleaning water' forming a floating wall, a wave of heat from Xibustral, and chains of telekinetic force, I had an invisible factory line of uniforms and other clothes getting cleaned by my laundry skills.

I was able to completely replace any machines with 'appropriate magical energy', and I was fairly sure that an elemental that literally had power over 'chemical cleaning' was probably the most appropriate magical energy there was.

Listening to a song on my scroll as I cleaned well over a thousand uniforms, I let the EXP roll in.

 **By raising "Laundry" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Armor Enhancement Proficiency"!**

I hummed, looking at the skill. It allowed me to more easily and effectively repair and enchant armor... too bad I didn't exactly have any real armor enchantment skills. I had stuff that could technically do it by proxy, but that didn't count. That was actually pretty much exactly like saying that Roimontagne was a sand elemental because he could theoretically lift and control sand.

Yes, but only by proxy, in reality it was both physically and magically 'too small and slipped through his fingers', so Mystral was necessary since she could hold it together.

Wait...

Holy fucking shit!

I think I just reminded myself about the possible insight into how my dual elementals operated.

As I'd said, Roimontagne's fingers were too large, and sand was too small, and it simply slipped through his grasp. Mystral's all-encompassing winds were able to hold it up for him so he could manipulate it.

On another combination, mud or clay, a similar situation occurred, Roimontagne cannot manipulate pure clay properly, it simply did not move like how he wanted it to, too flexible and nonrigid. Pluvi could manipulate the motions of the clay, and Roi could force the shape so that it had form and, as was his MO, strength.

Roimontagne could also not lift ore with the proper effectiveness needed for the kind of action we required. Not only did Crocea help lift the metal parts of it effectively, but with Roi lifting and controlling the stone portions, the two could efficiently manipulate the craggy and uneven composition of ore and create strong, durable formations out of it. However, a drawback was that their combined presence was too 'heavy' to create shapes more complex than simple melee weapons. While advancing from Basic to Lesser Elementals allowed them to clean up their designs a lot, it was still rough and simple. I suddenly had the amusing thought of their golem-like shape suddenly whipping out a flintlock rifle or powder cannon and blasting their foes' surprised faces off.

An amusing thought indeed.

The line grew fuzzy when it came to Roi and Xibu controlling lava, but I believed that Xibu's willpower gave a surface-grabbing blanket to support Roi's strength, allowing him to pick up the molten liquid and move it around, with the enhanced will, almost like brute-forcing it to work, rather than using precision like with water.

As for Roi and Jurist, the line grew a little fuzzier in some places, and a little clearer in others. Crystals, and sometimes plastic, but the latter was weird and didn't really count. I supposed that the change and refining of normal stone into crystals was something Roi wasn't able to do, though this time it wasn't that he was too big, but rather that his powers didn't allow such a change with any sort of ease. Jurist, however, was able to force the change with ease, so combining the two allowed the control of crystals. Plastic was a little different, but I think it had to do with the composition of plastic and a different application of Lightning to Earth.

This brief bout of thoughtfulness not only earned me a couple more levels in Magic Doodle, but also took me to the moment when I'd finished with all the laundry.

I also noticed a din of chatter, and turned the see many people staring at me and whispering among themselves. I picked out comments on how strange I was, and how cool I was, and one young woman said I was handsome.

I smiled at everyone, "This stuff is all freshly cleaned and warm, you should probably get into it, I'll make another round an clean up the new dirty stuff." I said as I teleported to where I sensed the kitchen was, reaching out with the glow of my aura and smelling the air with the senses granted by Biospiritual Integration.

I sighed, looking at the place. Schwarza brought the mops back into my inventory, and I brought them out and started cleaning everything, "This place is fucking filthy! You're lucky I'm here right now, or you'd end up making more mistakes. I'm here to help." I sighed, the floors becoming spotless within a couple of minutes, and then I went to the ovens, grimacing and fixing them up, first removing the trays of food that were about to be cooked, then spreading my aura throughout the building, upgrading the circuits and breakers, then upgrading the machines to catch up, just making everything better.

When I was done, the room was twice as bright, the ovens twice as good, the whole place was spotless from top to bottom, and now the food would be cooked much better, "I suggest adjusting to having faster ovens, You're welcome, friends." I gave a bow before teleporting away.

I found myself staring at the generators and capacitors, examining the internal structures, and reinforcing them while adjusting them to be better, grounding the machinery better, and sighing as I did so, "This place... like concretic dirt, almost. They're lucky I was able to come here and polish it all up... literally." I chuckled as I said the word in a funny voice, a half-grin-half-smirk on my lips, and I turned and looked at the whole building.

So drab and dull, like everyone there. I'd seen a thousand, literally a thousand names, titles, and levels, and not a single person above level 30 except a few captains, in fact over half of them were in the low teens, another forty-five percent were in the high teens, and barely five dozen people were above 20, and only because they were lucky and hadn't died on missions.

I suddenly realized something was off, and I think it had to do with how everyone was here.

Everyone.

Meaning nobody was out on a mission.

I flagged down a captain and questioned him on it, "Don't you know? By Adam's orders, passed to the general, all missions are suspended while you and the Schnee whore-" I nearly punched him for calling her that, "-are touring through Mistral."

I nodded, my face a mask of calmness, "I see. Thank you for that, then. Use the time to train, everyone looks so scrawny and weak and just... like you plucked them right off the streets and stuck them in a uniform, most of which are too big for the people wearing them." I idly crossed my arms, which were dense, beefy, and filled my shirt well.

The man sighed, "We have little training equipment."

I looked at him like he was stupid, then calmed when I realized he probably was, and looked around the room, then sighed, "Literally just jog and run, do aerobics, lift shit, just fucking _exercise_. Figure out a way for the men and women here to train up their strength, agility, dexterity, and endurance, and the White Fang as a whole will benefit. Right now, you're sort of the weakest link." I frowned at him, in a way that told him that I was sorry for having to tell him that conclusion.

He sighed, "I suppose. Alright then, I'll talk to the others and see what we can come up with. Thank you, I guess." he looked at me warily.

I smiled at him, "I have no intention of harming the White Fang or any of its people." truthfully, if things came down to it, I'd just kill them all. Gaster Blaster should be more than enough to do the trick.

He smiled, "Thank you, really. You've allowed us to relax a little, and think. Sierra... she's strong, but keeping track of everyone ends up with her running in circles like a headless horse."

I cringed slightly, "Not a pretty image. I'm going to head back before they question where I ran off to, okay?"

He nodded, "Yes. Please, continue doing your job, and fucking the Schnee over."

My illusory face gave a smile, "Like a two-lien whore on a coffee table." I said, and chuckled while internally being disgusted with myself.

He grinned and I walked away, notified of another level in Roleplaying.

I conjured up the illusion of a flash of light and slipped into I.D.

I let my emotions show by grinding the entire fucking complex into the ground, growling in rage as Roimontagne and I destroyed everything.

So stressful, so shitty, so... just BAD. I hated all of what was going on there. They'd literally drawn in hundreds of people based solely on 'Hey, life is shit, right? Fight for a better life!', which put so lightly the issues of the White Fang being a fucking _terrorist organization_. Sure, they were green recruits still wet behind all their ears, but that didn't change that they'd be twisted into doing some crazy terrible shit if I didn't intervene.

The argument was so weak, that these people had to be ridiculously desperate, and what did it say of their society when they were desperate enough to be swayed over in just ten fucking words!

Mistral might have been a massively spanning kingdom of culture, but I could see that that culture had bred a LOT of bacteria.

Just... fucking hell.

I wanted to be out of this region ASAP.

* * *

 _(that night, near the end of training, Jaune POV)_

I sighed, rubbing my face with both hands.

Things were... well. They were well. I just felt tired, was all. Yang was asleep at my side, Ruby lounging on my other side, Weiss resting with her back against my own, and I was just watching Ren and Nora sparring against Roimontagne, the two struggling slightly against his diamond-hard stone body. Ironic to my previous estimations, he actually had a lot more DEX than he did before, and a major part of that was probably the fact that he had legs and not an amorphous, sludge-like rocky mass connecting him to the ground.

I spoke up, breaking the precious silence that had reigned over the four of us, "Why do you three keep doing this?" I asked softly so as to not disturb Yang.

Ruby shrugged lightly, "You're comfy to lean on, despite being an iron wall."

Weiss snuggled slightly into me, "And you're very warm, but comfortably so. It feels very nice after training.

I nodded, "I see... well, regardless of that, I'm thinking of seeking out new Grimm to fight, gotta get new targets, AND levels." I sighed softly, humming as I thought over how best to go about it.

I should probably start here, actually. Once the others go to sleep, I'll do a bit of traveling, searching out for Grimm.

Cracking my neck, I called for the spar to end, dismissing Roimontagne and helping Ren and Nora up onto the tower, "Ren, I'm going to start adding more electrolytes to your diet, you shouldn't be having such little stamina."

Nora sighed, "Renny, you really do. I'm worried." she pouted at him, which made him sigh.

"I'll try, at least." he gave up before even making an attempt to resist, "So, rest?"

"You all rest now. I'm going to go find new Grimm to slay." I looked north, "I think the local tales tell of a fortress somewhere to the north, can't hurt to check it out." I brought us back into normal space, floating on telekinesis, then teleported us back to the suite, "I'll check it out, probably kill some new types of Grimm, see what's up with everything."

Ruby sighed, "I wish I wasn't as tired as I was, or I'd come with you." she yawned, "Welp, goodnight, then." she walked to her and Yang's room, closing the door softly behind her.

Nora and Ren gave me tired smiles, "It was great tonight, Jaune. Tomorrow, though, I'm totally gonna beat Roi-roi!" she pumped her fist, then yawned.

Ren just lifted his head, clearly already drifting off, and Nora helped him to their room.

Weiss looked up at me, "I don't know if I say this enough, but... thank you, Jaune. You've been an excellent help." she smiled sweetly, sparing a glance at Yang, who I held to my chest like one might do with a baby, and sighed, "However, I don't like how you let her get off the hook with only doing half the training time and then just napping for the rest of the time."

I sighed, knowing someone would bring that up sooner or later, "I'm not going easy on her, Weiss. I've been having her slowly filter points into her INT and WIS while training with her personally. She gets tuckered out from the spars and I let her rest and recover so she can adjust to the new INT and WIS. Even with all my healing, y'all need time to adjust with INT and WIS. You're all lucky I'm able to heal so well, or the sudden expansion in mental power could cause damage. The soul is strong, though, and Soulforge helps smooth over the bumps enough, it's... complicated, but just know that she's working as hard as all of you, just in different ways." I looked at Yang, bringing up her information.

Hard work indeed.

 **-/\\-**

 **Name: Yang Xiao Long  
** **Title: Hotter than the Sun in the middle of July  
** **Level: 62  
** **Class: Fiery Martial Artist  
** **Nickname: Sun Angel**

 **Hit Points: 27,000 -} 31,000  
** **Aura Points: 16,500 -} 19,900  
** **Stamina Points: 37,000 -} 44,000**

 **Strength: 84 -} 90 (+330%) = 387  
** **Dexterity: 60 -} 76 (+50%) = 114  
** **Vitality: 82 -} 90 (+125%) = 202.5  
** **Intelligence: 52 -} 56 -} 70 (+50%) = 105  
** **Wisdom: 50 -} 54 -} 70 (+50%) = 105  
** **Luck: 32  
** **Charisma: 84**

 **Stat Points: 60 -} 46 -} 30**

 **-/\\-**

I sighed as I recognized that her Aura was being finicky as well. I internally groaned with the resonance of a grand bell when I realized that I had to rethink my theory on why Ruby's aura was, at least from what had been observed, actively opposing the progression towards Aurora. New information changed the situation and made me have to alter my perception of the problem.

I looked at Weiss again, "I don't want any of you getting hurt, Yang especially."

She nodded, accepting that, "Well, I suppose it all makes sense, then. I should be getting to my room, busy day tomorrow." she waved as she walked away, "Goodnight, Jaune."

I waved back, "Goodnight, Weiss." I looked down at Yang's sleeping face, giving her a kiss on the forehead as I took her to her room. Ruby was already in the shower, so I was clear to enter.

I set her on her bed, smiling softly at her, gently prying her arms and legs off of me, brushing her hair out of her face. I planted a soft kiss on her lips, smiling at her, whispering sweet nothings to her as I caressed her cheek.

She was so beautiful, and cute, and just... perfect, "I love you, Yang. I'm going to go fight some Grimm, okay?" I smiled down at her, giving her one last kiss on the cheek.

She shifted slightly, but settled, and I stood up straight, turning to walk away, but I was stopped by a hand gripping the tail of my hoodie, and froze in place, "J-jaune~?" Yang asked somewhat groggily.

I internally cringed, realizing I probably stirred her too much, "Yang, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you u-"

"A-are you going to fight Grimm?" her question was innocent, but her words were uncharacteristically meek and timid.

They cut through my mood like a burning hot knife, "Yes... is something wrong?"

She took in a great, slow gasp of air, like a turtle reaching a crucial realization, and after several tense seconds, she spoke up, "I want to come with you." her words were distinctly sober of their previous sleepiness or weakness, though now she sounded like she was afraid of letting me go off alone.

I turned around and looked down at her, "Yang... are you worried I'll get hurt?"

She sat up, looking up at me, her beautiful purple eyes boring into my cyans, "Yes. Of course I am. I'm your girlfriend, and I know that worrying about me is kinda your thing..." she sighed and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, planting her still-booted feet on the floor, "... but... that doesn't mean that I don't worry about you as well. I know you can do a lot, you can do a ton of stuffs, in fact I'm pretty sure you can probably do anything if you just work at it a bunch, but... that doesn't mean I don't worry. I don't... I don't want you to go off and... and..." a sniffle broke her words.

I looked at her, and then it clicked, "Oh... oh Yang..." I braced myself as she surged up and hugged me tightly, so tightly I almost thought for a second that she was intentionally trying to crush the life out of my ribs, but my VIT prevented that, "Ssshhhhh... it's not like that. You know I'll be safe."

"I really, REALLY don't... I'm strong enough to fight, I want to go with you, and help you. Besides, I can't let Ruby keep leveling ahead of me, can I?" she smirked at me, crossing her arms under her breasts, all previous signs of tiredness burned away, "Come on, it'll be like a date."

I let out a small scoff of a laugh, "A murder-date?" giving a joking grin at her.

She grinned back, "A hunter date. I dunno, but I just imagine this is what hunter couples do, make dates out of training trips. Sounds like it, anyways."

I shrugged, "I guess. Honestly I'd like to take you on a midnight boat ride through the rivers of Venice, but I guess I can go be a badass with you... though, I would probably say you're a goodass." I couldn't help it, and pulled her into a hug while grabbing a handful of her ass, holding the soft flesh under my fingers, squeezing and feeling the strong muscle underneath, firm but just a bit squishy, fucking perfect.

She let out a soft, pleased sigh, "Geez, you know, I'd assume you'd be more about the front than the back, babe."

I broke the hug, holding her hands as we teleported to the top of the hotel, "Sun Angel, a little grope here or there is fine, but I'm sure I'd get in trouble if I was just staring at those perfect breasts of yours all day like I'd probably be fine doing." I flashed a confident grin at her.

She fixed me with a teasing look, "Probably? What, don't tell me you'd get bored."

Internally, I shrugged off my cares for a moment, and my lips ghosted across hers in a feather-light kiss, "No, rather the opposite, I'd get excited, and want to do much more than _look_ at them. It doesn't help that you've pretty much said it's okay. What man can resist the marvel of putting his hands on a pair of beautiful suns?"

I grinned as her face flushed bright red, having won this teasing battle, "I-i-i-i-i... sh-shouldn't we go find those Grimm to kill?"

I nodded, smiling as I kissed her on the forehead, "Yep, we should. I have an idea on where to start, too. Come on." I used a series of teleports and got us outside of the kingdom walls, going into I.D. and carrying her on my back as I made my way north by northeast.

Yang let out a cheer from the exhilaration of the massive levels of speed I was capable of. I supposed it WAS really incredible, seeing as how I was carrying fifty tons of condensed steel at nearly sonic speeds.

I noticed that my STR increased again, and hummed as I contemplated that.

The scale of the stats was a little weird, but my estimates were that at around 65, your limit becomes one ton lifted in your arms. I currently had 97 STR and was on the fast track to reaching over 100, but my limits? Well, I was weighed down considerably by 50 tons of weight, so if my scale worked linearly, then from 65 up to 97, a mere thirty-two points, each point increased my technical limit by about 1.5 tons, which definitely wasn't the proper scale. I did have to consider my weight lifted by my arms, which no doubt was probably a lot, but less than fifty tons. It was all a little confusing.

At least my stat skills had been leveling up fairly quickly, _Jaune W: Hey Sunny... you know how I have those stat skills? :W_

She paused in her cheering to nod, _Yang W: Yeah, I do. Why do you ask? :W_

 _Jaune W: Well, my STR skill is Incredible Strength... and its level is in the 90s now, wouldn't it be hilarious if the prestige was like... Hulk Strength? :W_

 _Yang W: Pfffffffffffffft~! Jaune SMASH! :W_

We shared a laugh as I brought us back into normal space, and we were fairly close to a strip of mountains. I ran about thirty feet out from it, slowly getting faster as another point came in for DEX, and still slowly pouring more mass into my armor.

I was thankful that I'd included headgear, when I suddenly caught a boulder with my face, shattering it into a million pieces. I saw several more boulders land randomly in front of us, some not on my path, some on it, and broke through all of them as I bled off momentum, looking up into the mountains.

There, I saw unnatural formations of stone, clearly manmade, as nature didn't make stone bricks. I saw many shapes of black and white up there, and let the glow of my Aurora shine forth, illuminating them as I took in their information.

 **Paganero Vanguard  
Title: Vile Knight protecting a Damned Kingdom  
Level: 90**

I realized where the boulders came from when the disturbingly human-shaped Grimm grabbed more from behind the edge of the ridge and prepared to throw them at me.

"I think we found a dungeon, babe." Roimontagne's power took the boulders and flung them back up at the vanguards, breaking up their line as I focused energy into my legs and Power Jumped up, with Featherfall, Telekinesis, and Mystral's influence helping me gain altitude. Once we were above the crest of the ridge, I summoned a group of Gaster Blasters and broke their line up even more, killing a couple less hefty ones that I focused my fire on.

We landed and broke apart, standing back to back. Yang got into her usual loose, ready combat stance, while I held Candidus Murus before me and Crocea Mors in my hand, glaring at the knight-like Grimm.

Their armor was a mix of white and bony, and pale gray and steel-like, as if they had been wearing platemail and it had melded onto their skin. They all drew weapons, mostly large swords, but a few had spears, all modified with wicked shapes and Grimm essence.

"I think... I think I know what happened here, but I'm not totally sure yet. Keep on your guard, they have high INT for Grimm, as well as pretty high STR and VIT... and have skills in wielding weapons, so be careful." I warned her as I laid on the buffs, waiting for the enemy to move.

Suddenly, two spear-wielders charged, one from either side, and we dove into action.

I charged forward, slapping one spear away with my sword, the other skidding past my shield and away from me, and a swift combo attack cut the two down, though with considerable effort. They have massive amounts of defense.

I stabbed the next spearman that charged, intent on running me through, and was surprised when a stream of black fluid spurted from his chest. I bit back a sound of surprise as I observed it.

 _ **Blightblood Tonic**_

"Yang! Keep your fire up! These bastards bleed... grimm zombie juice is the best way to put it!"

She let out a shriek, and I turned to see she'd already used her hidden blade to stab one of them through the chest, but her flaming Aura was already burning the vile liquid away, and she didn't get any status effects, so I was relieved.

And then I was run through with a spear. It jutted out through my neck, but I grabbed it and broke it in half, pulling it out of my body and turning to the offending bastard who did it, now unarmed. I roared in anger and cut him in half with several swift, consecutive chops, driving my sword through its helmeted face.

Grimacing, I activated Mana Shield just to prevent that from happening again, slowly cutting my way through the crowd, while Yang punched her way through.

 **Your level increased by two!**

 **Yang's level increased by three!**

I grunted as Yang and I synchronized our movements and threw the last of our enemies towards each other, watching the knights slow themselves slightly before crashing into each other, collapsing. They barely managed to get themselves to their feet before we met them, Yang with her fists and me with Argenta Percutio in hammer form, smashing them into the ground and cracking their armored skulls open. I paused with mine as Yang finished hers off.

I knelt down after dismembering the beast, holding up a hand for Yang to stop for the moment. The one I'd ended up with was one with a gray helmet, which I used Crocea to peel away, revealing a gaunt, grayish-black, sunken-in human face, like instead of rotting, it had been mummified. Its eyes were the burning red of a grimm, its white teeth gleaming in the moonlight as it groaned and tried to bite me.

I raised my hammer up and brought it down, smashing the thing's head into a thousand pieces, "You know my scarf? I got it from a Crypt Keeper Blightus, and that thing had poison that could turn a human into a Grimm. I think one of those got in here and turned this whole place into Grimm zombies..."

"Grimmbies..." Yang said softly, looking at the dissolving corpse with pity, "At least we ended their suffering?"

I nodded, smiling faintly, "Yes, we did. Come on, these were just the vanguards, we're lucky there weren't archers." I looked up onto the wall grabbed Yang around the waist and bringing her up onto it with another Power Jump.

Behind the warped crenelations, which were nearly chest-high, I saw two towers, one to either side, and small clusters of more Paganeros, though these labeled **Paganero Cityguard** , and having levels averaging in the high eighties, the lowest I could see being eighty-five. I gestured to our right, "Let's check the towers first. I don't think any of these things heard beyond the wall, so right now we have the element of surprise." I led the way, shield in front of my body as we made our way to the tower.

We descended rickety, decrepit stairs, the cold, dry air probably the only reason they hadn't decayed into nothing. Rods of stone came out underneath them and reinforced them, and the second I sensed danger and bloodlust, I pulled Yang to far side, away from the center of the room.

 **Paganero Archer**  
 **Title: Spraying forth the Corrupting Power**  
 **Level: 84**

Their bows were part of their arms, and they fired large, bony arrows at me, which deflected off my shield, finding no purchase.

I aimed the tip of Crocea Mors at them and fired off a Flareball, setting the place on fire, "We don't have much chance for staying secretive, baby girl, so let's just get our guns blazing!"

Yang nodded, grinning as she leaped over my body and crashed down to the flaming floor below, sending a shockwave through the floor that cracked, splintered, and shattered the burning wood, following it up by snapping several bows.

I jumped down and delivered a Power Stomp, sending a shockwave through the room that bounced off the walls. Together, Yang and I cleared the room in under a minute, and I snuffed the flames with Xiburichu, as I 'saw' outside the room.

Several armed Paganero Cityguards were right outside, to which I just laughed, "Sunny, get ready to follow me... GO!" I charged out of the room with Bulldoze active, the comet-like corona of aura burning bright around me as I knocked away two of the guards, knocked the one right in front of me back, hit him again, knocked him down, and trampled over him. I skid to a halt and summoned a couple of Gaster Blasters to soften a couple of them up, turning to another and slicing through its sword with my own, bashing it in the face with my shield, and cutting it in half with a followup.

Unfortunately, as Yang and I regrouped, we suddenly found ourselves launched into the air by a wave of force. I flipped in midair and examined what just did that, which was a **Paganero Castle Crusher** , a massive beast of a man holding what seemed to be the arm of a catapult, wielding it like a massive mace.

I grunted, and we touched down lightly right outside of the outer wall, "Well... at least they're diverse."

Yang groaned, "Okay, how're we gonna kill that thing?" she gestured to the wall, "It literally just threw us out of the dungeon thingy."

I tapped my chin, "Well... how about... Catherine Wheel?"

Her eyes turned red with a mix of rage and excitement, "Sounds like a fuckin' plan." she tapped her hip, then crouched slightly, "Come on, babe, let's get back in there!"

I nodded, "Alright... three... two... one... GO!" we launched up, splintering the ground under us as we sailed into the air.

The Castle Crusher saw us come in and made to swing his 'mace' again, only to find a Fireball flying at his face, surprisingly getting scooped out of the air as he swung, but left himself open to the dozen Flareballs that struck him, all exploding into lingering, burning flames.

Yang pulled out her new secret weapon. Her right hand flew to her left hip and she drew what appeared to just be a simple orangesteel dagger with a slightly longer-than-normal handle from its sheathe.

Then it mechashifted, the blade splitting in half as the hihirokane channeled her aura and projected a powerful streak of golden aura that formed into none other than Sunbeam Zweihander. She was spinning as well, turning into a wheel of flaming mannic metal death, decapitating the still-recovering Castle Crusher, right before I crashed into its chest and turned its core into powder.

 **Your level increased by two!**

 **Yang's level increased by two!**

We grinned viciously, Yang easily swinging around the ethereal zweihander even with such a small handle, since it didn't exactly have weight to it. I then noticed that it was wreathed in flames.

 **By raising her skill "Aura" to level 99, Yang has earned the skill "Aurora"!**

 **Yang has received the skill "Flammable Mana"!**

I quickly read the skill, and found it allowed her to add the element of Fire to most spells, and was slightly easier when they already had an element to them. Luckily, Sunbeam Zweihander was a metal-aligned spell.

I saw not only Paganero Cityguards approaching, but also more Archers, a couple more Castle Crushers, some normal Knights and Heavy-Knights, and even some Cavalry, riding on the backs of Cavaliscera Lugganuts, which I could tell were the third of the divergent evolutions of a Cavaliscera, these just having a lot more muscle and armor, as opposed to the wings of a Pegascorn or the horn of a Uniscus.

"So... the fallen Templars think they can take on the might of a Magical Knight and Fiery Berserker?" I grinned at them as they all stared, seeming to be wanting to wait for my move, "Well... alright, let's see who's stronger!" I charged forwards, slipping from bashing away a sword to kneecapping three of the corrupted warriors. A dozen Gaster Blasters came into being and scorched away thousands of HP from all in their range of attack, as well as killing the three I'd just downed, "Yang, hit the deck!" I summoned ten castings of Gaster Blasters and seared away at the hundreds of knights, thinning their ranks and softening them up, since their shtick was having ridiculously high defense.

I wasn't too worried at the moment, which is why I didn't go all-out. If I wanted to, I could easily summon fifty castings of Gaster Blasters and just destroy this entire fucking place, but that wasn't sportsmanlike.

Plus, I had a theory on what was holding back Sword Mastery's progress. There was a certain point where knowledge took you, but holding nothing but knowledge on the forms and execution thereof would take you so far. You had to experience the art, you had to truly understand the spirit of the art.

You had to embrace the spirit of the sword.

 **"Sword Mastery" level increased by 2!**

I grinned, realizing what I had to do now. I focused on both the feeling of the sword in my hand, and Yang's bars, seeing them whittle down as we tore our way through the enemies, with EXP and Lien pouring in like a waterfall.

Eventually, after running around 'wiping the field' up of stragglers, Yang and I met again, auroras burning hot around us and smoke billowing off our clothes from the dissolving Grimm guts.

I chuckled and planted a kiss on her forehead, "Wonderful work, baby girl." we smiled at each other.

She shrugged one shoulder, making a so-so gesture, "Hey, it was pretty easy after you burnt up a bunch of their HP. Did you see all the loot we got?"

I nodded, "Yeah, notifications came up and everything." I looked at the latest update to the cluster of them.

 **You have gained 80,115,000 Lien!**

 **You have gained the armor "Paganarma Grigio Chestplate"  
** **You have gained the armor "Paganarma Bianca Greaves"  
**

 **You have gained the weapon "Paganarma Ossa Longsword"  
** **You have gained the weapon "Paganarma Acciaio Longsword"**

 **You have obtained the grimm mask "Antepeit"  
You have obtained the grimm mask "Betrathox"**

 **You have earned the title "Army Killer"!  
** **You have earned the title "Army Slayer"!  
** **You have earned the title "Army** **Slaughterer"!**

 ***BUG FIX* You have earned the title "Grimm Hunter"!**

 **Your level increased by six!  
Yang's level increased by eleven!**

Those weren't the only items I'd gotten. We'd received well over a dozen copies of both the Grigio 'gray' and Bianca 'white' sets of armor, and the Ossa 'bone' and Acciaio 'steel' weapons. of course, to distinguish the two, the armors (also bone and steel) were named after color while the weapons were named after material.

I'd gotten so much Lien, even from just about a hundred and twenty enemies, thanks to having equipped my money-gaining titles. I sighed as I switched away from one of them, "Well, let's see about that keep, then." I pointed with Crocea the sword to the structure, "I think I have an idea on who the king is." I walked forward, staying in front of Yang with Candidus Murus out.

The second we were within thirty feet of the decrepit structure, lined with gargoyle-topped pillars, windows caked with dirt, and portcullis rusted over, the ground rumbled slightly, and the rusted gate exploded outwards, rusted bars of metal flying towards us, but deflected by Crocea Myst's influence, the two brought together in less than a second inside my soul, protecting us from harm.

I looked at the group that came out, six knights standing nine feet tall each, give or take a few inches, each clad in silvery-white armor that must have been at least an inch thick. There was little chance that it would comply with Crocea's cutting force.

 **Paganero Royalguard**  
 **Title: The Armor of the Vile King**  
 **Level: 93-95**

I sighed and put Crocea away, my hand lighting up as I swiped it across the space in front of me, Wizard Fists assisting the power of Flowing Mana, willing Excalibur into existence.

I cracked my neck, looking at the massive knights... who then revealed their halberds... "Okay, nope, fuck that." I called up all of my casting power and summoned as many Gaster Blasters as I could.

Let's see... fifty thousand AP used, divided by two thousand... twenty five castings, times a maximum of seventeen.

A grid of forty-two by ten of the familiar dragon-like skulls came into existence, their glowing, judgement-filled eyes staring down the mutated guardsmen.

And then a deafening cacophony of burning plasma and magic tore through the air, sending vibrations through our chests as the beasts' suits of armor were vaporized, leaving behind only scorched flesh.

I charged forward, taking one of them by surprise, but it still managed to swing its oversized halberd at me. Crocea the elemental slowed its advance, and Crocea the sword cut through the haft, Candidus Murus coming up to block the blow. Yang vaulted over my head and punched the thing in its ugly face, sending it falling to the ground. I lashed out with combos of Far Slayers, cutting through the others' weapons and leaving them completely unprotected but for their natural power and whatever skills they'd retained through the transformation.

I lunged forwards, driving my knee into one of their chests, my extreme weight sending the thing tumbling into the other two on its side, Excalibur carving a deep furrow through its dense, hard flesh. I swung it twice more, first decapitating the first royal guard, then cutting the legs off the next. The third threw a punch at me, but I blocked it with a shield bash, cutting its arm off at the elbow.

It let out a beastial roar of pain and retreated several steps, giving me space to finish the second Royal Guard.

Well, unfortunately that wasn't the case, it grabbed me in its big beefy fist and slammed me into the ground, pushing itself up as new legs grew in place of the old ones, still about 90% as massive as before. I broke free from its hold and saw its ally roar into the sky, a swirling mass of black and purple energy gathering around it, coming from the ground and getting absorbed in like a vacuum.

I cut the arms off the one in front of me while observing the changes taking place, which was the simple but terrible fact that its armor was restoring itself.

I looked over to Yang, who was dealing with a fist-clutching stalemate between her and the last Royal Guard, then watched as she broke off from one of the clutches, which allowed the guard to rear back a fist, but she reacted faster, bringing up Solar Flare (the dagger from before) and cutting its first arm off, causing it to stumble back as she jumped up and spun around, decapitating it.

Not willing to be outdone, both my elemental and my sword cut off the current Paganero's arms, fifty gaster blasters vaporizing off the armor and skin of the other one. I jumped into the air and sliced the beast's head in half, then chopped it off. I landed on its shoulders and lunged, flipping in midair as I drew my sword straight through the last royal guard's body, cutting it clean down the middle.

 **Your level increased by one!**

 **Yang's level increased by one!**

I turned to look at Yang, panting lightly and grinning, "I think that was the last line of defense."

She nodded, "Yeah I think so. Come on, I might kill the king first~." she dashed to the shattered portcullis, giggling giddily.

I sighed and ran after her, "Don't run in without looking where you're going!" I said as I chased after her.

We came into the massive room, seeing the empty throne at the end of the hall, dusty, cold, and alone. I hummed as I approached it, gesturing for Yang to stay back.

The whole room massive, at least a hundred and fifty feet wide, by two hundred and fifty long. The atmosphere was dark and dreary, even with my Aurora lighting the way. The darkness was thick, almost unnatural. I peered beyond the edge of my light and looked at the throne. I sensed the roof was sagging from centuries of abandonment, but...

Suddenly, the air shifted, and the floor shook as down slammed a gigantic spider. Yang and I rolled away as a cloud of dust flew into the air from the shockwave of its impact.

 **Arma Villis Gohma, Crypt Carver Blightus  
Title: The Weapon of the Vile False God of the Castle of the Damned  
Level: 102**

It gave a screeching, roaring hiss, six massive mandibles clacking together as four dozen eyes looked at me and all around its head. Its body was fifty feet wide and eighty feet long, covered with bone plates and a thick, tar-like substance that glued dozens of pieces of crushed steel armor and weapons to its legs and thorax. I dodged a stomping leg, trying to assess it. The biggest problem was that its least armor side was the underside, but attacking there would cause it to spill out hundreds of gallons of noxious toxins.

I warned Yang of the risks as she approached one of its ten massive legs, and I focused and buffed us both as we moved in to strike.

 **Combining the elements of Air, Lightning, and Metal into a new power and using it to enhance the body, you have created the skill "Resonating Strikes"!**

I felt my heartbeat thrum through my body for a few seconds before the power settled in fully, and I grinned as I jumped up into its maw, Excalibur slicing through its mandibles, and I grabbed one of its fangs, feeling barbs prick my skin as I flipped up onto its back.

Aurora already burned away the poison by the time I reached its thorax, using telekinesis to keep a foothold. I stabbed Excalibur through its plate armor, running down its back and cutting through its armor as I passed, sending pulses of shock force through its internals and bleeding away its HP.

The whole thing shuddered as Yang managed to cut off one of its legs. It kept its balanced, though, and I saw Yang come up beside me, punching at its back, "Nearly fucking drowned in the blood spray!" she shouted, sending powerfully resonating shockwaves through the thing's armor and into its back. Those that didn't penetrate its thick exoskeleton at least weakened its armor somewhat. We were whittling it down fairly easily.

*JUMP*

*CRASH*

You know what? Fuck optimism.

The keep collapsed as the beast fell back down, but whereas the roof came down, we went up. Sent flying high into the sky, I reduced the power of the wind and looked at Yang. Our eyes met, a quick whisper passing between us, and we nodded to each other, "Pour everything into one big attack. This thing is a huge fucking problem!"

"On it!" she focused, her eyes shifting to blue as a ball of fire formed in her hand, growing larger and larger, then compressing into her fist as we got closer, a tinge of blue coloring the bright yellow glow around her fist. Meanwhile, I focused my aura into both my body and Excalibur, the energy of Power Burst.

We struck down, sending the thing crashing into the ground, two of its legs breaking as Yang's punch rippled through the armor and sent out a massive mess of cracks that flames gushed out of.

 **Manipulating her Aura and the element of Fire, Yang has learned the skill "Blast Punch"!**

Meanwhile, I was jolted back up as I swung several times, sending powerful resonating shockwaves through its innards, probably rupturing an organ or cutting some artery apart, assuming it didn't just have an amorphous mass under its shell. I summoned several dozen Gaster Blasters, just for experimentation focusing on the energy they resonated with, the rhythm and power of it. It was a very powerful spell, which wasn't anything new, but it spoke to me for some reason, struck a chord somewhere deep in my being.

Yang and I jumped out of the way as its armor was scorched away, vaporized by hundreds of blasts in rapid succession, exposing its red insides. We fired off several spells directly into its innards, blowing out chunks of HP and setting the bastard on fire. I cracked my neck and slid down to one side while Yang slid down the other.

"Alright, let's see how you like THIS!" I conjured up Flash Axe, jumping up and swinging it across its underside, leaving a brief wave of energy that seared the wound open, followed by another pass, and another, and a fourth that opened a large hole in its chitinous exoskeleton, its putrid guts spilling out. I grabbed Yang and led her out through a small hole in the wall.

I panted lightly, grinning at her, "We did it, baby girl, we did it!"

Yang raised her fists to the sky, "WOOOOOHOOOOO~!"

Time seemed to slow as an explosion rang out behind us, the wall of the keep collapsing as the Crypt Carver burst through it, lunging at us and looking to gobble us up whole.

I stood my ground, focusing all of my strength into my fist and thousands of AP into a Power Strike.

*BOOOOOOM!*

Its flesh rippled and burst from the back of its neck, half its eyes exploding into great gouts of fluids. Yang retreated about thirty feet as the thing reeled, then fell to the ground, motionless.

I flexed my fingers, feeling the shattered bones instantly repairing. I grinned, "Okay, NOW we did it!"

Yang lunged back over, looking at the thing, then she dragged Solar Flare across its remaining eyes, slicing them open and heating the fluids to a sizzle, "Disgusting fat bastard." she spat at it, "Thank god this is done. So... is that it, then? End of dungeon?"

I held up a finger, waiting.

 **Your level increased by one!**

 **Yang's level increased by one!**

 **You have earned the title "Grimm Reaper"!**

I nodded, "Yup, end of dungeon. We're finished here." smiling, I hit Yang with Gamer's Sight, taking in the changes to both of us.

 **Yang has advanced in the story of her life, earning 13 LUK in the process!**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Name: Yang Xiao Long  
** **Title: Hotter than the Sun in the middle of July -} The Sun that Forever Chases the Night  
** **Level: 63 -} 80  
** **Class: Fiery Martial Artist  
** **Nickname: Sun Angel**

 **Hit Points: 33,000 -} 65,000  
** **Aura Points: 21,000 -} 40,000  
** **Stamina Points: 46,500 -} 90,000**

 **Strength: 90 (+430%) = 477  
** **Dexterity: 76 (+60%) = 121.6  
** **Vitality: 90 (+140%) = 216  
** **Intelligence: 70 (+70%) = 119  
** **Wisdom: 70 (+70%) = 119  
** **Luck: 32 -} 45  
** **Charisma: 84**

 **Stat Points: 30 -} 120**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Pure Golden Glory  
** **Level: 73 -} 77 -} 85  
** **Class: Magic Knight v2 / Tank v3  
** **Nickname: Knightlight**

 **HP: 65,000 -} 74,000  
** **AP: 215,000 -} 245,000  
** **SP: 88,000 -} 100,000**

 **Strength: 97 (+400%) (+140%) (+85%) (+220%) (+175%) = 1086.4  
** **Dexterity: 93 (+400%) (+140%) (+85%) = 674.25  
** **Vitality: 105 (+400%) (+140%) (+85%) (+220%) (+30%) (+100%) = 1128.75  
** **Intelligence: 170 (+5) (+400%) (+100%) = 1050  
** **Wisdom: 200 (+5) (+400%) (+100%) = 1230  
** **Luck: 116  
** **Charisma: 87 -} 89  
**

 **Stat Points: 85 -} 105 -} 145**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

I grinned, laughing at my new boost. Aurora was at level 98, meaning I just needed a bit more Max AP and maybe a bit more control. I wasn't going to spend anything just yet, but... it was certainly a happy moment for me.

Yang yawned slightly, smiling at me, "So... what now?"

I smiled at her, letting her climb onto my back, "Well... I've heard that a nighttime boat ride through the Venetian river-streets is awfully romantic. I figured we could do that." I teleported us back to the ground, taking off inside I.D. as I finally stopped accumulating mass to my armor, feeling it rapidly start fading away in a soft purple glow.

Yang sighed softly, "Heh, thank you for getting rid of this thing. Hugs were really hard to enjoy with it." she smiled at me, leaning her head forward and kissing my cheek.

I leaned my head back a little and kissed her lips before she could move them away, smiling at her, "Hey, wanna know something really nice?" I asked her, silencing the screams of the wind with a focus on Mystral.

"Hm? What's that?" she asked, expression curious.

I chuckled a little, "I love you."

Her cheeks pinkened a little, and her smile widened, "Wanna know something even nicer?"

I hummed, already knowing where this was going, "What is it, Sun Angel?"

She giggled a little, "I love you too."

We shared a soft, lighthearted laugh, "Damn, ain't I a lucky bastard?"

We crossed the sound barrier, cementing a peaceful silence that fell between us.

* * *

 _(about half an hour later, Yang POV)_

I sighed softly, smiling at Jaune as we sat in a boat slowly traveling down the river streets of Venice, a soft song being sung by our guide.

I rested against his side, our usual outfits swapped for something more casual. For Jaune, a blue button-up that he filled out perfectly, a pair of black jeans, and leather boots. The smell of sweat and dust, with a hint of magic, gave him the full image of a hard-working huntsman who was taking some time to relax.

I myself was wearing an orange tank top and brown half-jacket, along with black shorts and white sneakers. I don't know what image I gave Jaune, but it had to be a good one, because he had his arm firmly, almost protectively wrapped around me, a smile on his lips as he hummed along to the soft song, rubbing my side gently, _Jaune W: This is even better than I imagined. Heh... another of those moments, and a really fuckin' good one at that. :W_

 _Yang W: Hehe, yeah~. You look so manly and strong, and I like how this shirt shows off your muscles. Sun Angel liiike~. :W_ I traced a finger over his abs.

 _Jaune W: Heh, you look like a happy-go-lucky girl who loves to have fun, and loves hugs too. :W_ he kissed the top of my head and gave me a slight squeeze, smiling as he rested the side of his head atop mine.

I smiled, sighing peacefully, _Yang W: Well, I AM having fun, even if it's the kind of fun that makes you so relaxed you feel like you could fall asleep. I wish I didn't have to sleep, so I could enjoy this moment forever. :W_

 _Jaune W: I wish I could dilate time better, so I could stretch these minutes out into days. :W_

 _Yang W: Heh, yeah, I could see you doing that, and probably groping me too. :W_

I suddenly felt his fingers brush against the side of my left breast, and my breath hitched slightly, _Jaune W: Maybe, maybe, but not without your consent first, of course. :W_

Teehee, he was so sweet and caring, it melted my heart.

I was thankful for finding him, or even just a guy like him. A perfect balance of traits that left him standing on top of a mountain when it came to how high his potential for being an amazing boyfriend was. Loyal, brave, confident, kind, intelligent, friendly, sweet, loving, affectionate... his status as a boyfriend was built on top of the quality of his friendship. Some women only settled for most of a package, or half a package, or a mere fraction, but not me. I couldn't see myself accepting anything less than the full, top-quality package.

I had very high standards, after all.

And as I felt Jaune hug and cuddle me close, his arm wrapped around me protectively, his eyes openly admiring every part of me, I knew... I knew he met them.

He met them all.

He raised he hand slightly, probably checking some game thing. I couldn't see what it was, but he was doing something with it.

Suddenly, his face fell and his eyes went wide. His arm tightened around me a little, and my concern didn't make it past my lips. I was concerned, yes, but it seemed like he could handle whatever it was.

He was smart like that.

* * *

 _(meanwhile, Jaune POV)_

I'm a fucking idiot.

 **Stat Points: 145 -} 142 -} 130**

 **DEX: 93 -} 96  
CHA: 89 -} 101**

 **By raising CHA above 100, you have earned the skill "Leader of the Hunt"!**

 **By raising CHA above 100, you have earned the skill "Leader of the Kingdom"!**

 **By raising CHA above 100, you have earned the skill "Leader of the Harem"!**

 **Raising your CHA to incredible levels has unlocked the class "Charmer v3"!**

 **Raising your VIT and CHA to incredible levels and gaining experience with women has unlocked the class "Stud v3"!**

 **"Leading Edge Cognition" level increased by 1!**

I stared at the windows, sensing Yang's growing concern as my grip tightened around her slightly, but I relaxed my visage and closed the windows, sighing softly, _Jaune W: Heh, was just surprised by something, don't worry about it, baby girl. :W_

 _Yang W: Oh... if you say so. You'd tell me if something was wrong, right? :W_

 _Jaune W: Without a doubt. :W_

That lie was like a knife in my chest.

I'd just wanted to see what my CHA 100 skills would be, and it happened to be enough points that not only was a little splurging not going to ruin me, I had enough points to push DEX high enough that my bonuses made it a whole number. Still... this wasn't what I was expecting.

I internally sighed and discretely checked the skills out of sight.

 **-/\\-**

 **Leader of the Hunt (Passive) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00%** **(achieved by raising CHA above 100)** **  
** **A passive aura of charisma and inspiration that compels others to follow you in the realm of hunting. You can sway them more easily with your words and actions, making them support you as their teammate and leader.**

 **Maximum Team Members: 3  
** **Team Members gain 50% Inspiration bonus  
** **Team Members gain additional 50% of bonuses from Leadership  
** **100% increased Charisma when dealing with persons of Hunter persuasion**

 **-/\\-**

 **Leader of the Kingdom (Passive) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00%** **(achieved by raising CHA above 100)** **  
** **A passive aura of charisma and trustworthiness that compels others to follow you in the realm of politics. You can sway them more easily with your words and actions, making them support you as their leader.**

 **Maximum Citizen Followers: 200  
** **Citizen Followers gain 50% Patriotism bonus  
** **Citizen Followers gain additional 50% of bonuses from Leadership  
** **100% increased Charisma when dealing with persons of political faith**

 **-/\\-**

 **Leader of the Harem (Passive) Level: 1, Exp: 0.00% (achieved by raising CHA above 100)  
** **An passive aura of charisma and love that compels others to follow you in the realm of romance. You can sway them more easily with your words and actions, making them support you as their mate.**

 **Maximum Romantic Partners: 2  
** **Romantic Partners gain 50% Friendship bonus  
** **Romantic Partners gain additional 50% of bonuses from Leadership  
** **100% increased Charisma when dealing with persons of romantic interests**

 **-/\\-**

I sighed. Okay, it wasn't really as bad as I thought, at least the first two made sense. The Hunt made sense because I wished to lead the others as a team of Hunters. The Kingdom made sense too, since I'd be taking in hundreds of people to be a part of Celeste.

However, the harem... I hadn't actually meant it that one time I'd said it. I didn't want another romantic partner, Yang was enough. She had a monopoly on my heart.

I didn't want this skill's passive power to ruin my friendships because it made the girls become attracted to me.

Sighing again, I snuggled Yang a little, kissing the top of her head, _Jaune W: Hehe, this is just... perfect, right here. :W_ I waited several seconds for a response, but got none, _W: Sunny? Something wrong? :W_

I looked down at her, only to find her quietly, peacefully snoozing against my side.

I smiled at her, "Heh... so fucking adorable sometimes." I gently kissed her forehead, letting her rest against my side.

I wasn't in a hurry to tell the boatman to stop, and in fact gave him ten grand and the instructions to take us around some more, and end back in front of the hotel.

I wanted this peaceful moment to last as long as possible.

* * *

 **welp, that's the chapter!**

 **I decided to cut it off there because I felt like it was getting too long. I've already cut out three final scene bits and put them in the next chapter, and I'll also probably go through and trim it up some more. I'm actually looking for less length now, not more. Who'da thunkit?**

 **Hopefully this chapter doesn't end up being too long with the omake on the end.**

 **Soooo... yeah, a lot happened and yet not a whole lot really happened. Sadly Jaune was not able to spend time with his family, but had to make time for the Mistral WF, did some reflection, went on an excursion, fought some big tough knight dudes, and in the background, Nora and Ren got their elementals.**

 **Next chapter I'll touch on that, see about getting more time passed, and the moment no doubt many of you have been waiting for... the champion shows up.**

 **Yaaaaaaaaaaay~!**

 **Alright, that's really all I have to say for now. I honestly can't think of anything else. Here's the omake.**

* * *

 _Omake: I'm not a comic, I'm more of a removal_

* * *

 _(Near the end of the Vytal Festival Disaster, Jaune POV)_

 **Jaune Arc**  
 **Title: The Cyan Judge**  
 **Level: 108**

I closed my profile and sighed and tsked at Cinder Fall, causing her to flinch in surprise, "How disappointing. You're awful determined to kill her, aren't you?"

 **Cinder Fall**  
 **Title: The False Fall Maiden**  
 **Level: ?**

The she-devil lowered her bow, then spun around lightning-quick and fired the arrow at me instead, the projectile breaking the sound barrier as it flew at me.

I smirked and side-stepped the arrow, grabbing it out of the air, causing her to gasp in surprise. I looked at the reinforced glass arrow for only a brief moment, my face a mask of unamused indifference. I stowed it in my hoodie and returned my hand to my pocket, "Hehe... you've been really busy, haven't you? What with your machinations of fear and tyranny at the festival." my grin only angered her, my laugh making her seethe, "I don't know if you knew to wait until I wasn't watching, or it was just dumb luck, but your plan on breaking Pyrrha with Penny's death backfired. She was easily restored to operational condition."

Cinder grit her teeth, "You're quite the pest. First you get Adam killed, and now you sabotage my beautiful plans." her grip on her bow tightened, and she took a step towards me, breaking the weapon back into two swords, "You little rat, I'm going to gut you like a fi-"

I raised a finger, "Ah ah ahhh~." I pointed to the ground, were there was a white line clearly drawn, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

She paused, looking down at it, then back up at me, sighing and glaring at me, "So, is this the part where you deliver your heroic exposition?"

I shrugged, "Never been too much into that. I'm not really much of a hero, looking back on everything." I took a moment to gaze at the emerald torches illuminating the hallway, a dark and grim mockery of the scene that had played in my head the moment I realized what was happening, "I'm more of a judge, really." I grinned lazily at her, sighing.

Her mouth creased into a flat line, clearly unamused, but willing to endure my explanation.

"Now, you see, there are lines in life, lines one should never cross, and one of those lines is submitting oneself to being a part of the execution of an ordering of genocide." I gave a morose grin and chuckle, "You know, before you pulled your stunts, it was a peaceful, beautiful night outside, still is in some parts." I looked at her, "Do you really want to cross that line? I'll let you off with a life sentence if you surrender now..." I paused, then chuckled again, "Actually... I have a question for you."

Her eyes burned, "Go on... the longer you stall, the more lives are lost while you carelessly exposit these silly statements."

I smirked, "That's where you're wrong, you evil whore, even as we speak, six warriors of incredible magical power are killing off your Grimm army in droves." I took pleasure in her impotent growl of anger, "Now then... your answer to this question will determine what I do with you..." I took in a slow breath, then let it out, "Do you think even the worst people can change?" I looked at her meaningfully, "That anyone can be a good person, if they just tried?"

Her answer was as flat as a sheet of paper, "No."

I nodded, clicking my tongue, "Tch, I figured. Well... I got a better question..." I cast an illusion of a text box appearing, my face with a firm, evil grin on it, my right eye glowing, "Do you wanna have a bad time?" she looked taken aback, and I continued, "Because... if you take another step forward... you are NOT gonna like what happens next."

She scoffed, then took a single small step forwards... and immediately found herself frozen on the spot, held in place by my telekinesis.

I gave a long, low sigh, "Well... sorry, Amber, but I DID make a promise... I hope you don't hold it against me."

 **By raising "Illusion Dimension" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Pocket Dimension"**

 **Dimensional Shift (Active)  
** **Allows you to impose a small dimensional barrier in real space, inside which the world is yours to command**

The world shifted, a black translucent barrier forming around us, expanding to encompass the entire hall, before turning solid black, the only things visible being the pillars, torches, and Amber's machine just barely visible behind the barrier, out of reach.

Suddenly, the stone above us turned invisible, allowing us to see the night sky, "Heh... just look at it." I grinned again, closing my eyes, "It's a beautiful night outside... grimm are dying, explosions are ringing, all in the defense of Vale..." I raised my hands, opening my glowing, burning eye, "On nights like these... witches like you..."

The world went dark, my face shadowed by my bangs as my eyes closed, and then I opened them, revealing my flaming cyan right eye.

 **You are filled with Patience!**

 **Status: Filled with Patience- DEX boosted by massive levels, overcharging spells becomes much easier, spells may be prepared for casting much easier. Actions must be taken sparingly.**

"Should be burning in hell!" points of bright brownish-red light formed in the air, which Cinder barely saw before dodging out of the way of a pillar of bone.

 **Manipulation of elemental energies in conjunction with existing spells has created the spell "Bone Stalagmite"!**

 **By raising "Bone Stalagmite" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Bone Stalagmite Field"!**

 **By raising "Bone Stalagmite Field" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Bonestrike Cavern"!**

I grinned, over a dozen points forming in the air, which Cinder barely dodged, getting nicked and glanced by the bones sprouting from the ground. Dozens more formed, causing her to get thrown around as they slammed into her, the pillars easily rising about eight feet into the air.

She was forced to weave past not only pillars shooting up from the ground, but down from the 'ceiling', their size extending to a maximum of thirty full feet, stretching stretching nearly the whole height of the room, enough so that Cinder had to duck or get brained by them.

She wove between the pillars in her fervent, angry charge towards me, snarling with hatred as she got closer, swinging her sword...

And missing by a few feet, "What? Just because I'm 6'6 and weight nearly 400 pounds doesn't mean I can't dodge. Good thing is it DOES mean that I can punch like a motherfucker." her speed was greatly slowed by Blade Mode as well, and I landed a solid left hook on her cheek, grinning broadly. An advantage I had over Sans was that I had thick, tough, elastic, protective muscle and skin tissues protecting my bones, giving me a hell of a punch.

Cinder flew across the room, but her flames burned off her momentum and gave her a chance to spin into a land and anchor herself with her boots, which she annoyingly had traded out over her brittle glass shoes that would shred her feet to ribbons. She charged at me again and was smacked aside by a massive burst of telekinetic force, sent flying into a trio of bone stalagmites that burst from the ground, slammed into her back, ass, and legs, and was sent into the ceiling, only to be slammed down by a trio of bone stalactites.

I smirked when a realization came to mind, "Hah! Even if you escape with your life, Cinder, you can undo the fact that I just 'BONED' your ass!" I laughed at her, surrounding her in a cage of bone pillars.

She growled in anger, face reddening slightly with indignation, her swords cutting through her prison, only for Gaster Blaster to come up and burn away a chunk of her Aura. She charged me again, this time zigzagging as I forced her along a certain path, "You know... my theories were correct, not that it was hard to prove." I dodged another swing, "You were evil from the start of things, probably brought up into your evil view of the world from birth." I grinned, slipping past her sword strikes, grabbing her by the neck, and slamming her into the ground, "Too bad you couldn't quite pin down what was happening on the other side of the board. Mysterious bursts of extreme hunter-esque activity stopping and starting, but with none of the titans able to be pinned to the acts. It was like some unknown force was slaughtering the grimm like sheep... especially the sheep grimm." I chuckled, backing up from her slash.

Unfortunately for me, a sword is much longer than a knife, so the glass blade cut a path through my reinforced skin with surprising ease. I grimaced, but the wound closed in only a second and I grabbed Cinder with telekinesis, then threw her against a bone stalagmite, three more converging on her and slamming into her, until she was suddenly propelled upwards, gut-punched by a stalactite. Well over a dozen Gaster Blasters came at her, blasting her like crazy, but her strong Aura absorbed all of the damage.

I wiped a hand across my shirt, mending it with Shining Armor, "You know what the rate and frequency of these episodes indicate?" I grinned widely, almost insanely, "An end." my tone was cold and ruthless, "An end to the living hell of a world filled with the Grimm."

I dodged another sword strike, blowing her away with telekinesis, hitting her with another bone stalagmite. She seemed to have gotten serious, though, because she broke the pillar with her raw strength and rolled away, flipping to her feet.

She stood there, staring at me, her eyes glancing to the side as she turned her head, "You're nothing but a massive nuisance."

I sneered at her, "You're nothing a bitch barking up the _wrong fucking tree_." suddenly a tree sprouted under her, then caught fire, singing her dress and hair briefly before she blew the flames away, dismissing the ashes and turning her blades towards me.

However, instead of charging me again, she turned her head back towards Amber, eyes narrowing. Suddenly, she spun around and started running towards her.

I grabbed her with telekinesis, but she pushed forward, slowed down gradually. I upped the power and she struggled to continue.

She raised her swords and combined them into a bow, struggling to move as I ran towards her, focusing on stopping her and her arrow.

But... when her arrow fired and I tried to grab it, it effortlessly slipped through my grasp, in fact it flew through the barrier, through the glass casing, and into Amber's chest.

She awoke with a start, gasping in pain as brown light shone from her chest, radiating outwards. She looked at Cinder and coughed, eyes wide with recognition and fear.

Even as the Fall Maiden's power flew into Cinder's chest, all I could think was 'How? How did she get that arrow past my telekinesis?'

 **Cinder Fall**  
 **Title: The False Fall Maiden -} The Maiden of Fall's Harvest**  
 **Level: ?**

I pulled out the one I'd stolen, and went wide-eyed when it was revealed that they had small runes engraved on them, enchanting them to ignore aura pretty much completely... I stuffed it into my inventory, face grim as I saw Cinder begin to float in the air, orange energy glowing and swirling around her. I roared in anger and charged at her, but a burst of light blew me away and caused my shirt to disintegrate. It regenerated rapidly as I looked at her with hatred in my eyes.

 **You have lost "Patience"!**

She smirked at me, then gave a great bellowing laugh, "You will wither and die like all heroes before you!" flames flew from her hands in a torrent, blasting me as I forced my soul to resist the attack.

Xiburichu was too far away, I couldn't recall him regardless, we were trapped within this barrier, and though the ties that bound my elementals and I all as one were able to penetrate this barrier, I knew for a fact that they couldn't return to me once on the other side.

The thing was, I couldn't drop the barrier either. If I gave her even a single second for a chance to escape, she would be able to push back my attempts to re-trap her with the powers she now held.

Heh... conceptual powers were such bullshit... but... they went both ways, as I focused on what truly mattered.

This was not a mere battle for the safety of Vale, nor was this fight even about Vale at all, when it boiled down to it. Buildings could be rebuilt, culture regrown, so long as souls still stood strong, even in the ashes of their beaten and broken civilization, they were rise like phoenixes.

But I had to give them that chance. I had to make Cinder answer for her crimes against humanity.

I had to enact the noblest form of revenge.

 **You are filled with JUSTICE!**

 **Status: Justice for the Wicked- Karmic armor, Karmic poison, ranged attacks massively empowered, "Heroic" skills massively empowered. Good and evil must clash for this power to work.**

The cyan flames on my right eye died out, and my left eye suddenly turned bright gold, bright yellow flames pouring from it.

 **Title: The Cyan Judge - The Golden Jury**

"It's your fault... the collapse of this kingdom is your fault!" I shouted at her, pulling an item from my inventory that struck horror into my heart. On the outside, it was a simple bag, one that I tied to my waist as Aurora flared up, and my own internal connection to fire protected me from Cinder's flames.

She caught on after the fourth fireball didn't affect me, but she'd given me time to draw my weapons.

Crocea Mors began glowing brightly with new magics, and Candidus Murus mechashifted more than it ever had before.

 **The combination of internal soul connections to physical objects, and external connections formed through The Game's recollection of history, has created the skill "Calibur Mors"!**

The shield first fanned out, showing the golden vine that wrapped around the double crescents, growing six leaves each colored with a part of the rainbow. Then, it compressed slightly on the side with the leaves, the other side flipped around and morphing into a rifle stock, the hole where the sword entered flattening and widened a bit. The final product looked like a sleek, if somewhat large rifle with no visible area where the bullets fed in.

That was okay, because it didn't fire bullets like a normal gun.

 **By raising "Aura Projection" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Aura Condensation"!**

I grinned grimly at her, "I understand how you feel, the dread that sets in when you realize that the one day that mattered, the day where all you've worked towards should come to fruition... is suddenly ripped from your grasp and torn to pieces before your very eyes." the energy of Gaster Blaster gathered in the air, compressed around the barrel of the rifle, "I understand it very well..." my tone turned cold as ice.

A rainbow-colored beam of light flew from the end of Candidus Caelum, the White Sky, and broke on the shield surrounding her, weakening as it pushed to get through. I grimaced, but noticed that her Aura was down by a considerable amount.

The only problem was that my own Aura was slowly whittling down, the aura of withering that Cinder exuded would probably have turned the stone floor to dust if given time.

I didn't give her that time. I charged at her, power flowing through Calibur Mors as I jumped up, meeting her swords with my own, glass cracking briefly as we clashed. I flew on a wave of telekinesis and met her again and again, not giving up and putting her on the defensive, pushing past her shield, my aura protecting Crocea's physical form.

I pulled back slightly, forcing more power into my sword, and swung with all my might. She only smirked, as I had given up the brief chance I had because of a falter in her forcefield, but I only snarled.

The shield flashed, pulsed, warped, and finally shattered like glass, causing her to gasp and try to block my sword. Her glass blade came up, and while Calibur Mors bounced off of her parry, it still caused her blade to shatter.

Before she could react, I came in with the rifle again and launched another condensed Gaster Blaster at it, vaporizing the remains of the weapon and leaving her with only one sword...

...which she split my face open with.

I was launched backwards by the force of the strike as a surge of pain flooded through my head. I recovered in a second, but it only took a second for her to cross the distance and stab me through the chest, stopping my heart briefly as she shot towards the edge of the barrier, trying to force her way out.

What she didn't count on was the fact that I didn't need my heart to beat to live.

So it came as a surprise when I grabbed her by the back of the head, and cast a spell I'd been saving in case things went wrong like this.

 **Altering pre-existing spells with new elemental frequencies has creating the skill "Sword Stalagmite"!**

 **By raising "Sword Stalagmite" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Field of Blades"!**

A perimeter of massive swords formed around the room, and I began to run along them, forcing Cinder's face to clip along them, "Suffer, bitch! Suffer for your crimes!" we turned the corner as she managed to start trying to pry my arm off of her head, but my many powerful STR buffs made her efforts worthless. Still, though, I could feel her breaking them down, a withering death slowing coming to those frequencies of power as they coursed through me.

When we reached the front of the room again, she let out a snarl and black energy pulsated off of her, hitting me as her efforts finally caused me to lose my grip.

She pulled herself to her feet, nose broken and bleeding, a small chunk of cheek flesh split from her face, and her sword clenched tightly in her grasp, "You seem to be a fan of exposition, so tell me... why? Why did you target me specifically, out of all those attacking Vale, how did you know that I was the one important enough to follow?"

My left eye blazed brighter gold, "Because I know what you did last summer... what you did has haunted me for the past 324 days, 6 hours, 41 minutes, and now 17 seconds." I roared in anger as I rapid-fire blasted her with spells from Candidus Caelum, until I actually found the weapon melting in my hands from the sheer amount of heat and energy running through it. I unleashed a massive combo of Far Strikes and Far Slayers, putting her speed to the test as she barely blocked most of them, several getting through and cutting her dress in several places, "And my heart can't afford to stave off how much I care about it any longer!"

And then I nearly lost my mind as I threw the sack at her, watching as a burst of flames flew from her hand, turning the bag to ashes in a second.

What she did not expect were its contents... well, one single content, which continued on its path and struck her in the face, bouncing off and hitting the ground with a wet, morbid crack.

It was with a heavy heart that I spared a glance at the thing laying on the floor, its very existence mocking me, my failures, and everything I've ever stood for.

The eyes were still wide with horror and fear, seemed to stare back at me, her open mouth silently screaming for my help, screaming in agony as Cinder's blade unjustly separated her head from her neck.

All I could think of for three full seconds was how it was my fault. It was my fault she was brought into this. She wasn't prepared for the responsibility, not really, she wasn't strong enough.

It was my fault.

It was all my fault...

"M-Marbel..." I muttered under my breath as sadness overwhelmed me.

Her dead eyes only stared back at me, lips unmoving. She didn't need words.

She blamed me, I knew it.

I failed her.

It was all my fault.

 **The authority of Justice has slipped from your grasp!**

I felt my HP take a sharp drop as karma breathed down my neck, whispering spiteful words into my ears, trapping my heart in a cold iron grasp.

Cinder focused and fired a ray of pure disintegrating power at the edge of the barrier, breaking through of the walls of my Pocket Dimension and escaping, flying up the elevator shaft on twin jets of flames.

I stood up. I couldn't let her escape, I couldn't! I cast one last look to Marbel's disembodied head, then stepped past it, "I'll make this right, Marbel, I will."

I flew up the elevator shaft on a trail of wind, following Cinder as she raced up to the top of the tower. When I got there, only seconds after she did, she spun to face me, throwing a searing ball of flames, which I deflected to the side with Crocea Mors, the toxic smoke not even affecting me.

She growled in anger, both eyes blazing with bright orange flames, "You should have died! I drove my sword through your heart!"

I sneered at her, "You hit the crack that formed when it broke long ago, you wicked bitch, and now... now?" I chuckled as I reformed the dimensional barrier, my eye still glowing gold.

Cinder launched a stream of flames at me, but Gaster Blaster broke the stream and took another chunk of her HP away. When the smoke cleared, she found me mere inches from her face, my grin growing wild and vicious, my eyes wide, as I uttered six words that sealed her fate.

"You're gonna have a bad time."

 **Pushing away all other thoughts...**

Our swords clashed as we entered a nearly supersonic stalemate and parried and blocked blows.

 **...focusing solely on your ultimate task in this moment...**

I stabbed Cinder with Crocea Mors, but her flames simply began to melt the sword. I pulled it back in shock, looking at the now half-intact blade.

 **...and dedicating every fiber of your being to the completion of your goals...**

I roared in anger, and both of my eyes began to blaze with a brilliant shade of red.

The entire pocket dimension turned pitch black, leaving us in a void of darkness even as we were both completely illuminated.

 **...has blessed you with the power of the greatest of the seven core characteristics of humanity!**

The power flooded my body, and I felt my body almost threatening to burst at the seams with raw _energy_.

 **YOU**

 **ARE**

 **FILLED  
**

 **WITH**

 **D.E.T.E.R.M.I.N.A.T.I.O.N.!**

 **Status: Determination to Triumph- Every part of your being is massively empowered. Some attacks may be empowered with "Absolution Damage". You must stay determined!**

 **Title: The Golden Jury -} The Crimson Executioner**

I roared with anger as, in an instant, I created a new spell dedicated to this power. A tendril of bright red energy shot up from the ground, spearing Cinder through the heart, but leaving in only a moment.

It didn't seem to have any visible effects. However, I wasn't even CLOSE to finished.

I decided to match Cinder's determination to perform a genocide with a yet greater determination to prevent one.

However, Calibur Mors had failed me, so I brought out a weapon that made me smile.

 **By raising "Gleaming Dagger" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Assassin's Knife"**

 **By raising "Assassin's Knife" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Carnwennan"!**

 **By raising "Gaster Blaster" to level 99, you have earned the skill "Master Gaster Blaster"!**

The pure white dagger shone bright, and I felt a shroud of smoky shadows surround me as darkness was forced out to make room for pure light. The smoke clung to my body, making what parts of my body they touched feel lighter, "Welcome to my special hell."

And just for special effect, I used the skill Elemental Aurora to change the element of my Aurora to Music, the glow exiting the visible light spectrum and playing the song Megalovania on full blast.

Cinder's stance faltered briefly as fear struck her, my words and the new song affecting her. She corrected a moment later, but I'd already crossed the space between us.

I slashed her across the chest with the now bright red blade, filled with the power of my determination, and it didn't seem to do anything but make her gasp. She slashed at me, but I dodged just barely, landing two more slashes before she kicked me in the chest, sending me flying away.

I corrected my course mid-air and landed on the massive draconic skull of my Master Gaster Blaster, surprised by the size of it. A deep red beam of energy cut through the air, hitting Cinder head-on as she attempted to dodge, but the beam simply swept after her, dealing what appeared to be very little damage.

The skull remained, and I recharged it, "You know... it might sound strange, but I had been secretly hoping I could have turned you over to our side for a long while, before I learned about what did..." another beam fired, not so much flying through the air as it pushed it aside, leaving thunder in its wake, "I briefly had the thought, 'Maybe if she got the power of the Fall Maiden, she'd realize she shouldn't be this way, maybe she'd change, maybe this was all a setup?'."

Cinder broke the skull with a beam of glass, her panting having gotten twice as deep as before. Another three tendrils shot up and stabbed her with their red energy and 'absolution damage', which I was beginning to think was misnamed. I landed on my feet, eyes blazing as I charged again, unleashed several more barely-blocked slashes, and got her with another tendril through the back, "I thought maybe... maybe you just needed a do-over in life? Maybe an honest friend, one to help you forget how shitty your life before was, someone who could teach you a better way."

She snarled, eyes steaming lightly as she broke through my guard and slashed me across the chest.

I coughed as blood poured from the wound. I looked down at it, squinting my eyes, then looking up at her, grinning as if what she just did only proved my point, "But that's just ridiculous, isn't it?" her glare faltered slightly, "Yeah... you're the type of person who'll NEVER be happy."

I kicked her in the stomach, causing her to slam back against the wall of the pocket dimension. She tried to send a wave of flames at me, but they died far faster than they normally would have, my influence demanding it. She ran at me once more, flames trailing behind her as she poured on the speed. I dodged the slash with a jump, pivoting and turning in midair so that my fist was pointed at her, directing the angry Master Gaster Blaster at her, scorching her once more.

She slashed at the beam and broke it apart as it ended, preventing some of the damage, but that's when I saw the changes that had occurred.

 **Cinder Fall**  
 **Level: ? -} 158**

I gasped, watching as she surged towards me, a wide arcing swing coming at my right side. I blocked it with Carnwennan, then slashed her across the chest, going into a rapid combo and hitting her over a dozen times, reducing her level by about four.

 _That_ was what it meant by 'Absolution Damage'. I was literally damaging her as a _character_ , cutting away at the determination in her soul. It didn't take a genius to figure that with enough hits, I'd reduce her from a titan of power down to something no greater than an unempowered human.

Now that I could track her level, I delivered a heavy hit and slammed her into the ground, spearing her through the chest again and chipping off another level. Now able to see her bars, I watched as my damage was barely doing more HP and AP damage than the amount of Max HP and AP that it chipped away. She was also losing STR, DEX, and VIT, "I know that if I don't stop you now, you'll just consume the other kingdoms in the name of your 'living goddess', Salem. Whatever she's promised you, she's a devil and a devil never holds true to their promises. You need to just GIVE UP!" I blasted her with several Master Gaster Blasters, reducing her level by ten more, "Or I'll be forced to show you my deadliest attack!"

A blast of flames struck me, blocked by a guard that I threw up, but then I felt my arms get severed by her burning glass sword.

I spread my arms wide as they regrew in a split-second, and I poured my speed into a heavy combo. She made to block with her sword, but my third punch shattered the blade and an MGB vaporized the shards. A second Carnwennan formed as I grabbed the first, both turning blood red again, and I slashed her what felt like a hundred times before landing a two-fisted punch to her stomach, sending her slamming back down into the floor.

I scoffed down at her, "Alright then... survive this, and I'll show you my _special_ attack." what she didn't know was that she was already facing my deadliest attack, but I had one last trick up my sleeve.

She seemed to be feeling the effects of my attacks now, because I sensed fear coming from her. She made to attack again, but she was thrown around by my telekinesis, impaled by at least two of the spears every time she failed to get away. She barely dodged a few MGB beams, but the gap between her and the missed beams rapidly closed, and she lost more power as it was literally vaporized off of her soul.

After a while, I decided that it really was the best idea to just slam her around, stabbing her with the tendrils of energy that scraped her power away.

I slammed her into the floor, walls, and ceiling once, twice, ten times, twenty times, fifty times, a hundred times, each time hitting her again and again with spear after spear after spear, my grin growing so bright I literally felt my face split open briefly. All the while, I monologued to her.

"People like you rise up in history all the time, and while you only focus on the deaths of heroes, you forget so often that those same heroes slew dozens of evils in their time before their strength failed them. For every one hero that you evil lords and ladies slay, they've already claimed hundreds of your vile, corrupt, damned souls! Salem will meet her end." I slowed her to a halt, and forced her to sit on her knees on the floor, looking up at me as I landed on the ground, "She should know, that she's not just fighting a man, or a woman," I changed to my female form, a lock of disheveled shoulder-length hair falling over my nose, "Or even a redeemed monster." I shifted into the form of a Grimm, red eyes and black scleras glaring into her soul as five tendrils scraped across her body over and over. Their motions could have been considered erotic if not for the clear unerotic agonizing pain it inflicted on the evil bitch, so in a way it could have been considered like special flames that I directed across her, her levels withering away, "She's fighting a force she cannot deny. A force that will not die with just the head of one being. She is fighting against something as inevitable as the dawn or the tides, as the wind or the rain, something that will eventually claim her wicked life no matter how hard she fights."

I turned back into a woman, my two blades condensing into one, and I stood over her, grabbing her by her scalp and forcing her to look into my flaming red eyes, "Do you know what she's fighting against?"

Cinder only grit her teeth, anger slowly being drowned by fear.

 **Cinder Fall**  
 **Title: The Withered Fall Maiden**  
 **Level: 25**

"She's fighting against the universal law that good shall triumph over evil." the five spears stabbed through her chest, then retracted.

I took a few steps back, "You've reached the end of the line, Cinder Fall. I'm surprised that you're still alive." I smirked, "Alright... well, for getting this far, I'll show you my _special_ attack." I raised my hand, which swirled with dark purplish-gray and yellow energy, "Here goes nothing!"

She clenched her eyes and braced herself as best she could, tears squeezing through her lids as she prepared for the final blow.

The pocket dimension began shrinking around us, turning translucent once again, and a small hole opened up as it came down past me.

When it ended, Cinder was trapped in a small black cube, unable to escape.

After a while, she looked up at me, her resolve shattered, her own determination having died away. Twin trails of tears cut through the dirt and dust caking her face.

I almost pitied her, as my form shifted back to normal. There she was, the once-queen of her forces, now on her knees, trapped in a prison of spatial energies, reduced to the level of a crying, rag-clad little girl.

I almost pitied her, I really almost did.

... but I stayed determined.

"That's right. It's actually nothing. I am willing to stand here until the end of time and watch as you wallow in the grief and agony caused by the psychological torture of all your sins crawling on your back and weighing on your neck. Karma shall poison you until it drains every ounce of strength you hold, and... I wonder what will break first, your resolve, or your soul?"

The dragon trapped in the distant mountain finally made its way to us, and I simply turned my head, my elementals coming back to me, "Begone, pest." MGB formed, its laser firing wider than its mouth even allowed, consuming the dragon whole and turning it into nothing more than ashes and smoke.

Cinder stared in shock and horror as her pet was annihilated, then looked at me, just in time to see me take a step towards her.

I just smiled, "You know... I think I understand now. Making you suffer so much is just too cruel for a hero like me. I'm going to give you mercy."

"M-mercy?" she repeated back to me in surprise.

I nodded, "Yes. Mercy." I dismissed the pocket dimension and lifted her to her feet. Relief shot through her features... until I raised Carnwennan again, laughter slipping from my wide, toothy grin.

"The mercy of _**death**_."

*JWEOOM*

 **Cinder Fall**  
 **Title: The Fallen Fall Maiden**  
 **Level: 0**

I grabbed her face, feeling blood gush from the wound that ran straight down her body, effectively slicing her in half. She began to glow bright red, and then turned to ashes.

My hand fell to the weak and battered soul remaining in her place, right as I heard Ruby running up the stairs, reaching the top and staring at me in shock.

I gazed at the soul in my hands.

 _ **Cinder Fall/Fall Maiden's Soul**_

 _ **Description: The broken and battered soul of Cinder Fall, clinging weakly to its new core that is the power of the Fall Maiden. With her outer soul torn away by the 'absolution damage' of Determination Attacks, her strength was worn away and eventually failed her entirely, leaving her body as nothing more than dust in the wind.**_

 _ **Effects: +1 Fire Affinity, +1 Air Affinity, grants the powers of the Fall Maiden upon consumption.**_

I only smiled at the soul, "It's over... it's actually over."

Satisfaction filled my chest like a massive fire, and I looked at Ruby, smiling, "I warned her... but she didn't listen." I turned to her fully, smiling.

She looked shocked, "J-Jaune... the city is... the city is alright, a lot of buildings were destroyed, but casualties were minimal. Everyone's alright... everything's going to be alright." she looked to be on the verge of tears of joy.

I consumed the soul, earning the title The Fall Maiden, as well as a flurry of other powers, but I just closed it all and smiled at Ruby, "Welp, I'm going to go get some shawarma, Rubes." I put rested my hands in my hoodie pockets, walking over to the hole that led down the elevator shaft.

I gazed down it as Ruby slowly walked over, hugging me tight. I put an arm around her, a solemn and sad smile on my face as I stared down into that abyss of blackness. I whispered just five words under my breath, words that placed the final crack in my heart that let the poison start draining.

"Do you want anything, Marbel?"

* * *

 **Just... shit, man.**

 **That was quite an intense omake!**

 **I hope y'all liked it.**

 **Stay tuned for the next chapter, which 100% confirmed will have best spartan in it.**

 **John-117, step aside and make way for the crimson-haired champion.**

 **Woot!**

 **Other than that, probably just more progression on skills, training, prestiges, and the likes.**

 **Welp, that's all I have, here's the stat dump.**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Jaune Arc  
** **Title: Champion Boxer  
** **Level: 85  
** **Class: Magic Knight v2 / Tank v3  
** **Nickname: Knightlight**

 **HP: 74,000/74,000  
** **AP: 245,000/245,000  
** **SP: 100,000/100,000**

 **Strength: 97 (+400%) (+140%) (+85%) (+220%) (+175%) = 1086.4  
** **Dexterity: 96 (+400%) (+140%) (+85%) = 674.25  
** **Vitality: 105 (+400%) (+140%) (+85%) (+220%) (+30%) (+100%) = 1128.75  
** **Intelligence: 170 (+5) (+400%) (+100%) = 1050  
** **Wisdom: 200 (+5) (+400%) (+100%) = 1230  
** **Luck: 116  
** **Charisma: 101**

 **Stat Points: 130**

 **Age: 17  
** **Birthday: November 20th  
** **Race: Human  
** **Height: 6'2  
** **Weight: 260  
** **Build: Med-Heavy Athletic  
** **Hair/Eyes/Skin: Golden Blonde / Brilliant Azure / Medium Tan**

 **-/\/\/\/\\-**

 **Alrighty, that's everything.**

 **Make sure to favorite, like, comment, and subscribe!**

 **Wait... no hold on, wrong site.**

 **Make sure to favorite, follow, and review!**

 **This is Player1 signing off, ^w^**

 **See ya next time~!**


	20. The Great Hiatus: The 1-year Anniversary

**Well... hello there!**

 **It's been quite some time, hasn't it?**

 **Exactly 1 year, to this day.**

 **I promised myself I'd get the new chapter done before the 1 year anniversary of the hiatus starting.**

 **Unfortunately, as evidenced by this glorified note, I failed.**

 **This has been egregious enough that I am breaking my promise of never posting a hiatus-note filler.**

 **I apologize to all of you for taking literally a whole fucking year to make something, and I apologize further because I still don't have it done.**

 **As a result, I will now make a new, fresh promise. I'm nearly done with finals in college, so after Thursday, 5/10/2018, I'll be able to work on the REAL chapter 20 full-time. I've had it at nearly 22k words for the past 8+ months, so I'll likely have to take some time to reread the chapter itself, and maybe my whole story, to get a feel for what I've done, what I'm doing, and where I want to go.**

 **I've been working and improving and planning on certain things, and I'm nearly ready to present some of that to you all.**

 **So I want to just say, thank you all for the patience, and hopefully not completely abandoning this story. I know I never did, at least not in my heart.**

 **I will be doing my best to complete the new chapter before 5/18/2018, but I can't give a guarantee.**

 **I hope you all have a wonderful day and a fantastic week, I hope the past year hasn't been too rough without a new chapter from this crazy awesome story, and I hope you all will be able to look forward to the new chapter with genuine hope and excitement.**

 **That's all I have to say. I'll let you all go now, and get back to your lives/other stories you're reading.**

 **Thank you all for coming by to read this note, and thank you for forgiving me, if you have.**

 **This is ThePlayerCompany, Player 1, signing out.**

 **Peace out, guys.**


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